Description
Artist: Barbara Groh Wahlstrom
Medium: Black sand, ocean earth, acrylic on wood
Size: 60 x 24 x 2″
Year: 2014
Block Island, RI and Maine
Block Island is known for its black sand pushed and hidden by the tides, behind and under the golden quartz sands of the beach. The black sands are tiny iron particles, monazite, and because of the extreme weight, are easily separated from the other sand. I was able to gather a few small bags of the stuff and was surprised at the density and weight when I lifted the bags.
The coast of Maine is known for the incredible tides––a rise and fall of over 10’ every 6 hours. I was mesmerized by the slow changes, yet how quickly the seascape changed into a landscape in a matter of hours. What was an area with boat traffic, transformed into a mud/sand mixture of exposed shells, muscles, and sea weeds.
This piece is a description of the coastal scape––sand above, to be played in, moved around and touched, and the ocean earth below, pushed and pulled by the incredible forces of a moving ocean.
