Skin on Skin - sand sculpture

It is so Important to feel the touch of another human. From that first time you are put on your mothers chest at birth to the chemistry you feel when you first touch a lover. These physical connection make us who we are.

For those who read my previous post about my sculpture The Kiss, this is another in that series. I really liked the mixture of two people interacting and some sort of abstracted form inbetween. The contrast of human curves and straight edges makes for, what I think is pleasant composition.

This was my second and last time in Gran Canaria to make a sculpture. The beach sand is actually very good there and is home to one of the best sand sculptors around @elportugal (Check out his work on Steemit)

Self Education

I started out this piece as very much an exercise in figure carving which I didn't really have much experience with. I thought that if I carved the muscle structure first on the body then I could just smooth over the surface to give the male figure skin. I actually prefer to carve male bodies because of the more pronounced muscles.

On finishing this first step in my process I really liked the muscly effect and this then inspired the whole sculpture.

I detailed the muscles a bit more and as contrast finished the female figure more smoothly.

You can see from the Women's strange pose I had to use her left arm to support her right as she was stretching through the window. Otherwise the sand would fall. Usually with sand you have to think about supports and not always do you end up with the most comfortable pose. This is sand after-all.

Another Mythical myth

The story for the piece very much developed as I worked.

The story was that there was once a monk hermitting away for many years in a monastery, trying to understand the world from all he could read in books. Somehow there was always something missing. Living in a vacuum had made him slowly weather away. It was only when he finally made contact with the outside world and felt the touch of a woman who he could share himself with that he became whole.

I like to let the meaning of my sculptures slowly evolve while I am working on them. Starting with the idea of A first touch I didn't know where this sculpture would take me. To pre-design a sculpture means that I would have all the creative process out of the way beforehand and then while making it I would feel like a technician or crafts person who just has to make the piece.
This way of working means I get to keep the creative process flowing all the way through and be as surprised at what I come up with as the people who see it for the first time.

I was quite happy with the piece although I did know that my figure carving needed alot more work. Hopefully you will see some improvement as I show you more work from over the years.

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Ps

I wish I had more time to be writing more regularly for Steemit but life is very busy at the moment. When I don't have much time I hope my viewers don't mind me showing you small Steepshots of what I am up to in my studio at the moment. They will be little posts just so I can feel more connected and not just a hermit. They also show that I'm still plugging away at something. They may not be of interest to everyone but I hope they will allow my community to grow in new directions.

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.

Dinotourist - sand sculpture

The Kiss - sand sculpture

Cool Carving - Ice Sculpture (Documentary)

I hope you'll join me again soon.
@ammonite