In my own naïve way, when wandering around art galleries, I've often stood with hands clasped behind my back, looking up at some impressive bronze statue or other and thought... “What if the sculptor made a mistake?”
That's more or less as far as my sculpting knowledge extends. Well, OK, I'm being slightly disingenuous there; I believe it's something to do with making a mould first. I know they don't just chisel away at a conveniently large block of bronze and hope for the best. Either way, I'm frequently overawed by the skill and attention to detail.
Sculpting from sand, though? That's a whole different ball game. And let's face it, one particularly bad winter like we had earlier this year and the coastline is battered beyond recognition by a ferocious wind-swept mayhem – so the work isn't even permanent. But over the past few years, Weston-Super-Mare in Somerset has become the location where international sand sculptors come to craft their incredible creations.
Why Weston-Super-Mare? Well, partly because the sand in that neck of the woods – or neck of the beach, perhaps – is just right. "As a sand sculptor you must work with all sorts of different types of sand," explains Rachel Stubbs, creator of sculptures based around Aesop's Fables. "Weston sand is the perfect shape, consistency and it is fine enough to make intricate details."
It all started in 2006, when two Dutch sculptors used 30 tons of sand to create a remarkable King Kong. In 2007, there were eight sculptors, who teamed up to create a series of fairy tales on the beach lawns. Later themes in the annual festival have included The Continents of the World, Under the Ocean, Great Britain, The Jungle, Fun And Games, and last year's theme – Hollywood.
Year on year, the Weston Sand Sculpture Festival has grown exponentially – from “just” 30 tons of sand for the original King Kong to over 5,000 tons in 2014.
Below are some of the creations from previous years.
This year, the theme is Once Upon A Time, and 20 of the world's best sand sculptors are now hard at work on the beach of Weston-Super-Mare, creating characters from The Hobbit, The Hunger Games, Beatrix Potter and Narnia.
In the past, admirers have come from far-flung corners to marvel at the work of these artists, but this year, for the first time, there's also the chance to get involved. School groups can visit to make their own creations, there's a Design A Sculpture competition, and the sculptors will sometimes just whip up a sand sculpture on demand.
Now, we know you Creativepoolers are an imaginative bunch, so if you'd like to suggest something for one of these sculpting geniuses to craft, you can visit the Facebook page and set them a challenge.
But what of the battering wind and rain? Does it affect the sculptures? "They're actually surprisingly robust,” says co-organiser Nicola Wood. “Rain does affect them to a degree but we have sculptors on site all the time that help to repair them and tweak them and tidy them up when necessary."
I would have imagined that it must still be heartbreaking to know that these superb sculptures and the fruits of so much hard work will only have a very ephemeral lifespan. But the fact that that these sand sculptors not only return year on year but also that more and more of them are coming to the Weston Sand Sculpture Festival allays my worries.
If you'd like to see more from previous years, click here to look at the superb gallery.
Ashley is a copywriter, editor and blogger
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