One thing that has struck me over the years when researching ideas for different sculptures is how similar mythology is in different countries. The characters may be different but the way they are used to represent certain ideas seem to have a common lineage.
For the 2010 Dublin sand sculpture exhibition we had the theme of 'Vikings'. Normally we were the ones to choose the theme but this year the castle, who were funding the project asked if we could do something to tie in with a viking festival that was happening in Dublin at the time. Reluctantly we agreed. Too be honest I wasn't too inspired by it.
Mythical myths
I decided on the creation myth where Odin and his brothers used Ymir’s body to create the Earth mixed with Gaia the Ancient Greek story about their personification of Earth. In actuality, I just wanted to make a big naked woman and shifted the theme to fit it.
Making a human body from sand can be very difficult especially when working at a large scale. With all the familiarity we have with the body it can be a challenge to make a pose which looks natural and is self supporting in sand. This is why it is always a good idea to have another element which can be used to support the massive overhangs you are sure to encounter.
With this sculpture I wanted to try my hand at making a large figure but keep it as just that. Luckily the beautiful @clodaghdowning (my wonderful wife) was on hand to model for me. We experimented with different poses till we had one which was self contained, natural and had a certain pensive quality.
Mother Earth
On one side of the sculpture, where the visitors to the castle would enter I presented just a bare naked lady sitting in a nest of Viking design but as they got closer they would see that she was actually part of the braid and the toes grew into it. As they walked around the other side the figure's skin was missing revealing a rocky like structure. I really like to play with texture and the contrast with the smooth skin worked quite nicely.
Out foxed
The pictures above are the only pictures I have of her. I had planned to come back the next day and take more but it was not to be. That night just after I finished the courtyard was visited by a fox who decided he wanted to get a better look and tried to climb up her hands, destroying them in the process.
The security men from the castle told me they saw the whole thing unfold on camera but could not show me the video due to national security or some such nonsense. I could see the little foot prints the sly fox had left so I have no reason the doubt the story.
A pigs ear out of a pigs ear
So what was I to do? I knew I could never build up her hands again due to the weight of sand required and the overhang so I had to improvise and came up with the solution below. Cracks were running through her left arm and I knew that would fall with the next rain. With this I tried to give a negative effect hoping the arm would still be there visually, but not. The right arm was still stable so I thought if I worked it down and into the braid it might be an interesting approach.
You win some and you lose some
Damn city foxes. I really never knew they could be such destructive critics. In the end I wasn't very happy with the repair but at least it looked semi finished for the remainder of the exhibition. I was disappointed as I really liked the way she sat there in the yard. I have to remind myself every now and then that I am just working with sand and mother nature can be a cruel mistress.
Ps
Thanks for reading. I use PeakD to document my work as an ephemeral Sculptor of sand, snow and ice, amongst other things. This will hopefully give it a new life on the Hive Blockchain. Below you will find some of my recent posts.
Mermaid - sand sculpture
Stargate - sand sculpture
Churchill - sand sculpture
I hope you'll join me again soon
@ammonite
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Getting it out there on the tweeter.
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You've been very creative with this and you had the best model one could ask!