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Recycled Beach Debris, Vancouver Island
Dimensions: 132 x 97 cm
The sandal cut-outs were the original inspiration for this piece. They reminded me of a flock of shorebirds in flight. I have studied shorebirds for many years and am always taken by their grace and magical symmetry in the sky. I also knew that I wanted to use the blue painted wood to represent water when I found it on Florencia Bay, which is itself a great place for shorebirds. I had the picture laid out, including the rope and float winding out from the bottom, for a few months but wasn’t satisfied until, in a moment of pure abandon, I tried the booties and liked what I saw. The image balanced out the picture and spoke to my personal frustration with surfing. Luckily I had found the matching pair of booties, which had been lost on Long Beach by some unfortunate visitor. I had my choice of surfing leashes, which regularly wash ashore, testament to the power faced by surfers riding the winter surf. It wasn’t until after I had finished the piece that I noticed that the booties and the sandal cut-outs were the both same size (8).