00F-24

That Be Far Enough, Pil-grim! Two weeks ago the sculpture fell over, ker-flump, thump, thump, a litter of sand chunks around a short stump. Last night's sculpture lost its top in a silent surrender to gravity and presumed bad planning. "Look at how dry that is." "That's just the surface." I touch the sand. Oops. "You're right, Rich." How much water can this cold wind take away? From the evidence the answer seems to be quite a lot. I lug six buckets of water to the sculpture and resolve to spray as if it's summer. Hot and humid seems to be roughly equivalent to cold and dry. The short day draws to a close. There was never even a hint of the promised rain. The Weather Service in all its manifestations was way off. When I find the crack I realize my engineering has also been off and it might be that the extra spraying is the only reason this sculpture is still standing.

Build number:	00F-24 (lifetime start #210)
Title:	"Lover's Lap"
Date:	November 11
Location:	Venice Breakwater, on the flat
Start:	0700; building time: 8 hours
Height:	4.4 feet
Base:	1.75 feet, cylindric
Photography:	None
Videography:	Walkaround, atmosphere, detail tracking w/XL1

1. Moonlight Even Steve predicted rain. He's better at it than the newspaper, but I awaken to late moonlight making shadows on my bedroom window. The predicted cold is a reality. It's hard to get out of my warm overnight nest. 2. Dawn Tears stream down my cold cheeks as I roll. There are a few clouds to the west, painted pink with the day's new light. The beach has been packed by yesterday's wind, making the trailer-towing trek to my sand cache easier. Cold sand burns my bare feet; the water feels warm by comparison as I wade for water. Building a base is easy. Just level the stump of the previous sculpture, fill in the low spots and it's ready for the form. Not since 1984 have I been able to reuse old sculpture parts so many times. 3. Radiant Morning At last the sun is contributing some warmth to the day. It's offset by a cold offshore breeze but tamping and general movement helps the thermal balance. Groups of people with trash bags work their way along the beach. I pick up a bucketful and add it to their collection. The Unlitter Pledge is one worth keeping and the beach is prettier for it. Packing goes faster for not having to fetch sand. Some of the time is saved by not having to replace water that seeps out while I'm digging. Still, the total time is about the same: two hours today, plus half an hour yesterday. That includes chat time with a couple of unwelcome guests, one who decried society's general negative outlook while contributing his own, and another who asked questions without bothering to listen to the answers. I just kept on packing. Boredom is a wonderful thing; they both wandered on in search of more exciting events. 4. Beginning Trying to build a sculpture in my mind is difficult. I can envision some of the parts but it seems I always forget about the ends. Yes, this double-arm form might be attractive, but how about the arms' ends? And how are you going to hold them up? what about the top? Well, start with a slight taper, then dish it in so that part of the top will appear to lean backward. Don't cut this slash too deeply because there's a new idea a-borning: continue this long rib from the bottom over and through the space. By the time this is finished the resulting leg downward from the top is thin, less than an inch. It's planned to be a long piece, too. 5. Noon Even with the early start the day seems to be racing by. This isn't helped by the new spraying resolution; this takes time! I wish I could spray continuously but then I'd get salt water all over my face and wouldn't be able to see. It does seem necessary; if anything, the loose surface sand I rub away dries even faster than it does in summer. The wind has backed around to the west and strenghtened. Fortunately it's not the gale of yesterday but I still have to don a jacket. "The best way to warm up is not to get cold." The spaces get bigger. The parts between slanting deep cuts gain curvature, wrapping around to as-yet undetermined ends. I'm beginning to worry a bit. The year's earlier heavy sculptures at least had plenty of sand inside to hold things up. A hollow sand sculpture has to deal with loads both vertical and outward. Vertical loads are handled by leaving sections thick enough, in terms of the total number of sand grains (fine sand makes thinner sections). Outward loads are also handled by cross-section, but in these cases the area is vertical and depends upon the slight tensile strength in the packed sand. This sculpture is rapidly having its heart dug out here and there. The sand isn't quite as good as I've had. This is indicated by color. Pronounced horizons in the pile mean that there is much more of the lighter-colored, coarser grains. The difference is slight but noticeable. It's not helped by a soft area on the west. How'd that happen? The best way to deal with this is to remove it. 6. Ideas Revisited I don't know what's wrong. I'm having trouble concentrating. Cold? Hungry? I've certainly not eaten enough, but the sun won't pause for me to have lunch. I compromise by munching while I spray. The sculpture doesn't have any new ideas, but they are assembled differently. They are also developed better, with part cut thinner and shaped better. Instead of just leaving them to end in odd places I work to make the endings fit with other parts. The very thin leg continues downward, curving away and thickening. The tall tapering space behind it has various parts that I hope will hold things together wrapped around more spaces. At the base is another familiar move: the triangular cut through to the other side. I shape the interior around the various legs that end here. 7. Afternoon "There's no need for safety photos!" "Hi, Rich. You're just in time for the clean-up. How was the Linux meeting?" "It was in two parts, one of which was about Mac OS-X. He demonstrated it." "There's a public beta of it. Not being interested in operating system hassles I've skipped it." Daylight presses. I work around the sculpture with delicate tools and brush. Now, how did that get here? A crack separates the thin leg from one of the downward-slanting elements. I look around for the complementary crack but can't find it. "We may need safeties after all, Rich. It's cracking." "That is awfully thin." Very carefully I continue polishing. It's still standing when I sign it. 8. Late Afternoon First things first. Over the years the nature of this has changed as one type of photography has superseded another. Now it's videography. I walk around and then shoot details, trying some experiments that my cold body doesn't execute very well. "The crack has grown." Why the slow failure? I go to take a look. 9. Failure Analysis Not only is the crack a bit wider but the sand of the thin leg has pushed outward slightly. Now the picture is clearer; that thin leg just isn't quite strong enough to hold the top's lean into it. On the other side I look carefully and finally find the complementary crack, a very fine line given away mainly by the lighter color of the sand that has dried where air has had better access. One side stretches, the other side compresses and bows outward. Usually it doesn't happen this slowly. 10. Collector of Light Setting sun and sculptural spaces align. Golden light enters and bounces around; the whole interior glows gently, like a lantern. "The crack is now all the way around." "I don't really want to know any more, Rich. And I'm cold." He's bundled up football player style. "I agree." We tow the trailer off of the beach. Even the lifeguards have called it a day. All I want is hot food. The sculpture still stands for a last glance against the golden flaming sun.

Top of Page Library Human Touch Museum 1999 Sculptures 1998 1997 1996 1995 All contents copyright by Larry Nelson lord_chaos@compuserve.com

00f24rpt.htm 2001 January 12
Report written 2000 November 12