Sand Arts - New

When one thinks of sand art, sand castles are what often comes to mind, but Tibetan Buddhist monks have long designed magnificent mandalas out of colored sand, for which Iranian artists have put a new spin to — famous for their traditional Persian rugs, a group of artists have taken it to a whole new level by creating the world’s largest sand carpet.

The unique 39,370.078 square foot (12,000 sq. meter) world record carpet was created by 25 visual artists made entirely of 70 types of colorful sand found on the country’s southern island seashores of Hormuz, widely known for its red soil, to create the ‘Persian Gulf’ sand carpet.

The previous sand carpet record was 2,955 square feet (900 sq. meters) fashioned on the Canary Islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, famous for its natural colored volcanic sand carpets in La Orotava, Tenerife, made every year for Corpus Christi by artists drizzling loose sand.

The largest sand painting record measured 9,250.7 square feet (859.42 sq. meters), created in the Town Hall square of La Oratava, Tenerife, Spain for the Patron Saint day festivities on June 13 2007.
Made of sand from Las Cañadas del Teide in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento in La Orotava for Corpus Christi, the artwork received its certification from Guinness World Records, listed as the Largest Sand Painting on the planet.
The procession walks all over these ephemeral carpets in the early evening, thus destroying these breathtaking works of art.
Sand Mandalas are a Tibetan Buddhist tradition involving the creation and destruction of mandalas made from colored sand, ritualistically destroyed once it’s been completed. The destruction of a sand mandala is highly ceremonial, symbolizing the Buddhist doctrinal belief in the transitory nature of material life.

The deity syllables are removed in a specific order, along with the rest of the geometry until the mandala has been entirely dismantled. The sand is collected in a jar which is then wrapped in silk and transported to a river — or any place with moving water — where it’s released back into nature. For this reason, the materials keeping with the symbolism are never used twice.

Historically, the mandala was not created with natural dyed sand, but granules of crushed colored stone. In modern times, plain white stones are ground down and dyed with opaque inks to achieve the same effect.

Before laying down the sand, the monks assigned to the project will draw the geometric patterns associated with the mandala. The sand granules are then applied using small tubes, funnels, and scrapers, until the full pattern is achieved.

Sand mandalas traditionally take several weeks to build due to the large amount of work involved in laying down the sand in such intricate detail. It’s common for a team of monks to work together on the project, creating one section of the diagram at a time, usually working from the center outwards.

While some people create art with paints, others use sand and seawater to create sand sculptures — some are inspiring, others can be amusing, and a number of various sculptures can leave you scratching your head.

Sand relief
Relief is a hybrid between drawing and sculpture. These are 3-D works that rise above or recede into a 2-D surface. Relief entries may be carved into the beach, modeled on top of it or both. Jurors will look for large-scale works containing deep and/or high relief. Attention should focus on creativity of concept and design as well as excellence of craft and detail. Works may be representational, abstract or nonrepresentational.

Wind sculpture
Wind sculptures are 3-D forms that engage the wind. Entries may be hand-held, such as kites, or free standing. Jurors will look for sculptures with a high degree of wind interaction, structural strength, creativity of design, and excellence of craft and detail. The contest is open to any media, scale and forming technique. Entries may be representational, abstract or nonrepresentational.

At this annual event, SCAD sand lovers create forms in the sand on the beach of Tybee Island. Four contests are available and participants compete for prizes. Only SCAD students can enter the competition.

Date
Friday, May 8, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
(rain date May 22)

Location
North Beach, near Tybee Lighthouse, 30 Meddin Dr., Tybee Island, Ga.

Registration
Registration is on-site. Participants may compete individually or in teams of up to four members.

Prizes
A total of $3,000 in prize money will be awarded.

First place
Second place
Third place
Gray’s Reef best underwater creature
Presented by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation through
Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary
$300 $200
$100
Sand castle contest $250 $200 $150
Sand sculpture contest $250
$200
$150
Sand relief contest $250
$200
$150
Wind sculpture contest $250
$200
$150
One check will be issued for each prize. Award amounts must be divided equally among team winners. Checks may be picked up seven days after the festival in Wallin Hall, Office B, 312 E. 37th St., Savannah, Ga. To inquire about payment, call 912.525.6701.

SCAD bus schedule
Buses depart Dyson, Oglethorpe, Turner and Weston houses at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Buses depart North Beach at 4:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.

What to bring
Picnic lunch, sunscreen, shovel, bucket, carving tools (wall putty knife, table knife, spoon, etc.)

Contest rules

Contestants may compete individually or in teams of up to four members.
Entries in the sand castle, sculpture, relief and underwater creature contests must contain only sand and natural objects found on the beach, such as shells, driftwood, seaweed, etc.
Applying color or binding agents other than water to the same is not permitted.

Contestants may begin working at any time. Contestants who begin sculpting before 10 a.m. should view the festival map to ensure that projects are in the correct contest area. High tide occurs at 9 a.m. Early sculptors should distance their work from the water to avoid washout.

Gray’s Reef best underwater creature award
Gray’s Reef National Marine Institute is sponsoring an award for the “Best Underwater Creature” (realistic or fantasy) from the sand sculpture category. Awards are presented by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation through Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary.

Sand castle
Jurors will look for large-scale works that resemble castle architecture and demonstrate creativity of design as well as excellence of craft and detail.

Sand sculpture
Jurors will look for large-scale works at least 3 feet high, sculpted fully in the round. Attention should focus on creativity of concept and design as well as excellence of craft and detail. Works may be representational, abstract or nonrepresentational.