I met Steve Cohen in his photo lab. He's right down the street from me and we started talking about things photographic. Eventually sand sculpture came up, so I had to show him my albums.

I had not done a sculpture in upward of seven years. Blowing the dust off the books, I hauled them to the lab and Steve went nuts. He wanted to come down and photograph while I worked, which meant I needed to find out if I could still make them.

By the time Steve had a chance to watch me carve I'd had plenty of practice. An hour after completion the sculpture, 94F-11, failed completely with that characteristic soft hiss of falling sand. The photos came out well.

After that he started talking about having me do a show for the Sierra Club Camera Committee. Eventually I agreed, which required a plan for the presentation. At first I didn't want any slides because they'd distract from what I was saying. Steve talked me into letting him shoot slides.

They turned out beautifully. Gorgeous. Perfect; they did such a good job of telling the construction and carving story that I was free to speak a different one: history, ideas, development. It's a good show.

While Steve was shooting I didn't know what would happen. I just kept working, and this sculpture was the result. It was a very good day. At the end, I shot this Official Helper Photo of Virginia and her husband Steve.

Introduction	> Next
Human Touch Museum	Image Gallery