I spent the last couple o' days on a Low Country beach. It was hot and humid and lots of family and a really good time. Given the number of discussions we've had on the topic, I decide to have some fun with geometry and a big canvas. The big canvas was the ever-so-smooth beach sand at low tide. The beach was about 200 feet wide at that point and had plenty of room to mess around. It helped that it was early in the season so I didn't have a problem with alot of people around.

I had a 100 foot length of nylon cord, a small hand trowel, and a spade shovel. I would drive the trowel into the sand and attach the cord (tied in a loop) to the handle of the trowel. Another loop was at the other end of the cord and placed over the handle of the spade, close to the ground. This I dragged on the sand pulling the cord tightly against the pivot point

While my family watched in amusement, I set about making circles. The first one was only 50 feet in diameter and of very simple design. (a circle with petals inside with a six fold symmetry.) It took me about 15 minutes. It wasn't perfect, but it looked pretty cool. The next one was a hundred foot diameter circle with a "sprirograph" type design as a donut. That one was really elaboratel and took me about 20 minutes. I also created a huge arc with circle of descending size arranged like beads along the arc. With the canvas swept clean after the next high tide I created a rose (like the first one) with a 200 foot radius. That one was really neat, but it was so big it was hard to tell what it was while standing in the middle.

I don't have any pictures of these early sketches as my camera was acting badly in the humidity. Some of my family might, but it was hard to get a point of view that really showed them.

My final sand design was a jellyfish, naturally, as they are common on this beach. The bell of the jellyfish was fifty feet in diameter and the tenticles were just as long. People really liked that one, it turned a lot of heads. All the people who stopped and chatted while I was doing this were really curious and quite bemused at my art project. I have a picture of this one and may post it on HZ.net

Overall, it was a fun thing to do. Had I taken the time to plan out the pivot points ahead of time, and had slightly better equipment I could have created some very elaborate patterns in very little time. Had I enlisted others to help move the pivot around it would have cut the time significantly. I also found it strangely addicting; my mind kept coming up with more patterns and how to make them. While I don't think it will become a full time hobby I look forward to my next journey to the beach; and not just for the caught-that-day shrimp on the BBQ.

Mind you, I am not expressing an opinion on any of your particular formations, just that this sort of art is actually fun to do, and artists are always looking to improve their creations. Don't be too quick to dismiss the creativity of the brain of Homo sapeins.