Showing posts with label beach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beach. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Sand Art- Mermaid Edition
Many pictures of one sculpture today. This sand mermaid is probably the most intricate sculpture I've attempted to date. It took about an hour and twenty minutes from start (piling up a bunch of sand) to finish (the cross-hatch lines on her tail and fins). Now I'm brainstorming for the next sculpture...I think I have one more in me before we head home. Any suggestions?
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Amazing Sand Artist
So you know I like sand art. I try my hand at it every year at the beach. I'm getting better with each attempt, learning to sculpt with more detail and getting more creative with my subject matter, but this morning I saw a video that takes it to a whole different level. I doubt I'll ever attempt this grand of a scale, but it's inspiring to see someone pull off a picture using such a large piece of beach as canvas...
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Sand Art- Kris Kringle Hits the Beach
All of the other sand sculptures this week were practice sessions for my special The Man in the Cinder Clouds sculpture...it was Christmas in July on Hilton Head Island!
Here we have Kris Kringle hanging out under the branches of an evergreen tree. I wanted to add some other characters, but didn't have the time. I also wanted to make a fireplace with his boots / legs in it, and an evergreen ranch and burnt chair leg on the hearth and a stocking hanging and a dollhouse and pair of boots...Maybe next year.
Here we have Kris Kringle hanging out under the branches of an evergreen tree. I wanted to add some other characters, but didn't have the time. I also wanted to make a fireplace with his boots / legs in it, and an evergreen ranch and burnt chair leg on the hearth and a stocking hanging and a dollhouse and pair of boots...Maybe next year.
Sand Art- What a Croc!
Friday was the last day at the beach. Yesterday we were up at 5:30 am, on the road by 6:45am, and thanks to loads of traffic that at one time required 90 minutes to move forward 10 miles, we made it home by 9:15pm.
I made two sculptures on Friday. First was an alligator, but it may really be a crocodile (NOTE: Crikey!) because I tried to show some teeth outside its mouth. I think that's the major difference between the two, aside from the spelling of their names, but I'm not willing to consult Wikipedia right now so someone will have to fact-check me in the comments. The final sculpture will be posted later today...
I made two sculptures on Friday. First was an alligator, but it may really be a crocodile (NOTE: Crikey!) because I tried to show some teeth outside its mouth. I think that's the major difference between the two, aside from the spelling of their names, but I'm not willing to consult Wikipedia right now so someone will have to fact-check me in the comments. The final sculpture will be posted later today...
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Sand Art with a Porpoise
Today's art has meaning, a theme. It exists for a porpoise...
I had to do this quickly, the tide was coming in. It's still just a warm-up for the end of the week Cinder Clouds sculptures, which may not be posted if they totally suck.
I had to do this quickly, the tide was coming in. It's still just a warm-up for the end of the week Cinder Clouds sculptures, which may not be posted if they totally suck.
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| A porpoise surfaced at the beach |
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| Hey buddy, got any fish? |
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| Some other sand artist is at work today... |
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| And doing a damn good job! This was there before I started. |
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Sant Art: The Sphinx
Here are some pictures of my first sand sculpture: The Sphinx. I'm warming up for a Cinder Clouds-themed sculpture later in the week. I think a croc / alligator will invade the beach too.
The Sphinx lasted about an hour before we watched the tide destroy it, which of course is half the fun.
After I had completed the Sphinx, my kids were helping me build the perimeter wall when several other kids came by to see the sculpture. Then they left and reappeared with shovels and quickly got to work helping us.
"Cool, we have slave labor," I said. My younger son picked up on that and relayed that little factiod to every other person who came by.
The Sphinx lasted about an hour before we watched the tide destroy it, which of course is half the fun.
After I had completed the Sphinx, my kids were helping me build the perimeter wall when several other kids came by to see the sculpture. Then they left and reappeared with shovels and quickly got to work helping us.
"Cool, we have slave labor," I said. My younger son picked up on that and relayed that little factiod to every other person who came by.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Sand Art
I'm going on vacation next week, and one thing I like to do at the beach is build sand sculptures. I need suggestions for new things to build. If you have any ideas, please leave a comment. Here are a few examples from vacations past:
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| Sand Shark |
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| Bugs Bunny |
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| Surf's Up Doc |
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| That's all, Folks! |
Friday, August 20, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Reading the Waves
I was at the beach yesterday, standing waist-deep in the water and watching the surf roll in. I had my eyes trained a hundred yards out, reading the waves and waiting for the best one so I could body-surf back to shore.
As each wave approached I evaluated it. How big was it? When was it going to break? These were my two most important criteria. If it broke too early, it would be ideal for someone a little further out, but I wouldn't get the same push from it. If it broke too late those closer to shore would get a great ride but I would be left behind, floating in its wake. The small waves were great for the kids, but I wanted a big wave.
Some of the big waves broke at the right distance, but I didn't ride them. You see, a wave doesn't span the whole beach; one wave is roughly twenty yards wide. It has an arc, and it breaks best in the center. If you are too far to the side it breaks later and smaller. Some waves had a perfect arc for the people to my left or right, they just weren't right for me, so I let them pass on by.
I looked out into the ocean and kept reading. Earlier in the day I had read the waves from afar - I used the tide clock. The peak of low tide was the perfect time to go for a run, the long expanse of hard-packed sand made for an ideal track. But at high tide, there was no room to run. As the ocean pushed its way on shore the waves got bigger, and the beach, in turn, got smaller.
I kept reading the waves. A big one came at me. It had a perfect arc, was just the right size, and I was right in front of the break point. I turned and swam and water bubbled around me as the wave pushed me. I accelerated until my belly scraped the sand and drug me to a halt. I stood and looked back toward the ocean. More big waves on the way. I ran back out and caught three more good rides before the surf settled back down. Then I waited for the next round. A few minutes the big waves returned. The waves come in waves, you know.
My kids played in the waves, too. My older son was on his boogie board. He wanted to ride the bigger waves. He could stay on the board but he needed help getting started, so I held him steady and launched him out on some huge waves. My younger son couldn't hold on to the board on those waves, though. He kept flipping over. I let him climb onto my back and he held onto my neck and rode the biggest waves with me, and I launched him solo onto some smaller waves.
I think back on all the waves I didn't ride. They weren't bad waves, they just weren't right for me for where I was at that moment in time. I could have moved up or back or left or right, and I could have enjoyed the other waves, but then I would have missed the waves I did ride.
And I'm going back to the beach tomorrow. I'm sure I'll ride more waves. I might build a sand castle, and then sit back watch the advancing waves slowly knock it down. That's a long, slow read.
As each wave approached I evaluated it. How big was it? When was it going to break? These were my two most important criteria. If it broke too early, it would be ideal for someone a little further out, but I wouldn't get the same push from it. If it broke too late those closer to shore would get a great ride but I would be left behind, floating in its wake. The small waves were great for the kids, but I wanted a big wave.
Some of the big waves broke at the right distance, but I didn't ride them. You see, a wave doesn't span the whole beach; one wave is roughly twenty yards wide. It has an arc, and it breaks best in the center. If you are too far to the side it breaks later and smaller. Some waves had a perfect arc for the people to my left or right, they just weren't right for me, so I let them pass on by.
I looked out into the ocean and kept reading. Earlier in the day I had read the waves from afar - I used the tide clock. The peak of low tide was the perfect time to go for a run, the long expanse of hard-packed sand made for an ideal track. But at high tide, there was no room to run. As the ocean pushed its way on shore the waves got bigger, and the beach, in turn, got smaller.
I kept reading the waves. A big one came at me. It had a perfect arc, was just the right size, and I was right in front of the break point. I turned and swam and water bubbled around me as the wave pushed me. I accelerated until my belly scraped the sand and drug me to a halt. I stood and looked back toward the ocean. More big waves on the way. I ran back out and caught three more good rides before the surf settled back down. Then I waited for the next round. A few minutes the big waves returned. The waves come in waves, you know.
My kids played in the waves, too. My older son was on his boogie board. He wanted to ride the bigger waves. He could stay on the board but he needed help getting started, so I held him steady and launched him out on some huge waves. My younger son couldn't hold on to the board on those waves, though. He kept flipping over. I let him climb onto my back and he held onto my neck and rode the biggest waves with me, and I launched him solo onto some smaller waves.
I think back on all the waves I didn't ride. They weren't bad waves, they just weren't right for me for where I was at that moment in time. I could have moved up or back or left or right, and I could have enjoyed the other waves, but then I would have missed the waves I did ride.
And I'm going back to the beach tomorrow. I'm sure I'll ride more waves. I might build a sand castle, and then sit back watch the advancing waves slowly knock it down. That's a long, slow read.
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