13P-3

Blogger has changed a lot since I last posted images. Now you can click on an image to get the full-sized version, with arrows at the bottom of the page to go to the next image. Posting is simpler because I don't need to upload them to Photobucket first. The day was beautiful. Cloudless, some breeze, clear autumn air, scent of sea and good sand.

The Late Start

For many reasons, 2013 has been a difficult year. Much of what was going on precluded sand sculpture, but on a recent walk back from running errands I took a swing through Venice. Surprised by good sand and a falling tide, I picked up some mussel shells and did a free-piled sculpture. That was 13P-1.

A couple of weeks later I went for a walk on the beach and ended up at the breakwater. The good sand was still there. I sat and watched the tide go down, and then started a sculpture. The beach was still very wet, so I made a big base and stomped on it. The beach drained faster than I expected, so that big base became part of what ended up being a really big free-piled sculpture, 13P-2.

Well, a friend of mine has been chiding me (gently) about not taking pictures of these. I have no cellular phone, and the only digital camera I had at the time weighed about 5 pounds all up and felt like more. I'd been looking at smaller ones but couldn't make up my mind. Finally I went to a camera store to look at two options. They didn't have the first, so I bought the second. "I'm tired of messing with it," I told the salesman. I tested the camera the next day and it is indeed light enough to carry on walks in my usual backpack. The next day I added some sand sculpting tools to the pack and headed for the Breakwater. It'd be a late start due to tide, but I would be able to get something done. And that was 13P-3.