When It comes to posting stuff on the internet I try not to divulge too much about myself as I don't want to say things that is really personal. Maybe it's the fear that I 'm handing over the info to some big corporation that will sell it to the highest bidder or maybe I just want to keep the personal personal. With Steemit I know it's different because I am giving it to the community but I still want to be somewhat reserved. So let me tell you about Bob.
My friend Bob
I have this friend, his name is Bob Barry.. stein and he was quite shy in His formative years. Relationships never came easy for Him. Lot's of unrequited loves and being relegated to position of friend on many occasions. Maybe it was growing up in Catholic Ireland that made Him over analyse love and not just get into it for the fun of making important mistakes to learn lessons from. Maybe He was thinking that entering into any relationship was a fools errand because of distance and other factors. I think He wasted alot of years trying to find a logical solution for Love and to be honest now He knows that there are none, I told him. 'Just go with the flow. That flow may have it's good and bad days but you are learning all the time, learning a language that you can express yourself better with.' (Yes I know, I can be pretty wise when I want to be)
Luckily for Him, His wife had the balls to make the first moves or she would have been waiting a long time.
An Emotional State
This sculpture is about these emotional constants Bob put on Himself. It is still one of my most popular sculptures and one that was the beginning of a series I did on relationships. I will document the others when I come to them chronologically.
This one I made as part of an international competition in Blockus, Denmark. It was an open theme and I wanted to make something about the emotions I, sorry Bob was feeling at the time.
Two figures reach to try and kiss but these big walls hold them apart. These barriers I will leave for you to interpret.
Progressive Danes
Denmark is a great place to make sand sculpture because the public is very open and you can carve nudity without censorship. I have been to many other countries where they would tell you to add clothes or remove the figure entirely. That said I still knew that there would be children about and did try to make the poses without showing naughty bit.
A pat on the back
I was very happy with the anticipation in the piece as well as the technical challenges I set my self and was able to pull off. Making the faces in the narrow gap caused me to make some long handled tools and run around the sculpture all day to see how every cut looked from other angles.
In the end I was award first prize which strangely I wasn't happy with.
For me the Carvers Choice award is always the most coveted, to have your peers say they like your piece is always the highest honor. That prize went to another sculptor so I was disappointed, It was only a couple of years later that I was told I had actually won both but they had to share out the prizes that I was happier with the result.
Bob was happier too and He went on to live a happy life.
Ps
Thank you for joining me on this journey as I look back on my work as an ephemeral sculptor. There are many more to come in both sand, snow and ice.
Below you will find some of my recent posts. For the next time I will root out an ice sculpture.
Adam and Eve go Shopping - sand scullpture
Africa - sand sculpture
A dragons tale - sand sculpture
