Every time I post one of my early sculptures I have a moment of embarrassment and worry that I will be judged on the specific piece and that people won't click on my posts again. But I have to document these less successful sculptures to give the entire story of my work as an ephemeral sculptor. For me it is not just about the sculpture itself but the story and memories behind it and that is what I want to add to the blockchain so it will live on. I look on my posts as somewhat of a memoir and I am glad to be doing it now before I forget the great times I have had. So please bear with me as I indulge myself.
This sculpture for example is utter nonsense but it is my nonsense. Well, Me and three other people's nonsense. Not very well carved and no deep and meaningful message behind it. I just know that the 'making of' was great craic.
Back in the USSSSR
This was my second time to the Russian city of Perm, I already documented my first time in this post. It was the same team of Fergus Mulvany, Niall Magee, Brian Hegarty and myself all eager to return for another adventure, but this time was even more crazy.
Let the games begin
Having landed in Moscow late in the evening we were surprised to find that there was nobody there to greet us and bring us to Perm like the last time. We looked very lost as we tried to make contact with the organisers but of course all the phone numbers we had were for business hours. Finally by ringing the Perm mayors office we were were given a number to call of someone who could help. They told us to get a hotel and get the train the next day and they would reimburse us the costs. Fair enough, we were able to get a cheap hotel and make our plan for the next day.
The 22 hour train journey had us in Perm in the middle of the next night and we had to go straight to work that morning with no climatising to the cold. We were jet/ train lagged and not happy campers. Coupled with this I also started to feel a flu coming on.
At the starting ceremony there were great festivities and we were introduced to a group of orphans that came to meet the foreign carvers. Some music started playing and we were encouraged to dance in the snow with the children at which time a camera, swinging from someones neck flew up and hit me on the nose giving me a blackout and what developed into two black eyes over the next days.
Oh captain my captain
Wonderful, what a great start. Then, my team mates empathetic as they were thought it would be funny to vote for me a team captain.
The Russians liked the idea of having one spokesperson from each team to take part in official ceremonies and to be the point of contact. I wasn't in the mood of having to talk to anyone. Especially with a probably fractured nose and every part of my body week with sickness but, then I saw her. Natalia. One of the most beautiful creatures I have ever seen, like a girl from a Bond movie. She was to be our interpreter and with my new found leadership roll I would be the one doing all the talking ....on behalf of my team of course. Job accepted.
The days were long and the work hard. I found any reason I could to require Natalia's help and even though I looked like someone who had just been in a fist fight I was romancing the hell out of it. The sculpture was a footnote.
Oh yes, the sculpture
The title for this piece? I probably should explain. One of the other teams came from the US and they acted like a military operation. Their team captain ( who was probably more serious about his roll) was a tall bald haired, sorry headed, man that wore his outfit like a uniform and could be heard shouting orders to his teammates. He looked like a James bond villain and earned the nickname from us of Dr.snow. As a team they weren't very pleasant to be around and their professionalism made us look all the more amateurish.
The greedy Cube? Well, I can't be expected to remember everything, can I?. It was probably something we just thought would look cool. Spoiler alert. It didn't.
Honor
Our evening times were spent drinking Vodka with the other teams and the interpreters. I nearly had a fight with one of the Russians carvers when I told him that he dropped some money. He was offended because it was such a small amount of money that I was bring attention to. I then had to spend the rest of the evening apologising through his interpreter for having offended him. In the end I had to arm wrestle his son inlaw who was an inverted triangle of pure muscle. He regained his honor and we sealed our friendship by opening yet another bottle of Vodka.
It's late in the evening
The last evening I had the delicate job of asking the main organiser for the money promised for My Teams hotel stay in Moscow and tickets on the Kama train. This guy looked dodgy, probably some sort of mafia based on his expensive clothes and big car.
I asked Natalia to be by my side. Beginning my questions I could see Natalia stirring in her seat and looking very nervous. I could tell that she felt awkward translating my demands to this guy. She obviously knew of him and probably some of his dark background. I had to tell her to tell him that It was me asking the questions and she was only translating only what I had to say. I didn't want to put her in a awkward position but It had to be do. Finally after a heated discussion he agreed to pay us in the morning but for now lets party. More Vodka was consumed and I slow danced to 'wonderful tonight' by Erik Clapton with my beautiful Natalia.
Dawn was breaking
The next morning we were to catch a train back to Moscow but first, we needed our money. Having been told by hotel staff that Mafia guy was seen hitch hiking away from the hotel before dawn we waited patiently for his return. Everyone else was gone.
Finally a van pulled up and we got in. We were quickly driven to the station and dumped on the train.
No money was forthcoming as the train left the station to the view of my beautiful Natalia waving her handkerchief.
Broken hearted and broken pocketed we left Perm.
Of course nothing more happened between Natalia and me. She was a princess and I was an Irish guy with a head like a potato. You can see me below covering my black eyes with sunglasses. There was no James Bond ending.
As for the sculpture, well... it was what it was.
Ps
Thanks for Reading. I use Steemit to document my work as an ephemeral Sculptor of sand, snow and ice. This will hopefully give it a new life on the blockchain. I am doing them in chronological order so there are many more to come.
Abu Simbel - sand sculpture
Casino - sand sculpture
Eureka - sand sculpture
I hope you'll join me again soon.
@ammonite
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