2011 Jesolo, Italy Sand Nativity Damon's contribution to the 10th edition of the Jesolo Sand Nativity
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This is the 10 year for the Jesolo Sand Nativity, and the 10 time I've participated. Nine other international sculptors and I each created two sculptures in 10 days. This year I also spent 10 days painting 1700 square feet of background panels for several of the sculptures. The Italian idea of what a Nativity should be is a little different from what we think of in the USA. They prefer to see typical scenes of life in Biblical times. The manger scene is included, of course, but otherwise there are lots of options for what can be included. I picked a cloth dying theme because I enjoy sculpting the soft, organic shapes of undulating cloth. The musician piece was selected to add a lighter note to what tends to be a somber series of sculptures. Thanks for visiting. -Damon




Period musicians and kids dancing on stones from an ancient temple. A five day sculpture and one of Damon's painted backgrounds.




Grandma, mom and the kids working together to dye cloth and hang it to dry on the (painted background) clothsline.




An in-progress section of a large background panel. I took advantage of the scenes that included water elements to add more greenery than might be actually found in the Holy Land. Yes, some of the landscape panels looked more like the Bluegrass than Bethlehem.




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