Events

Sand sculptures 14.5. - 26.5.2010

Do you think that playing with sand is only for children?

Come to Shopping centre Letňany and you can find out what adults can create from sand. They are prepossessed with wild nature and animals.

At a Glance: How it starts

Everything starts in 1990 in Mazatlan/Mexico. During his spanish studies the german Benno Lindel saw a group of young american students at the beach, which were playing like kids with sand and were building sandcastles - as it appears. But as closer he came, as better he could recognize the fine details made in sand and the surprising height of the "sandcastles" - and the astonishment of the other beachwalkers about this art of "sandsculpture", as the young americans called it. Fascinated about this kind of "sandart" Benno took up contact to the guys and wanted to know more about that "profession". His aim: "sandsculpting" also in Europe. Finally seven years later Benno could realize his aim and formed in his own agency "Lindel:Galleria PR" , based in Düssseldorf/Germany, the registered brandname "sandcity.de". Meanwhile together with his pool of sandcarvers he has realized a huge number of small, medium and big sculptures in Germany, France, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, Austria and Romania.

What is a Sand Sculpture

What is sand sculpture? As its name suggests it means simply creating sculptures in sand. This can extend from architecture to animals, and from people to almost any shape, form and size imaginable. On the face it is nothing special. Everyone has at some time built a sandcastle on the beach. But the castles we build are somewhat larger than those daddys use to build for their children on the beach.

Although visitors and interested onlookers are somtimes reluctant to believe that everybody can learn to sculpt in sand, we can assure them that you don´t have to be trained at the Art Academy to be able to make magnificant models in sand.

The only thing you need is:

the right type of sand

the correct technique

and ....patience

The sand we are using

Any type of sand can be used to build, but only one type can be used to build high. To keep a technical story short and simple let´s make the following analogy. Try to stake marbles one in another. It´s impossible. Then try stacking dice or blocks, it`s easy. The same is true for sand. Through the influence of tides the sand grains on the beach rub against each other and are thus made round like marbles. Building high or steeply with this sand is generelly impossible. The structure of sculpting sand is sharp edged and angular. The grains tend to lock together. Even building high vertical walls is possible. The sand that we are using is "unwashed" sand, as we "harvest" it from mother earth. This sand is being selected according to grain size, structure and colour.

The sculptures

For building sculptures we do not use any chemicals to avoid damage ones health in any way. Sand sculpting is absolutely friendly to the environment. Nothing else is being used but sand and water. That is also why sand sculpting perfectly fits into todays conscious approach towards the environment. For outdoor-sculptures we add only some unoissoned glue (kids can play with and eat) as surface-protection.The sculpture themselve is - also outdoor - very resistant against rain, or stronger wind. At the northern or eastern-seacoasts, the sculpture stands 5 - 6 weeks without any damage.

The technique

Sculpting begins by loading the sand into wooden moulds. The sand is then wetted with water and compacted hard either by hand or machine. In building a sculpture a series of moulds or forms is typically used each successively smaller in size than the mould below. Once all moulds have been filled and well compacted, the uppermost mould is taken off and sculpting can begin. Sculpting starts at the top of the modell and progressing down to the bottom, the mould being removed one by one as sculpting processes.

Patience

Many people think you have to be an artist or highly creative to become a good sand sculptor. They won´t take the chance to climb up the mount of sand and trying to carve. This fear of failure is ungrounded. Everybody can sculpt if he uses the right type of sand, learns something of the technique, has a little patience,... and practises regularly. And when carving goes wrong on a certain spot, it´s easy to repair. Just stick "fresh mud" on that spot, let it dry out a bit and start again.

The roots of sandsculptures

Even 6.000 years ago the egyptian "architects" of the pyramides first had presented the pharao a model of the to erecting buildings. But the roots of the art of sandsculpting are laying in the United States of America. At the beginning of the 20th century rich young people at the eastcoast organized the first competitions and sandfestivals. Then following other US-States as California and Florida. Their "stages" were their beaches - until the 2nd Worldwar. Then the art of sandsculpting disappeared - for a while. It celebrates its "renaissance" in the 60/70th - once again in USA - and came over to Europe in mid of the 90th of the last century.

The team "sandcity.de" in Germany

The team-members of sandcity.de Germany are professional or semi-professional sandcarvers with a minimum of 5 up to 10 years experience in sandcarving. It is a community of international artists or students, which are travelling allover the world from one festival to another. Most of them already saw the beaches of California or Florida, Australia, Singapore and China, and most of the european countries. The team arround Benno is specialist in building-replics from 15 - 120 tons, but also in big sculptures of- for example - 7.000 tons as in Travemünde/Germany. A lot of them have also participated at the still existing "Guinness-Book" worldrecord in Almere/Netherland with a height of 20,91 m in 2001.

2nd Worldchampionship of Sandcarving

In the year 2008 sandcity.de organized the 1st Worldchampionship of Sandcarving in Europe - in the german City of Leipzig. Eight teams from all over the world came to that competetion. In June 2009 sandcity.de is organizing the 2nd Worldchampionship - once again in Leipzig.