--------------------------------------------------------------------Quote:
The best buildings sculpted from sand require the skills of an architect—sudden structural collapse is a significant risk—and the details depicted by some well-packed granules rival the most ornate towers and palaces you'd find on terra firma. Any of the examples here could be widely regarded as significant structures—if only they hadn't washed away hours after their completion. According to Ted Siebert's 1990 book, The Art of Sandcastling, "Seawater is an ideal bonding agent for a sand castle. As seawater in a sculpture evaporates, salt crystals remain, forming a thin crust over the entire surface. If the sculpture is sprayed from time to time, an additional buildup of salt crystals will help preserve the piece." Take his advice, and start digging before summer ebbs away.
Original Starting Page.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
THE GIFT OF GOTHIC:
http://media.popularmechanics.com/im...e-470-0808.jpg
--------------------------------------------------------------------Quote:
Despite the forbidding dragon in the foreground, this castle appears to have been sold to a satisfied "Homenet real estate" customer. In fact, the castle was built and "sold" in Cape Town, South Africa to corporate donors as part of a fund-raiser for children¹s charities. With its steeply pitched Gothic gables, carved crests and soaring turrets, the castle fetched more than $12,500.
CITY OF SAND:
http://media.popularmechanics.com/im...l-470-0808.jpg
--------------------------------------------------------------------Quote:
Not content to carve just a castle, Sandsational built an entire village, complete with row houses, a cathedral and street trees. Window styles resembling traditional double-hungs dominate the houses, while the tower in the rear shows notched ledge walls with a gap-toothed look, a feature on real castles known as crenelation.
KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TURRET:
http://media.popularmechanics.com/im...t-470-0808.jpg
--------------------------------------------------------------------Quote:
This small castle plays with the proportions of the building in relation to the oversize characters carved into its facade. The conical turret at the top brings the stone chimneys and cluster of gables to a sharp apex. Raised blocks of smooth, squared stone, known as ashlar, project from the wall behind the knight and beneath the princess to create the appearance of masonry.
HILLTOP HOLLOWS:
http://media.popularmechanics.com/im...o-470-0808.jpg
--------------------------------------------------------------------Quote:
Created by two-time World Grandmaster Champion Rich Varano, this craggy medieval castle features Gothic arched windows and conical turrets. A pair of rough-hewn arches at the bottom seem to defy gravity, as does the gaping maw of a face emerging from the path leading to the base of the castle. It is 9.5-ft. tall, took 35 hours to build, and won the People's Choice Award at its exhibition in British Columbia in 2007.
LE PETIT ARC:
http://media.popularmechanics.com/im...c-470-0808.jpg
--------------------------------------------------------------------Quote:
Inspired by Paris' Arc de Triomphe, this miniature mimics the original right down to the decorative sculpting along its facade. The blocky dentil molding along the arch's crown reappears on the rear tower, adorning the fascia above the clock and beneath the copper finials. At front, a subdued Napoleon I seems pleased with the likeness.
SANDY ARABIA:
http://media.popularmechanics.com/im...n-470-0808.jpg
--------------------------------------------------------------------Quote:
With its domed minaret and unornamented windows, this Arabian Nights scene would fit perfectly on the coast of Yemen at the mouth of the Red Sea. Built on a coast much farther west, the castle won the Sculptor's Choice Award for its creators—a team called The Revolutionaries—at the 2005 Harrisand tournament in British Columbia.
DRAWING LINES IN THE SAND:
http://media.popularmechanics.com/im...ng-b--0808.jpg
--------------------------------------------------------------------Quote:
Sand sculptors' tools include the usual shovels and buckets, as well as an array of homemade tools specialized to the work. The two men in the first photograph etch lines using masons' pointing tools. In The Art of Sandcastling, Siebert makes a pair of the column tools by drilling a straight row of uniform holes into a laminate countertop scrap, then cuts the scrap in half through the holes to form two scalloped edges. The solo worker in the next image uses a similar tool to shape columns on his castle.
SPACE DUST:
http://media.popularmechanics.com/im...c-470-0808.jpg
Quote:
While technically not within an established architectural style (yet), the Galactic Headquarters exemplifies a construction method unique to sand sculpting. To create this "hollow dome" effect built at a sand castle contest in East Hampton, N.Y., the artist likely worked with a preconstructed form. Inside, he saturated and packed the form with water and sand until he could carve out the gaps. For larger hollows, artists may insert several inflatable toys or balloons into the form.
