13P-5 (November 28)

The predicted rain was still holding off. Despite the aches brought on by the previous day's sculpture, I packed what I needed and walked to the Breakwater for a Thanksgiving day sculpture. Bright sun, dry breeze from inland that had me worried for a time. Good sand was available.

I deliberately made this one smaller. I'd lost track of the overall shape of 13P-4, partly due to its rare size. I was post-sculptural already so needed something simpler.

The design challenge has always been to balance the space with the hard parts. This one felt good, just stroking the curves into shape. It was very inviting to the touch. I could have put more holes in it but didn't want to fall into the trap of default shapes and default defining spaces. This will take some time to work out, I think.

There have been transitions before. I started in 1982 with a simple catenary arch, and the arch pretty much defined the sculptures until mid-1996. I did a piece I called 'Dance," which was kind of the apotheosis of the arch. From that one onward I was exploring other shapes. Oh, the arch was still there, its structural characteristics essential, but it was quite a bit more complex now. Design questions have continued to arise. It's a good thing my projects end at sunset, if not before, because otherwise the design issues would paralyze me.