Sand Sculpting World Cup, Atlantic City

My sister and I were fortunate enough to accidentally time our overnight stay in Atlantic City to happen just as the Sand Sculpting World Cup was occurring there. The competition took place just off the boardwalk near the Steel Pier and featured artists from all around the world (each art work displayed the flag of the artist's country of origin). The competition was conveniently near the Trump Taj Mahal where we stayed, so we visited the exhibit quite a few times while we were there. We could also see it from atop the ferris wheel on the Steel Pier the day before (see middle right of Sunday's photo).

We watched the sculptors work their magic on Sunday morning and afternoon, as artistic creations began to emerge from huge piles of golden sand. It was rather crowded on Sunday, a peak time for boardwalk visitors, but Monday morning brought even bluer skies and smaller crowds: a better time for taking pictures.

It was really hard to pick a favorite, and indeed the winners have not even been announced yet. I think that is expected to happen sometime on Friday. But my sister and I had our own favorites selected from among the art works created by 20 or so international competitors.

It is said that sand sculpting as an art form originated in Atlantic City, and apparently, there are several major festivals and competitions each year throughout the world. I imagine that while many of us have created castles in the sand at one time or another, few of us have probably ever reached the art form attained by the sand sculptors whose works emerged from sand piles before our very eyes on these two days.

This particular sand sculpture - "Save Trees, Save Your Children, Save the Future From Global Warming" - was made by Sudarsan Pattnaik, of India. It features a female form atop a large female head. Details that you may or may not be able to see include: a tree emerging from the belly-button of the figure on top, a tree on the forehead of the large head, and tiny trees as pupils in the eyes of the large head underneath. The sand for the smaller trees, you may note, is gray rather than golden; that effect is achieved by mixing other materials into the sand.

I'm including a link to a Web page that features photos of several of the artists, including this one, with their works. Also, here's a link to a page with a video (two minutes) showing the artists working on their creations.

Here is a list of fun things we did on the second day of our mini Atlantic City vacation, in addition to visiting the sand sculptures:

Took our traditional Monday morning meeting by dipping our toesies in the Atlantic Ocean, amid a leisurely stroll down the beach featuring sand, Starbucks (coffee), and sisters.

Had an absolutely delicious fancy seafood lunch at Phillips on the Pier Shops at Caesars: a crunchy fish BLT (bacon, lettuce, and tomato) sandwich with fries and some of the most delectable cream of crab soup I've ever had for me, and clams casino and shrimp cocktail for my sister.

Shopped at some of the cute and idiosyncratic boardwalk shops, and bought some fun T-shirts.

Played the slot change that was provided as part of our trip package at Bally's, and lost every cent, of course.

Visited a wonderful candy store called It's Sugar! in the Pier Shops at Caesars, not just once but I think at least THREE times, not buying a lot, but having a really fun time looking around.

We caught our bus shortly before 5 pm, and suddenly - alas - our big Atlantic City vacation was over for the year. The bus returned us to Harrisburg, and from there my sister and I drove to my mom and dad's house where my car was parked. While they had been threatening that it might rain sometime during the evening, I did not encounter any rain on my travels. I arrived safely home just before midnight Monday night, with sand between my toes, a mild sunburn, and a heart full of happy memories.

The song to accompany this beach scene has to be about the ocean and especially about sand. The artists who made these sculptures employed many artistic strategies to create shapes and figures and meaning out of the golden stuff. In their honor, here is Belinda Carlisle's 1988 hit, Circle in the Sand.

Update: The sand sculpture depicted in this Blip has won the People's Choice Award in the competition! See more photos of the artist and his wonderful sculpture here.