Sand Sculptures 2009 |
Click here to return to the gallery > |
Pohara - Thursday 8 January 2009
Sculptures made of sand created by people of all ages at Pohara Beach. Lots of creative ideas and fun for the whole family.
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Sand Sculptures 2009 |
Click here to return to the gallery > |
Pohara - Thursday 8 January 2009
Sculptures made of sand created by people of all ages at Pohara Beach. Lots of creative ideas and fun for the whole family.
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|
|
|
|
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How to Build a Sand Sculpture
You are going to get sand all over yourself no matter what you do, so you may as well be creative! These general tips, condensed from various sources, can be a guide for amateur sand sculptors.
Tools for sculpting can come from your kitchen or workshop. A shovel is a must. Bring a shovel with a long handle to spare your back and a bucket. Masonry trowels, spatulas, apple corers, chisels, Popsicle sticks, spoons, knives, pastry brushes, and melon ballers are all useful. Improvise. A plastic fork with the middle prongs broken off makes a perfect tool for forming columns. A spray bottle with water is needed to keep the surface wet to avoid crumbling.
Digging starts with finding the right type of sand. Look for the high-tide line. The spot where the darker, wet sand shifts to white sand that blows easily. Set up your construction site just up hill from it.
To test, pick up a fistful of wet sand and compress it into a ball or a roll. When released and rolled, it should remain fairly intact. If it disintegrates, it is not good sand for building.
Dig down until you hit wet sand: The key to a solid foundation is moisture. You may want to test the sand again.
Use your hands like a bulldozer, scooping out the web mud and depositing it at your building site in an ever-increasing mound.
When your rough structure is ready for carving, start from the top, work down, and always carve outward to retain structural integrity. Remove like amounts of sand from all sides of the sculpture; do not attempt to complete one side at a time. Concentrate first on building a simple shape as the main structure.
Cut the tops from empty aluminum cans to form smaller structures. Such as outposts, turrets, and whatever other can-shaped structural additions you can devise for sand castles.
Only you know when the sculpture is finished. When done, stand back and admire.
Please consider joining the Golden Bay Promotion Association.