Well, there he is. The last temporary sculpture at the beach this summer. I got to say it's been a lot of fun and thank you all who made it out on such a fine day to participate.

I chose to sculpt Rodin's Thinker to represent the 20th century in my parade of art history. I also thought it a fitting subject to honor the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

I have lots of pictures of the creation and destruction of this piece which I will sew together into a time lapse video file and post soon so stay tuned!

Three Hours Until High Tide

Hi Everybody! This is Greg with some last minute updates. Eden's beachfront project is from 3pm to 6pm this afternoon at Shilshole Beach. Here's the map.

I think it's legal to park in the Shilshole Beach Club Parking Lot. Then you head towards the beach by passing the Beach Club building on the left side (as you face it). Look for the sandy end of the parking lot. It is a private beach, so no alcohol and no pets.

Eden will have plenty of clay for you to play with. Bring a lunch. We will have some snacks available.

I'll be leaving in about 30 minutes, if anyone in the area wants to be picked up on the way.

See you there!

greg

Save the Date! Sun. Sept. 11th 2011

As the end of this project draws to a close I plan to have a picnic at the beach to celebrate! Everyone is welcome! Bring a picnic for you and your friends or snacks to share. Bring beach blankets and toys, cameras, or whatever you like to take to the beach (sunscreen and clothes that can get dirty are a good idea.)

I will be sculpting my last piece at Shilshole Bay Beach, Sunday, September 11, between 3 and 6 pm and photographing it as the tide comes in (high tide will be at 5:30.) I'll also provide lots of extra clay for anyone who wants to make their own sculptures.

This will be so much fun! so I hope to meet you there.

WARNING: this is a private beach with public access so please mind their rules which are: no dogs, no alcohol, and no fires. You can park in the Shilshole Bay Beach Club parking lot, there is a beach access trail to the left of that building.

If you have any questions just ask in the 'comments' section. I check it regularly and now you don't have to sign up for anything to do it! Yay!

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M's David.

Possibly the single best piece of artwork in the world, maybe ever created. I felt humbled trying to copy him. I don't think I need to explain what sculpture I'm imitating here since it's image has been reproduced endlessly in our culture. But I will say that unlike some other famous artworks that have been copied over and over (for instance, Mona Lisa) David is still impressive when you see him in person. If there is nothing else you do in life, go to Florence and see him.

2nd Intermission

Well, there has not been activity at the beach recently because I've been busy creating art! And also participating in the EDGE program for professional artists put on by Artist' Trust. I spent a week in Port Townsend in the old army barraks of Fort Warden with 14 other artists and completed almost 60hrs of professional training. What an experience!

And when i came home some new works were waiting for me that had just come out of the kiln.

Life is good.

The Sacred and Profane, but mostly Profane

At the turn of the 13th Century, most of Europe's artisans was focused on building and decorating Cathedrals, so that is where I draw my next sculptural reference: from the grostesques of Notre Dame de Paris. Le Stryge is the name of this most recognizable of grotesques- I never knew some of them had names, and I also never knew the difference between a grotesque and a gargoyle (gargoyles serve the function of a drainage spout, a grotesque is simply ornament.) I got a lot of good comments at the beach while building it today- I don't know why but these ugly creatures that were meant to ward off evil spirits have an incredible allure about them.

and here is what happened to my last sculpture. It seems someone wanted the pieces to remain together, and somehow thought it necessary that Buddah have a hat out of a piece of broken pot. Strange what people do.

The Grand Buddha of Shilshole

What I tried to do for this project was to select historical references from different times as well as cultures, as well as symbolic meaning. I started with the beginning where the first sculptures from early Cycladic societies represent little more than the statement that they existed. The nomadic peoples of ice-age Europe idealized the feminine form (Venus of Willendorf.) Later, the Egyptians codified symbols into meaningful artforms that went unchanged for roughly three thousand years. The statue of Ramesses II represents a specific man and the symbols associated with him allowed the people of that culture to understand that he was a King, a God, a great warlord of many deeds, etc. etc. The Greek and Roman cultures used gods as allegories to represent not just the might of individuals but of their city-states. Nike was built to stand for the victorious navy of Samothrace and so glorified everyone in that town.

Now I'm going East, to other cultures that existed during these ages but had no contact with the previous societies I've borrowed from. I think it interesting that the highly sophisticated Nike was created a few hundred years before the common era, and the Great Buddha of Leshan, (although still impressive is quite simplified) was made between six and nine hundred years after. It was being built around the same time as Europe was entering the Middle Ages from which I do not have a significant source of sculptural material to draw upon.

But back to Buddha: although I wanted to stay away from religious icons, I couldn't help choosing to replicate this. It is not just the figurehead of a religion, but like Nike, it represents a virtue. Unlike Nike or anything else I've shown so far, it is not about self glorification or military prowess, it is a testement to the higher ideals of philosophy and peaceful living which the Chinese of this time chose to carve into their mountain.

My Nike

check it out- i was photographed by the AP!

Anyway, I finally got around to finishing Nike of Samothrace. She was a difficult one with all of her wings and arms just hanging out there. I had to build most of her parts separately beforehand and allow them to dry before assembling at the beach, otherwise it would not have worked.

She must be one of my all-time favorite sculptures in history. You can see a better study of her form in an earlier post when I was applying for this exhibition. At that time I was hoping to be able to make these sculptures as large as any person, but I'm glad now I have to make do with the amount of clay I have! It's good practice for future endevors, but man is it a lot of work!

Here I have interpreted how she must have looked before loosing her arms and wings, although I think I like what time and archeology have done to the original statue. This is a fabulous site from the Louvre about the story of the winged Victory and her reconstruction.

Here she is at sunset the day of her creation, and already she's falling apart (I suspect much like the original did.)

and finally, the day after.