The Sand Sculpting Festival is an annual event that takes place every November on Fort Myers Beach, also known as Estero Island. Fort Myers Beach is a sliver of an island in a serpentine shape off the coast of Southwest Florida. It’s seven miles long, but it’s not even a mile wide in some places and as narrow as a quarter of a mile in other places. The festival spreads out over half a mile of white, sugary sand; the beach in this location is completely flat and stretches seemingly forever to the Gulf of Mexico. The seventeen master sand sculptors are top-notch professionals, and the competition is a huge deal because the winning sculptor receives an invitation to the 2011 World Championships the following year. This Beach event is one of eleven events in the world chosen as a qualifier for the World Championships. The master sculptors have credentials of the highest caliber and include numerous world championship titles. Word is that the sculptors love Fort Myers Beach sand because each grain of sand has a rough, irregular edge that allows the grain to bond well to the others and thus to keep its shape better. The result is that finer-detailed and larger sculptures are possible. The final touch involves spraying a stabilizing coating, such as a solution of water and Elmer’s Glue on the sculpture, to keep it from drying out and to keep it stable. Semi-professional and amateur sculptors also have their chance to compete for cash prizes and trophies. The event draws as many as 50,00 spectators. (Things get a little congested on this small island, but patience rules.) Visitors can view the sand sculptures as the artists are sculpting them. Watching the sculptors at work is half the fun of going to the festival. The other half is viewing the final designs the sculptors have created. The sculptures have a wide variety of themes, but the trend seems to be toward abstract, thought-provoking sculptures rather than realistic depictions of a scene. That’s not to say there aren’t humorous sculptures, or sculptures that are just plain breathtaking in their originality or in their depth of detail. Spectators are very respectful of the artists-at-work; they wend their way carefully among the sculptures, and have their cameras at the ready. So far, the festival has taken place during typical fall weather in Southwest Florida--the temperature in the 80’s, the sun shining almost blindingly bright, the white sand in contrast to the blue water of the Gulf--an altogether brilliant setting for this unique event.
DAY ONE
On the first day, the sand piles are on site, and workers are drilling holes for the many stanchions that surround the sculpting sites. The stanchions serve as a structure for a kind of "fence" around the two master sculptor areas. Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce members are busy doing whatever jobs are necessary to prepare the site for the festival.
Each sand sculpture starts out as one big pile of sand. On the first day of the Sandsculpting Festival, these piles of sand await transformation by the sand sculptors. The Holiday Inn is in the background.
Master sculptor Amazin' Walter McDonald of South Padre Island, Texas, begins work on a sculpture which will become the background for a "photo op" for visitors to the festival.
Master sculptors begin work on a group sculpture that includes the logos of all of the festival sponsors.
A master sulptor begins inscribing a logo at the top of this gigantic mound of sand.
Michel Lepire of Quebec City, an internationally known sand sculptor, blends water with sand to get exactly the right consistency for a sand sculpture.
DAY TWO
On the second day, forms are in place beside the sand piles, and work progresses on the Group Sculpture. Master sculptors have not yet begun work on their individual sculptures.
Pallets are placed beside each sand pile to provide a foundation for the sand sculpture.
Chamber of Commerce members Ellis Etter, Andrew Cochrane, and Suzanne Bartels work to prepare the site for the sandsculpting festival.
Michel Lepire continues work on sand snowmen, which will provide a background for photo holiday cards for festival visitors.
Artists continue work on the corporate logo structure of festival sponsors.
Sculptors hard at work on the group carving.
Carl Jara, master sculptor from Cleveland, Ohio, readies his tools for work on the group sculpture.
A workman is setting up a vendor's canopy, securely anchoring it to withstand strong winds.
DAY 3
On the third day, vendors start lining up at the entrance to the festival to begin setting up their stands. Master sculptors begin individual sculptures, and most spend the day putting forms in place and wetting down the sand that goes in the forms. Nothing much takes recognizable shape, and sculptors are not forthcoming about the theme or the title of their sculpture. From what I could gather, there may be various reasons for their reticence: they may not want to be locked into an idea in case they want to change the idea as their work unfolds; their sculpture may not work out according to the original plan; or they don't want their plan known by other sculptors. I also suspect that although they may have a concept in mind for the finished sculpture, they really don't know if the concept will materialize as planned.
Sculptor Jon Woodworth waters down the sand after he has made a multi-layered foundation for his sculpture.
Amazin' Walter McDonald perfects his specialty, castle towers and arches.
Carl Jara shovels sand to the topmost layer of his structure.
Carl Jara stands atop his structure of flexible forms stacked one on top of the other.
"Sandy Feet" Wierenga begins work on her sculpture.
John Gowdy works on the topmost layer of his sculpture.
The group sculpture, incorporating sponsor logos, stands conmpleted.
Michel Lepire adds the final level to the foundation of his sculpture.
Michel Lepire finishes up the top level of his sculpture base.
Katie Corning is a sand sculptor herself who lives on Fort Myers Beach and who acted as liaison with the master sculptors. She continued to work with them throughout the festival.
DAY FOUR
Elements of sculptures are becoming recognizable. Some artists are progressing faster than others toward the final presentation of their sculpture. Admission to view the master sculptors at work is still free.
Carl Jara begins his sculpture with a woman's face and body inside spiral layers.
Rusty Croft's sculpture has the intriguing title, "Divine Discontent." Rusty Croft is one of the sculptors who enjoy interaction with the public. He seems happy to discuss his work with viewers who comment on or ask questions about his sculpture
John Gowdy continues work on his sculpture. His sculpture seems spread out over a wider area than other sculptures and has bits and pieces that don't seem to come together in an integrated theme.
Karen Fralich and the beginnings of her sculpture, "Beauty and the Beast."
Kirk Rademaker of Santa Cruz, California, continues working on delicate fretwork.
Matt Long from Staten Island, New York, combines his love of sandsculpting and music. Matt is another sculptor who enjoys interaction with the public.
Michel Lepire completes work on an American eagle in flight.
"Sandy Feet" Wirenga continues work on her sculpture, "Progress Comes to Shoeville."
Dan Belcher works on his sculpture, "Writer's Block."
"Writer's Block" continues to take shape.
Sandis Kondrats, a Latvian sand and ice sculptor, works on a tall spire.
Sue McGrew begins work on the topmost tier of her sculpture.
Jeff Strong, from Tacoma, Washington, works on his sculpture titled, "Intertwined."
Brad Goll from Austin, Texas, works on "Headache."
DAY 5
Sand sculptors are working fast and furiously as the deadline for completing the sculptures draws near. Some artists have completed enough work that the theme of the sculpture is very clear, like Michel Lepire's "American Spirit" and Dan Belcher's "Writer's Block." Others, like Carl Jara, have created a unique sculpture, but a key part is not yet done. Still others, like Karen Fralich and John Gowdy seem to be timing the completion of their work to correspond with the last day of the festival and to keep their audience in suspense until it is time to reveal the final sculpture. Visitors must pay $5 admission today, Saturday, and on the final day of the festival, Sunday. This seems to me like very good entertainment value. The crowds of people continue to grow on the weekend, and the weather couldn’t be better. All during the festival, there have been other activities going on in addition to the Master Sculptor competition. Free sand sculpting lessons are offered five times daily, and both the Florida State and Amateur competitions are held on the weekend as well. These sand sculptures are on a smaller scale, and there is only the weekend to work on them, but there is no less enthusiasm among these artists than among the master sculptors. Between the two master sculptor areas, there is a veritable “tent city’ of vendors. Festival visitors can find things to eat, drink, wear, visit, or adorn themselves or their outdoor space in the booths of the vendors present. It has the feeling of a county fair, except that you're walking on white, sugar-fine sand.
Karen Fralich photographs "The Beast." But what happened to "The Beauty?"
Carl Jara's sculpture has a female within the spiral on the front, but you have to go around to the other side of the sculpture to see what is on the opposite side of the spiral.
There is a male within the spiral on the opposite side of the sculpture. I thought for sure this sculpture represents Adam and Eve, but the key accessory piece to the sculpture was not in place until the final morning of the competition. As it turned out, my interpretation was way off.
"Shoeville" becomes much more defined.
Matt Long titled his sculpture "Harmony," although in my mind I had already titled it, "Music to her Ears."
John Gowdy fashions flip flops in the sand, modeled from real flip flops. His theme still isn't clear.
Dan Belcher's sculpture says a lot without words. The character is stylized and presumably a writer. He isn't someone of modern times because he would be working on a computer rather than writing long hand with an ostrich feather, plumed pen. You see his melancholic look and understand that he has writer's block while
ensconced in a block of sand.
Brad Goll is working on an outsized, bizarre face, which is contorted in pain. It made me think of a character out of "Frankenstein."
"Fishnets" is the title of this delicate sculpture by Kirk Rademaker of Santa Cruz, California.
"The Four" must refer to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, kind of a sinister-themed sculpture by Fred Mallett of Port Aransas, Texas.
Sue McGrew's sculpture is now taking shape. It looks like the god of the sea, Poseidon, with a woman, or maybe a mermaid. But there is still not enough to definitively say what the sculpture is about.
Michel Lepire works his way all around his sculpture, "American Spirit."
Randy Croft's sculpture is beautiful but needs some explanation. I remember that he said something about the central part of his sculpture representing a drop of water, but I would need more explanation than that to understand the title, "Divine Discontent."
Jeff Strong puts the finishing touches on the graceful arches of his sculpture, "Intertwined."
DAY 6 - FINAL DAY OF THE SANDSCULPTING FESTIVAL
Judging of the Master Sculptor competition begins at noon on Sunday. Sculptors must finally display the titles of their sculptures and in some cases finish the sculpture by noon. As they are completed, some of the sculptures offer surprises. Karen Fralich didn’t finish the “Beauty” side of her “Beauty and the Beast” sculpture until the last day. John Gowdy pulled all of the elements of his sculpture together on the last day, and it made complete sense when he did. I couldn’t figure out what the title or theme of Sue McGrew’s sculpture was until the last day. Karl Jara finished an accessory piece and used the title, “Undisclosed Desires.” One passerby viewing the sculpture remarked that she didn’t think those kinds of desires were undisclosed. Just standing in front of sculptures and listening to people’s comments is an education in itself.
On the final day of the competition, John Gowdy brings together seemingly disparate elements to make a timely and pertinent statement about this very area. The title is, "Media Hype News Reports: Oil on the Beach."
The "oil on the beach" has nothing to do with the drilling disaster in Louisiana and everything to do with a bottle of suntan oil leaking onto the sand.
"Trapped" is the title of the tower-like sculpture by Sandis Kondrats.
"Intertwined" is the abstract theme of this graceful sand sculpture of Jeff Strong. Crafting the arches must take a lot of finesse. You almost forget that they are made only of sand.
"The Four" depicts the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, who foreshadow destruction at the end of the world. They are fittingly tortured-looking and chaotic.
"Fail" by John Woodworth has as its theme the race between the tortoise and the hare.
"There's Magic in the Sand" by Walter McDonald.
"Progress Comes to Shoeville," by Lucinda Wierenga, in the form of a very up-to-date, very large platform shoe that dwarfs and makes old-fashioned all the other shoes in town.
"Shoeville" has many kinds of shoes. Old Mother Hubbard must live there somewhere.
Matt Long's "Harmony" seems to illustrate the effect of soothing waves of music on the listener.
"Saved" or "Tragedy on the Ocean Floor" is the sculpture by Sue McGrew. I really liked this image, but I'd like to know why the mermaid had to be rescued by the ocean god in the first place.
AWARDS
PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD - "AMERICAN SPIRIT" - MICHEL LEPIRE
SIXTH PLACE -"FISHNETS" - KIRK RADEMAKER
FIFTH PLACE - "UNDISCLOSED DESIRES" - CARL JARA
FOURTH PLACE - "DIVINE DISCONTENT"- RUSTY CROFT
THIRD PLACE - "BEAUTY AND THE BEAST" BEAST SIDE - KAREN FRALICH
"BEAUTY AND THE BEAST" - BEAUTY SIDE
BOTH BEAUTY AND THE BEAST SIDES - FROM THE SIDE
SECOND PLACE - "WRITER'S BLOCK" - DAN BELCHER
FIRST PLACE - "HEADACHE" - BRAD GOLL
MASTER SCULPTORS AT THE AWARDS CEREMONY
MASTER SCULPTORS AT THE AWARDS CEREMONY
Gathered for the awards ceremony, the master sculptors are in very high spirits. There seems to be a camaraderie among them, maybe because there is a relatively small number of sand sculptors at this level, and they know each other from exhibiting with and competing against each other in this country and worldwide. At the very least, they seem to be a fun-loving group. As the competition winners are announced, everyone seems jubilant, as if they are all winners. Although the sculptors all start with the same elements--sand, water and compaction--judging this competition must be a challenge because the results are so varied. It may all come down to the creativity of the artist’s interpretation of his idea or concept.
Master Sculptors at the Awards Ceremony
Sculptors at the Awards Ceremony
Sculptors at the Awards Ceremony
THE END
TO BE CONTINUED NOVEMBER, 2011
THE END
TO BE CONTINUED NOVEMBER, 2011
