Bridge is Out

Lately the start of a new college semester always seems to bring a season of storms.  This I have noticed ever since I started regularly teaching 3D design, where I always include a natural materials project.  (a lot of stone age art seems to have been done to take advantage of the natural shapes of the materials used to produce it- a tusk, a shoulder blade, etc)  I start the project by having students choose from a pile of shells collected at one of the nearby beaches, and then see what is suggested by the shapes and textures of those shells.  And in recent years there have been a lot of coastal storms at the point where I need to go out and get some more shells.  Tonight was the first meeting of my 3D class this semester, and sure enough we had a major nor'easter parked overhead for a few days this week.  Every day the news showed video of towns digging up their beaches, seeking sand to rebuild dunes, an activity that can make it difficult to find shells, if they even let people wander on them.  Today was a relatively nice day, and I took advantage it to dig through my car and look for shells left over from last semester's class.  (Found a small bag, probably enough for my small class, even if I don't have time to secure more before that project)

Also took a few minutes to wander into Belmar. Had heard a rumor that there may have been a bit of flooding over by the Belmar Art Council headquarters, which has happened in the past.  It turned out the building was mostly fine with one exception- those sustained winds of he past few days tore the drawbridge right off its hinges.  Not the actual railroad drawbridge, but our representation of it as part of our mural on the side of the building.  Most of the mural is painted, and that railroad bridge is a piece I painted pretty much myself about 10 years ago.  However, before we declared it done, Bob Mataranglo (our leader in the process) added a wooden piece on top of the painted raised bridge, giving it a little 3D element.  This morning that wooden bridge was found on the other side of our building.  Don't know what that plan is to "repair" that bridge, but I won't be the one doing it.