99F-22 "Plumber's Helper"

Build number:	99F-22 (lifetime start #179)
Title:	"Plumber's Helper"
Date:	December 3
Location:	Venice Breakwater, south side
Start:	0900; building time: 7 hours
Height:	3.3 feet
Base:	1.75 feet, cylindric
Photography:	1 roll RA135-24 w/LX and 85mm; sunset shots w/WR on RA

Greet the dawn with boisterous wind and flying leaves. Pour your strong daylight through the frisky air onto thrashing tall branches. Roar and creak, sigh, rustle and hiss. Bring the scent of far deserts to our city senses. Sand, sage, wind, blue and gold. The wind is dry. Southbound. This is trouble but it moderates through breakfast. Its cold ameliorates the dehydrating effects. Good enough. Pack up and leave. 1. New Equipment Maurice and I talk of sculpture and tools. He's good to exchange ideas with; together we've refined many projects. The major effect of this meeting is the demise of the Integrated Sand Managment Tool due to problems I hadn't seen until we discussed it. From there the talk moves to the Bigfoot Tamper. I have the parts for this and it has become imperative to build it because my old tamper, a cut-off walking stick, has fallen apart after 130-odd sculptures. The planned replacement is technically superior but its construction involves many steps. "How about PVC pipe?" "Can I get an end for it? Something about four inches across." "Heck, yeah. They even have brass grates on them. Drains." The next day we have the parts. When he delivers me to my other office we unload the parts, find a sawzall and go to work. In about 15 minutes we have it finished. It's no thing of beauty but it's stout and saltwater proof. More importantly, it's ready to use. On the beach the new tamper is heavy. It's also very effective, making short work of packing each layer of sand. I'm too vigorous at first, raising much sand that never settles to get packed. Shortening the stroke solves the problem, and filling the form takes about 15 minutes less than usual because, with its big foot, I don't have to hit the pile so many times. It also makes fun noises, a kind of plonk-gurgle like an organ with a cold. We'd talked about putting a whistle in the top but it's not needed. 2. Carving I intended to start with an evolute palisade surface, curving upward from the bottom to some sort of top. It was to have points and balls. The evolute evolved but curved away into something else, becoming more like a big leaf. If some's good, more's better, so I made another leaf around on the east. The top arch developed a curve and various offshoots, gaining far more complexity than intended. Boring a hole through from the east I realize there's no place for it to come out. So, it goes up and out behind the leaf. That space gains complexity with another entry from the north. The eastern leaf shape has a problem. Yes, the day's main design goal is subtlety--brought on by some interesting stories and Email--but these things are more bland than subtle. There's enough daylight to work a series of feather-like currugations into the surface. Much better. Fitful wind has come and gone. East, west, north, south, at one time it has come from all of them. Now it comes in strong and hot from the north. This is big trouble. Here I am with a tall sculpture and this desiccant wind blows in. Edges start to crumble. Time to clean it up and quit. Shortly after the signature goes on, the wind poops out and turns damply around. Good. There's time for more clean-up. And that lower leaf needs something. The first reworking doesn't work, being too subtle in undulation. I sharpen the upper edge of the three cuts and this helps, changing the look of the whole piece. I just can't leave well enough alone until the sun calls time. Photography goes smoothly, the light softening as the sun descends into vapor. I shoot the usual roll, Rich finishes his and we call it a day. It's cold. 3. Conclusion It's not a revolution but it has some very nice moves. In particular I like the parts that spread and hold other parts between them. Still, it's too solid and stiff from several aspects. I lost concentration about halfway through, perhaps due to the short day and an increasingly complex sculpture. Anyway, it has been a beautiful day. The sun hangs on the horizon for minutes, a wide sliver of gold under shimmering thin clouds. We drag the trailer across the golden-blue sand under cold glory.

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