Imagine standing in the shadow of a 12-metre-high clown made entirely of sand or seeing the grandeur of a giant sand elephant pyramid. Forget about palm trees, these sand sculptures are not found on any old tropical beach.
By Karen Shepley

Mammoth sand sculptures attracted visitors from the world over to Lübeck Bay in Germany over the past few weeks. The fifth annual Sand World/Travemünde sand sculpting competition and festival ran from July 7 to September 3, topping up Germany’s tourist quota after the football World Cup.

A total of 75 international sculptors showed off their talents, creating majestic masterpieces from nine tons of sand. These sculptures transformed Lübeck Bay into a forest of gigantic figures that rose out of the local beach, unlike anything else in the world.

During the first three days of the festival, visitors had the pleasure of watching the sand-sculptors, or carvers as they are called, work their magic as they put the finishing touches to their masterpieces.

Sand sculpting utilises sand of a particular grain shape. Due to water erosion, the average beach sand contains grains that are too round for the sculpture to maintain its shape. The sand used in sculpting is carried out of the Alps by the River Maas. It contains cubic grains of sand that, when packed together with water, hold their shape for weeks.

The carvers begin by creating a huge block of sand, packing it on layer by layer with moulds until it is extremely hard. Then they literally cut away the sand, from the top down, to reveal the wonderful figures they wish to portray, much the same way a stonemason or woodcarver works.

As inspiration this year, the festival combined the Egyptian history of sand sculpting with the history of the circus. Sculpting sand has been an art form since the earliest times in human history. Egyptians used sand sculpting techniques as far back as 4,000 years ago. There are also references from India that credit the poet Balaram Das with creating devotional sculptures from sand. However, there were no documented cases of sand sculpting until the 19th century, when sand sculpting found its ways into the hearts of Americans and money found its way into the sculptor’s pockets.

Since then, the art form has been kept alive, although it has not always been popular. It was banned in Atlantic City after a hurricane hit in 1944 and the ban is still in effect today. With this somewhat sordid history over the next few decades, it was not until the early 1970s that sand sculpting as we know it today came about, thanks to Sand Sculptors International. Teams of sculptors, structured through this organisation, set the standard for today’s sculpting by creating monumental sculptures of castles and fantasy imagery.

Germany itself has quite a legacy. In 1901 an article was published by writer Emory James in The Strand Magazine about an art professor named Eugen Bormel. This German professor and artist of the highest calibre spent much of his time creating lavish sand sculptures along the German coast at the North Sea summer resort townof Nordeney. Here he would sculpt mermaids and interpretations of the sphinx, which is still popular subject matter today, to the delight of onlookers. It seems this professor of art brought a great deal of respectability to the art of sand sculpture and Germany has held on to this legacy, displaying it proudly in the Sand World festival.

However, this festival was not just about looking at the sculptures, especially considering the lengths to which the circus aspect of the festival’s theme was taken. The circus has been a form of entertainment in one form or another since medieval times, intriguing spectators with exotic people and animals from foreign countries, incredible feats of danger, juggling, acrobatics, and, of course, clowns.

At Sand World 2006, this history came alive with present-day circus performers from all over the world, including Europe, China and the United States, entertaining visitors in the sand arena. These performers comprised celebrated artists, magicians, tamers with exotic animals and world-famous clowns from the vaults of circus history. Visitors were also able to participate in a join-in circus, which enticed and delighted the young and young-at-heart.

An amusement park of sand, Sand World 2006 also hosted an array of other activities and sites. Besides the world-class circus entertainment, there was also a unique Kid’s World: A mini Sand World nestled within the Sand World park. This was an oasis for young children who needed to be apart from the hustle and bustle of the crowds that frequented the park throughout the day. The environment allowed children to run and play freely, or simply rest and use their imaginations to build their own sand creations.

In fact, anyone could learn how to build his or her own sand sculpture. With an audio guided tour of the sculptures, visitors learned first-hand about these astonishing works of art. Then, during a two-hour workshop, they were guided through the basic techniques used by the master artists in building a sand sculpture. These visitors will certainly impress their children or grandchildren when they return home.

In the evening, the combination of lights and sound lulled visitors into a sense of dreaminess as the night settled to transform the park into an enchanted vista. Visitors enjoyed international cuisine at the beachfront restaurants situated within the park.

The view of the spectacular sunset over the Baltic Sea perfectly complimented these relaxing dinners on the terrace. With the hulking sculptures illuminated in coloured lights, it truly was a magical event.