Masterpieces meant to be carved in sand
Artist accepts nature may have other plans for most of her works
Sue McGrew creates amazing pieces of art that often last just a few weeks. Sometimes they disappear in a day. A soaking rain, for example, can wash away several hours of work in minutes.
That's the life of a professional sand sculptor. McGrew has practiced this art form — using sand, water and a few hand tools — since high school. Now she travels the world for competitions and other events.
What began as a hobby has become "my passion," says the 31-year-old from Seattle, Washington. Although she also carves ice and snow, "I love to express myself in sand."
The magic is in the medium.
"It's something every kid, every adult, has played in at the beach," she says. "People don't relate in the same way to a bronze or marble sculpture. But sand . . . it really captures their attention."
And what those people really want to know is, "Aren't you sad when it all goes away?" Yes and no, McGrew says. "It's part of the job," knowing her sculptures won't last long. The joy is that "people experience it with you," in the moment. "It's like a good Thanksgiving dinner — you wouldn't want to keep it around forever."
Fortunately, there are photos. Images of giant castles, fetching mermaids, storybook characters and mythological creatures abound on her website (suemcgrew.com). Some took shape in a day; others took a few weeks.
Does she have a favorite? That's like asking your mom to pick her favorite child. (Don't worry. It's you.) McGrew pauses, then mentions the giant head of the French adventure writer Jules Verne that she sculpted in Taiwan.
"There's a level of difficulty to do a portrait, at that scale, with beach sand, which is not that strong," she says. "And when it's that large, you're so close that it doesn't look like anything until you climb down and see it from below."
Collapses are part of the job.
"You want to awe people, so you push the limits of gravity and sand sculpting," McGrew says.
The quality of the sand is vital to how strong a sculp- ture will be, she says. "You want tiny but sharp particles with enough silt and clay so the sculpture actually gets harder" with time. Quarry sand is good. Beach sand is tricky. A bucketful of coarse sand has lots of air, like a bag of marbles. Look for fine sand that packs well.
If you think sand sculptors always work on sundrenched tropical beaches with palm trees swaying overhead, think again. At a 2013 springtime event in Binz, Germany, a resort on the Baltic Sea, "it was so cold the sand froze," McGrew says. "We had to use blowtorches to thaw it."
What you'll need: Sand, of course, and lots of water. Also, a few buckets, including one with the bottom cut out (get an adult's help with that!); a shovel; a trowel; a palette knife, a spatula and other scraping tools; a spoon; a straw (to blow off grains of sand that aren't where you want them to be); and brushes.
Keep your tools in a bucket, or wrap colored tape on their ends, so they don't get buried and lost. And if you're going to spend the day on a hot beach, bring sunscreen and drinking water.
What to do: The secret, McGrew says, is to flood the sand with water and then pack it down tightly with your hands or feet. You can make a sand mound and use a bottomless bucket as a sand mold. Master sculptor Bert Adams, McGrew's first sculpting tutor, shows how to make a starter sand castle at youtu.be/vJ8iViPVjXw. (Always get an adult's permission before going online.) Final words of advice: Sand sculpting is hard work, McGrew says. Cracks and cave-ins happen. And "you never know when your baby brother will go Godzilla on your castle" and reduce it to smithereens. So relax. Be patient. And, most of all, have fun.