Temporal Art; Enduring Image

Chana and I celebrated our 17th Wedding Anniversary a couple of weekends ago. We spent most of it in Santa Barbara, which is about 1.5 hours away. It's far enough away to feel like you're getting away, and close enough to make a day-trip of it. We had a great relaxing day.

Toward the end of the day we saw this sand sculpter had just finished up his newest creation: The Wounded Soldier.


The sun had just set, so the lighting here (and my sub-par phone-camera) doesn't do the work justice. The detail was perfect. These guys looked alive, well... for sand people.

The artist said that he has done a different sand-sculpture everyday on this beach for 19 years. (just off of Stearns Wharf) He said that on average, they last about 5 minutes after he leaves, 'cause some really cool person comes and kicks them over or whatever.

Too bad they can't last longer, but I guess in a way, he must get a kick out of having a fresh, brand-new canvas everyday to work with. That says a lot about a man who is willing to create such fantastic art, KNOWING that it's life-span is extremely short. He must constantly say to himself, "there's more where that came from."

I would like to have that attitude when I'm creating, even though I use more permanent mediums. But to have the confidence in the creative gifts in me, to flow unhindered and in excellence daily; that's the faith I want to have in the source of that creativity.


No matter how long his sculptures last physically, I know that the impression stays with the people who see it.