Build number:	02F-11 (lifetime start #239)
Title:	"No Distractions Allowed"
Date:	May 4
Location:	Venice Breakwater, on the flat
Start:	0745; construction time approx 9 hours, plus 1 hour for Dudocking Friday
Height:	4 feet (Tall form, sailcloth)
Base:	1.75 feet circular
Photo 35mm:	attempt failed, apparently flat battery
Photo 6X7:	2 rolls Delta 3200 (EI 800) w/ old 6X7 and 105
Photo volunteer:	Rich, George, Mirjam
Video motion:	Walkaround, detail tracking (approx 10 min, w/F-10)
Video still:	vertical-format completed sculpture
Video volunteer:	none
New Equipment:	Wireless mic-to-mixer cable, headphones and amp, not used

1. Roadblock (Consequences of Hasty Decisions) "Larry, do you want to buy my old Mac? Two monitors, fast CD burner, fast video, G3 upgrade card." I remember what he went through to get that 21-inch monitor. It's a good system. "Yah. It'll let me play Myst 3: Exile. At last. I bought it last year." On our way back from Tlapazola Grill, recently rediscovered near Gateway and Pico, we pick up the big monitor. "Let's put it in the garage. I don't have room on the desk." I look at it when getting my bike out to go to work. This might have been a bad idea. It's in front of the trailer, and it took two of us to put it there. Maybe it'll go away. It's still there Friday, and I need to get to the back of the garage, where the Back-saver Sand Cart leans against the wall. Hauling sand has worked well on wrong-tide weekends, when good sand is accessible only in the afternoon. Today I'm doing it just to divide the work. The monitor has to go, and I'm the only one here. It ends up on my desk and my back still works. Until that night, when I lie down. Well, maybe that's just because of all the work hauling sand. 2. Only In Venice (Even If It Is Nailed Down) At 0730 I'm on the road. Half the load is related to video production. Getting a sculpture off has come a long way from one man and a spoon. From a distance, towing the trailer across the sand, the cache looks different. As I approach my disbelief grows. No tarp. Someone moved half a ton of sand from a cheap plastic tarp, no square foot of which is free of holes made by my sharp-edged shovel. I don't care about the tarp. The problem is that the sand is all over the place. I'd counted on this sand remaining wet to save a few trips down for water. Now all the water in the sand has drained away, and I'll have to be very careful to keep the good sand from mixing with the coarse underneath it. 3. New Heights (Another "Last Hurrah") I had to blow the dust off of it, but the sailcloth form seemed to be in shape for another sculpture. I deliberately hauled enough sand to fill it. Long days, tall sculptures. Filling it takes about two hours to the four-foot level. That's all the sand I can scrape up; the rest of what I hauled up here is unrecoverable. The pile still looks huge when I peel the form away; it looks as if much more than about seven inches have been added to what I'm used to with the Latchform. 4. Mistaken Identity There's sauntering, and there's deliberate progress. This woman looks like the latter. Must be Mirjam. I wave at her. She waves back, and then gets close enough for me to see who she's not. "Sorry. I thought you were Mirjam." "What are you doing?" "A sand sculpture. Come back in a few hours." "I'm leading a garden tour. The Venice Garden Tour, for charity." "Like the Venice Art Walk?" "Yes." "You know, I tried to get those folks interested in adding me to their list. Weren't interested." "Yes. They're too snobbish." "Exactly. A man at the farmer's market suggested I contact them. I did, but they never responded." "It's very political." The look on her face would give a lemon lessons. 5. What Is A Sculpture? (What We're Here For) I pick up the loop tool and start cutting. The idea has coalesced over the last few days, and the final piece came to mind as I was packing the sand. I'll treat it as two sculptures, connected in the middle, and orient it to catch sunset light. I've done similar things, but this taller piece should add some grace to it. Everything else disappears. The plan to test the wireless mic just gets forgotten. Remember the basics. One man, some sand and an amplified spoon. Design. Make it work. Time, and sand, and skill, and ideas. Make them fit, and learn more about it. Each design solution brings a new problem: it has to look good from all directions, from top to bottom and back again. The objective is to produce a sculpture, not a block of sand with a bunch of holes in it. 6. International Clientele "Hallo, Larry." "Hi, Mirjam." "I didn't bring a cookie for my admission ticket. I have grapes. They're healthier for you." She's been worried about what I eat down here. "Thank you." They taste good. * Shortly after this Rich walks up. "Here's your ticket." He drops a whole bag of cookies into my lap. "Thanks, Rich." They're nice and fresh. Written May 5 (* task paused) Edited and amended May 19, further development terminated August 23 (HTML conversion) All contents designed and made by Larry Nelson