each participant receives a stipend to attend. This year, we’ll have masters from 11 different states and seven different countries, with at least 10 years experience — and with a total major competition medal count of 44. They’re the best of the best.”
Sand sculpting is a process that involves tons of grunt work (literally) and hours of meticulous handwork. Each solo artist, for instance, is given 10 tons of sand in a pile, which they’ll transfer to a plastic or wooden form “roughly four inches at a time,” explains Knight. “Water is then added,
Knight is excited not only by the level of talent the 2016 championship brings, but also by new categories of competitions. “We have 16 master solo artists, five master doubles teams, plus a new Advanced Amateur National Championship with 10 artists.”
and the sand is then tamped down to compress it and remove all the air bubbles. Then repeat until you reach the top of the form, which is when the fine art begins.” All sand sculptors are timed when at work, with 20 to 24 hours total typically allowed solo artists (doubles teams longer) to complete their sculpture (often over three to four days). Knight
“Be prepared to be amazed. The sculptures are breathtaking in their complexity and beauty. Expect to see things that’ll leave you in awe. “ -Bud Nocera
Bud Nocera is executive director of the Greater Fort
Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce, and this will be his fifth occasion to host the championship. “Be prepared to be amazed,” he advises. “The sculptures are breathtaking in their complexity and beauty. Expect to see things that’ll leave you in awe.”
notes that each sculptor “has their go-to tool, and a lot of the tools are personally created — you just don’t order this stuff out of a catalog. But you’ll also see concrete trowels, paint pallet knives and clay tools.”
18 COASTE | communtiy
21
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker