Sandprint Sculptures

As part of my Slough Adventures, I'm going to try to build some sculptural piece in assistance with the local birds. There is a common spot where they hang out during sunny days or around the time they feed. I will dig a hole in the sand, play a small bucket filled the sand and position it so the top of the filled bucket is flush with the ground level. Hoping to acquire some interactivity and prints on the sand in the bucket, I will then remove it from their jamspot and carefully spray water on top of the altered surface.

I remember from when I was a child when I would play in the sandboxes we would make these "sand bowls" by pouring water on a mound of sand and working away the dry sand around the wet area. I am hoping to achieve a similar effect but with the help of the slough birds and (if any) their aesthetics. An immediate challenge would be figuring out what solution (water doesn't seem to promise longevity) that would be good to preserving these ephemeral marks on an object that I hope to ground in a more permanent space (by taking it out of its natural area and presenting/constructing it as an art piece).

A similar approach would be to use a pan/sheet of some sort (like a deep cookie sheet) filled with sand and see what the birds will make of it afterwards. Another challenge would be whether or not they would notice/interact with a foreign object near their grounds. Beyond their footprint, I am thinking of other ways to visually capture their mark in their natural space.
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