Grativity - sand sculpture

Space. The final frontier. What better theme to choose for a Sand Nativity. Well, that's just what we did for the 2014 sand nativity in La Pineda, Catalonia. Why? Because we could. I have mentioned in a previous post that each year of this 20-year annual project we decide on a theme to challenge ourselves and our audience. There are so many sand nativities littered throughout the Mediterranean it is nice to be involved in one that gives some artistic freedom and gets people talking.

The town hall, which pays for the event is always happy because it gets great Tv exposure as it creates a discussion in the public about what the hell it is all about. While still telling the Christmas story.

Let's start at the beginning. shall we?

I'll need to go back a bit before I go forward and tell you about some of the contexts of what was going on with me before I did this sculpture.

Family

My Wife Clodagh and I had been married for a few years at this point and had been trying for a baby. Unfortunately, it wasn't going too well and we were starting to get a bit concerned. We were sure we were doing all the right things. Granted most of my knowledge comes from watching David Attenborough documentaries but still, I thought we were doing all the right moves. We were nearly at the point of going to doctors for advice. Then I found out my father had cancer and our attention shifted full time to that. So any thought of having a baby was put on the back burner. Then, low and behold Clodagh got pregnant. Strange how these things can happen. We were elated and shocked.

Holiday

If you remember my post Heineken Legends You will remember that I had won a prize to go on a five-star holiday to Belize. We knew that if we waited till our baby arrived there would be no possibility of taking that holiday so after getting advice from different doctors we decided it would be now or never, while Fintan was still being baked in the oven and to have our last fling with adventure.

Speaking for myself, I never needed a holiday so bad and this one really fit the bill. We were to fly to Belize and stay in a five-star hotel for a few days then, travel by boat to a private island off the coast and spend a few days as Mr and Mrs Robinson Cruso. We would even have our own Man and Madame Friday to cater to our every need.

The island was tiny, with just a few cabins for guests and one where George and Ruth, the couple who took care of us lived. There were just the four of us on the island and I must say it became uncomfortable very quickly to have a class divide between us and them. On the first night after Ruth served up our dinner, we pleaded with herself and George to join us. They were at first very shy, not wanting to break the social order but first Ruth and then George sat and we chatted long into the night about anything and everything. Ruth had some great advice for us as soon to be parents, she was also a midwife and imparted great wisdom. Although George was much shyer we did get him to come out of his shell.

Speaking of shells, the next day dinner was caught by Clodagh and me as we went out snorkelling and dove down to pick some large conches which we carried back to the island and learned from George how to open and remove the mollusc. I had bought a machete on the mainland and really wanted to put it to use. Ruth then cooked them to perfection and we had another wonderful evening.

There were other times when we just relaxed but for me, I can relax and be busy at the same time so I explored every inch of the island and we also rowed to another island on the horizon which is the first image I showed here. I must admit I was tempted to raise a flag and start our family there.

It was an amazing holiday. Being treated like royalty can be quite nice for a change and getting some great diving with sharks, turtles and giant rays was just what our souls needed. Clodagh could not dive so we also did lots of snorkelling. Holding hands as we floated in the crystal clear waters. It was so nice to have Fintan there also, inside his mother's tummy and experiencing all the beautiful wildlife. (I can see why he is now obsessed with fish).

I think that is enough context. So, back to the sculpture.

Floating

My job at the sand nativity was to make the three central characters. As a father to be, my mind was racing with all the excitement and fears as you can imagine. It was like we were floating into the great unknown, tethered together on this great adventure.

I wanted Mary and Joseph and Jesus to appear as though they were floating, something which sand doesn't really lend itself to. There was some engineering work involved in making sure the weight of the sand would be supported while trying to make the composition as weightless as possible.

With sand sculpture, it is important to not have too much of an overhang as water can gather in these areas, make them softer and then drop off. Gravity can be a bitch in that way.

Having a backdrop like the rings of Saturn helped to give the piece support and add another element to the composition. I probably could have gotten away with a smaller planet under Joseph but at that point of the proceedings, I didn't want to take any undue risks with the work I had done above. The figures were life-sized but in sand terms that is a couple of tonnes.

At a later date, I will do a bigger post on all the other elements in the crib. For now, I just wanted to show my piece.

I liked this piece and what it represented to me. We were soon to be going where many had boldly gone before but the fears and hopes for the future are all very personal and an adventure I was looking forward to.

I may release this as my second NFT on NFTShowroom, so keep an eye out for that.