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98F-15 "Obsolete" | |||
| I shouldn't have liked this one. It had no really new moves, no spectacular overhangs or astounding elements. Still, I stayed until after sunset, looking at it, and the more I looked the more I liked it. |
| Build number: | 98F-15 (lifetime start #143) |
| Title: | "Obsolete" |
| Date: | August 14, 1998 |
| Location: | Venice Breakwater, south side |
| Start: | 0800; building time: 9.5 hours (2 to fill form) |
| Height: | 4.2 feet |
| Base: | 1.75 feet (cylindric) |
| Photography: | 1 roll E100S-135 (roll from 98F-14 jammed), 3 rolls TMX120 |
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Start time was supposed to be 0730, but sloth got the better of me. The day came up sunny but cool, with a hint of sea breeze promising to keep it that way.
Good sand was available, but I had to build high on the beach due to the coming 5.4 foot tide. This required carrying the sand about 75 feet, up the beach. It was worth it for the sand was even better than I thought at first, with nearly uniform grain size. The only plan I had for the sculpture was to test two tools: the rebuilt #1 steel finger, and the new #12 super slicer. The latter is made of a stainless steel blade attached to a wooden handle and support, and is about 15" long. Intended for the outside slicing job currently done with my venerable tent stake, or the #2 loop tool, it's the first special-purpose tool I've made. Making it was interesting. I'm really being pushed by time and energy to find an alternative to sand. Days aren't long enough nor do I have energy enough to finish a 10 cubic foot sculpture. I'm thinking about wood, and approached the making of this tool with that in mind. By George, it was interesting and felt much like doing a sculpture. Looks pretty neat, too, with a fitted handle. At the same time, I rebuilt the Steel Finger to increase its rigidity. Intended for deep digging and inside slicing, it was too flexible to work well. So, it got a new full-length supportive handle. While building the pile, one of the lifeguards walked over after warning some swimmers in the surfing area. "Someone came down here last weekend looking for you. They wanted a judge for a sand sculpture contest." I handed him an info sheet and wondered. Judging. I'm rather glad they didn't find me. With the pile made I picked up the new tool and went at it. No problem. It's a little heavy and unwieldy, but did a great job of slicing. As long as I was able to work right-handed. I need to make a left-handed one now. Carving went along slowly for a time as I tried to figure out what to make. The first idea was for a curving, corn-leaf sort of element, with an arch behind, that swung to one side and went inside. From that all kinds of other things developed. I made my third dollar from sand sculpting when a couple came up and asked what I was doing. We talked for a bit and they said I should be making money at it. I said I'd made two dollars, but did it for fun. They handed me another buck. At this rate, I'll be rich! By, oh, the year 2050. Around 2:00 I realized I needed to get serious about moving sand. So, I dug deeply, straight down, and it looked terrible. Further work, however, turned it into a great element: a sort of concave bridge between two vertical elements, rounded on the ends sort of like bones. With more coves and undercuts it looked good. The rest of the sculpture grew from there. If I couldn't figure out what to do someplace, I just worked somewhere else. Somehow it worked. As I worked, another objective came to mind: gain familiarity with tools. From the start hands have been the most important tool I take with me; I like the feel of sand. Fingers can't, however, get into sharp corners and I've discovered that a little cutback under an overlapping element helps greatly in defining it. This is a job for tools. The key is to take the tool and confidently cut the first time, so as to eliminate fussing around that takes time and looks bad. I practiced this, with varying results. One thing that would help in the definition task would be a small, stiff purpose-built tool. The plastic palette knife works, but is too hard to hang onto and too willowy. I don't envision any hands-free sculptures, but this is the first time I've used a tool for anything other than saving time. The finished sculpture had great harmony. It also had whimsy, with curlicues and round holes here and there. It was also airy, permitted by the excellent sand. Rich counted nine holes, but I didn't confirm this. All I know is that it had enough. While this sculpture took about the same amount of time as the last, I removed at least half again more sand from it. This is the benefit of having a rest day between work and sculpture: more concentration, more energy, better sculpture. Rich shot a roll through the day, tracking progress, ensuring I'd have something if "adventurous" turned into "disaster." We call these "safety shots." I shot a roll of slides, and then two rolls of black-and-white. When the light improved by softening, I shot another roll of favorite angles. I didn't want to leave. It lacked respectability. Knowing what I've done, this one was sort of a throwback. It was as if I'd taken one element from every sculpture I've made and put them into this one. Somehow it worked, going far beyond its elements to become neat, and delightful. I liked looking at it. Rich even said it had almost enough holes. Good enough. The award for Most Improved Tool goes to the #1B Steel Finger. While before the rebuild it was barely worth using, it is now very useful in a wide variety of tasks. Its only current problem is that it's too heavy for some jobs; the rebuild was too thorough. I'd now like to make some smaller, lighter ones. The Chatty Kathy Award for Most Obnoxious Passerby goes to the man who, as I was photographing, asked "Is it finished?" When I said yes, his response was "What about that rough area inside? Aren't you going to smooth it out?" Then he asked me, after I'd told someone how long it took to build, "Do you know how long it would take me to knock it over?" I very nearly lost it, but managed to keep my response... fairly civil. As the sun set, the sand took on that nice golden glow it gets when the sunlight is filtered by humidity just short of fog. I staggered home in the dark damp air. A good day. The title comes from some comments on the Internet. I've been accused of using obsolete techniques among other things. The results speak for themselves, in this case more clearly than most because I took advantage of the pile quality my technique makes possible. Good enough.
All contents copyright 1999 by
Larry Nelson
Original: 98-Aug-14 | ||||||||||
98f15rpt.htm 99 January 9