Joel Ritchie

Unseasonably warm weather in winter allowed us to dry the bulk of the sand in a few days. Every bit of the backyard was put to use.

Front yard was used too, got to make the most of the warm weather when you can.

Kallie making the basket by hand, palm fronds were stripped down to long fibres and made into a rough yarn that was used to make the final basket.

First part of the installation was rendering the side that made up the octagonal pyramid that would sit under the sand to bulk out its size.

We rigged up some ladders so that the sand could be poured directly on the top of the pyramid. Belinda kindly assisted with the install by sitting above the pile to sift the sand on. All the sand is in garbage bags to the left.

The wooden octagonal pyramid is now in place as the first lot of sand is poured on; only about 70 bags of sand to go.

A short break in the installation, at this stage the sand had been place on the pile with on sifting. You can see the changes in the colour of the sand due to impurities in the sand. After this stage the sand was sifted on and this gave a uniform colour to the sand.

Most of the sand was on the pile by this stage. Time for a quick lighting test to figure out the right height to cast the shadow on the back wall.

Ladders are all out of the way and the basket has been installed too. Time to fix up any rough patches in the sand and to dress the edges.

A nice shadow play as the finishing touches are done to the pile for the install.

The installation fully completed, with hanging basket and lighting.

Shortly before the opening of the show, I got some shots of the installation from atop of the ladder.