And so, the Sandcastle Trail blog morphs into the ArtPrize 2012 blog. I may get back to the trail someday -- when I figure out a way to ironclad a sculpture in way that it still looks like sand....

Very excited about ArtPrize -- thanks Grand Rapids for giving me a good reason to come home! Thanks to my high school chums for being so encouraging and supportive -- really looking forward to the good times we will undoubtedly have when I am back in the 'hood for a few weeks. And a BIG thanks to Greg Jakubowski at Coit Ave. Gravel for offering to help me out with some excellent sand. I am hoping to get about 6 tons of the stuff dropped someplace very close to the Louis Campau Promenade on Sept. 14 or 15. As soon as that happens, we get to have the "Pound Up Party" where we pack sand and water into plastic forms. With a wee bit of help (and a borrowed wheelbarrow or two), I should be able to complete that step in one day -- 2 max -- and then the fun begins. With the help of my amazingly talented nephew - Emerson Wierenga Schreiner (more on him later) - I expect to have something worth looking at by the time ArtPrize officially opens on Sept. 19.

But before any of that can happen, I have to zip over to California for a little project this weekend. Within hours of my return on Sept. 6th, Em and I will hop in the truck and take a nice long road trip from South Padre Island to Glen Lake, MI for a few days of R&R before heading back south to GR.

Please bookmark this blog for the very latest in my ArtPrize adventure, and if you haven't already, check out this page for some clues as to what I hope to accomplish there (and how you can help, if you have a mind to.)