Pinery driftwood

[vaneramos]

On Friday we drove to Pinery Provincial Park near Grand Bend and hiked more than a kilometre to the beach on Lake Huron. The weather seemed to threaten more thunderstorms, like the one that had drenched our campsite the night before. Suddenly the sky turned blue. It took us by surprise, and we both ended up with sunburns.

But until then, it was one of the nicest beach days I can remember. The sand was littered with driftwood, which inspired me to create a work in the style of environmental artist Andy Goldsworthy. Brenna helped me collect the wood. This dome is actually a miniature version of one he built on the beach in Nova Scotia, as told in the documentary, Rivers and Tides, which I've written about before.

Just as we were leaving and I paused to take a final photograph, a teenager playing bocce threw the jack (a baseball, actually) to land within inches of the dome. Of course the game would proceed with several more balls being thrown as close as possible to the jack. An appalled girl, perhaps his sister, darted forward to retrieve the jack, stammering compliments on my work. She returned scolding him, "You beast!" This thing is supposed to be ephemeral, but I was glad to escape the beach without witnessing it carelessly shattered.

If you'd like a closer look, there's a gallery of eight images on Flickr. There's even a puzzled reaction from a strolling gull.

Comments

[ubermunkey.livejournal.com]

great images Van,
art in any form is a bit of a turn on for me lately
and these speak to me, partly because I can see you placing them
I can picture your bending over to place each one, creating the whole of it, a bit at a time.

namaste

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

You should really see me. ;-)

Often my creative energy verges on frantic, like Richard Dreyfuss in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Maybe I'm compensating for my fear of never finishing anything. Or maybe I'm just channeling space aliens.

Lately I've been learning to slow down, but I don't have as much practice at this kind of art, so it became a Devil's Tower thing, mad and blind.

Cheers,
Van

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Thanks. :-)

[jeffbriggs.livejournal.com]

I'm a huge fan of Goldsworthy. His work really is truly wonderful. Yours is pretty damn wonderful too

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Have you seen the documentary Rivers and Tides? He spent hours building a huge dome out of driftwood somewhere in Nova Scotia, then filmed as the tide came in and carried it away.

[jeffbriggs.livejournal.com]

No but I will have to check it out. I've got a couple of his books. He's one of those people I would love to meet.

[rsc.livejournal.com]

This thing is supposed to be ephemeral, but I was glad to escape the beach without witnessing it carelessly shattered.

Indeed. Let the tide destroy it in carefully measured stages.

[rsc.livejournal.com]

You see the habits of mind of a coastal dweller -- upon reflection, I suspect that Lake Huron doesn't have big enough tides to do the job.

[detailbear.livejournal.com]

The closed lakes prevent actual tides from forming. We do get irregular storm surges and seiches from winds and barometric pressure differences.

DetailBear, Geography major

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Interesting!

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

It was a fairly calm day. A little west wind would stir up enough waves to carry my work away.

[rsc.livejournal.com]

There's even a puzzled reaction from a strolling gull.

Nothing puzzles gulls. It's merely annoyed that your construction contains nothing edible.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Well this particular gull was puzzled. He came walking along the beach, encountered my line of sticks, and was too flustered to cross it. Maybe Canadian gulls are less self-confident than their American counterparts. ;-)

[thewindrose.livejournal.com]

Your photos made me want to shrink down and crawl around inside that dome and explore.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

I love your reaction!

[clairenolen.livejournal.com]

wonderful series, Van! thanks so much for sharing the pics!!!
i enjoyed looking at them..:-)

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

thank you and your welcome!