7 Coloured Sand Circles

7 Coloured Sand Circles, originally uploaded by escher....

I went back to the beach today this time with my partner in crime. She works on Saturdays and when she got home yesterday evening she looked at my photos on flickr and said "been to Heysham have you?" Lips protuding into an exagergated pout. "You know it is one of my favourite places?"

"And I lovely day it's been too" I replied furiously digging a deep hole.

So off we went again this morning, blue skies and sunshine and no more pouting to find the tide just on its way out again.

I wasn't planning on making anything so I headed straight for the water, off with the shoes and socks, rolled up the trouser legs and in for a paddle. A bit chilly at first but quite nice after a bit. I had the urge to go for a swim but didn't have the right attire which might have been better for everyone in the end.

We had a go at some Goldsworthy sand throws and I did a good job of pelting myself with wet sand before heading back to the cliffs to indulge in some other childlike pursuits.

The sculpture from yesterday was still there, perfectly intact. A small pebble had been placed on top and a closer look showed it to be heart shaped. I guess this was some sort of fan mail and I was quite touched at how someone wanted to communicate that what Dave and I made yesterday touched them and their day too.

Goldsworthy sometimes makes things with crushed up iron-rich rock, he colours pools or streams red with its deep blood-like hue. I knew that there was some of this to be found on this beach so yesterday I showed Dave where to look for this soft powdery stone. For quite a while I'd wanted to crush up some of the rocks here and make something with the powdery sand and thinking of the red stone yesterday had reminded me of this forgotten idea.

I searched for some pure coloured sandstone pebbles and bashed them into a powder before making circles on the cliff from where their shades come. I think that there are many more shades there than the seven I have displayed here and I will look forward to searching for them all on another day.

I thought I may have been done with creating on the beach. I prefer organic matter and growth and find those things more interesting these days. But it seems there is much more to do yet and Heysham Head is one of the places that is inspiring and hard to resist.