GRAND SCULPTURES INGRAINED IN SURFERS CULTURE
AS a former architect, Perth’s Kevin Crawford knows a thing or two about construction.
But rather than designing buildings, he is creating massive sculptures from 10 tonnes of sand.
His design, Seahorse Races, yesterday secured the title of the Australian Sand Sculpting Champion at the annual competition held on Surfers Paradise Beach as part of the Sand Safari Arts Festival.
The former American, who now calls Australia home, has professionally built sand sculptures all over the States after winning a sand castle competition he entered on a whim in San Diego.
“It’s become more of a profession for me now, rather than a hobby,” he said.
“We get 10 tonnes of sand and the technique is all in how is it compacted.
“We use a ‘whacker packer’ to pack up the forms and create our designs.
“I came up with the concept as it popped into my head.
“It went with the ocean creatures theme, so we have the seahorses and the crab and the shark and all the creatures.”
Beachgoers can see Mr Crawford’s winning design, along with the nine other entrants at Surfers Paradise Beach until February 25.
The free event delivered life-size masterpieces over the course of the weekend, including sculptures of mermaids and mythical creatures which now line the foreshore.