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98F-3"Román and Me"February 15 | ||||
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Being a maker of live sand sculpture, I have to take the weather as it comes. This day started cool and cloudy, clearing in the afternoon as a strong wind built up. Wind... cold... memories... and another sculpture dedicated to my friend Román, whose absence I still feel. I wasn't sure I'd get this one off. As I rode my loaded bicycle to the beach, there were rainshowers offshore, complete with a morning rainbow. Bruce, the lifeguard, told me the showers would clear, so I went to work. He was right. I was joined by two women from Japanese Public Television. Marie and Naoko came out to watch and videotape this sculpture, so they could show it to the director who was thinking of doing a show on sand sculpture. They helped build the pile, which is always appreciated, and then watched as I carved the sculpture. The winter's many storms made sculpting difficult by taking away the good sand. About a third of the way up from the base of this piece, you can see the sand changes. That's when I discovered better sand, meaning finer, about fifty feet away. With the lower part being less strong, I had to be careful about the distribution of weight, which is why this sculpture's base is solid. It was a good day. I like this sculpture. Not every one can be a revolution, but this one has enough new ideas to keep me busy for some time. As I was resting, a fellow came over with a large camcorder and asked if he could shoot some tape of the sculpture. This was Kalle, German with a British accent, world traveller, and he said he wanted to come back and tape a documentary. When it rains, it pours. Two weeks later I got a call from the TV folks. They'd decided to go on with the project, so we'd be on the beach again with the full production crew. The show should air in Japan in June, and perhaps sometime in the U.S. Kalle and I finally met on May 10. I was much looser with him than with the Japanese team. Less intimidated, or just more experienced. We had fun. In the meantime, Otomo-san, the Japanese director, is still trying to get his ideas past the managers in New York. Kalle's tape will be done by May 18. This is why I work alone.
Technical Notes:
Update, October 1999: The local producer finished his cut of the show in May, then sent it to Tokyo. There it was completely re-edited and audio added. Finally, in December of 1998, it was broadcast in Asia. I received a copy in January. They did a reasonably good job.
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sgp8note.htm 1999 October 23