A grand art called sand art

Sand art is perhaps one of the oldest forms of art. People who lived by the sea would certainly have practised some form of sand art. Children have been making sand castles on the beach for ages now.

Sand art has evolved into sand sculpture contests for adults, which involves large, complex constructions. The sand used in sand sculpture has silt and clay that helps lock the irregular-shaped sand grains together.

Sand cult

This year, for the first time in Odisha, an international sand festival has been organised by the State Tourism Department at Konark on Chandrabhagha beach from December 1 to 5.

In Goa, a sand art festival has been hosted for the past two years. The third edition of the Goa Sand Art Festival will be organised between December 16-18 at Miramar beach in Panjim.

“The Goa Sand Art Festival creates awareness about a particular issue, provides a platform for upcoming artists to showcase their talent and encourages this eco-friendly form of art. It’s also a great platform for the artists to interact with other artists from around the world,” says Jerry Jose, Founder, Sand Cult – Sand Sculpting
Company, who is organising the festival in association with Goa Tourism.

The third edition of the Goa Sand Art Festival will feature the famous sand sculptor from the United Kingdom, Simon Smith, popularly know as ‘Sand Wizard’.  A master of his trade, Simon’s works have been commissioned and admired across the globe.

Narayan Sahu and Bheemaraya Yamanappa from Mumbai, Mahesh Pattar and Amaresh K from Bangalore, Tarani Prasad Misro from Andhra Pradesh, Subala Maharana from Bhubaneswar,  Rajesh Muliya from Gujarat, and Subodh Kerkar from Goa will also participate in this unique festival.

Dance and draw

“Amaresh and I were looking for a platform to experiment and innovative. Amaresh will dance on the sand and create patterns, while I choreograph. Later I will  dance and improvise on the patterns made by Amaresh,” says Mahesh Pattar, who is a painter and  contemporary and classical dancer.

 The theme for Goa Sand Art Festival 2011 is ‘Marine Life – Unseen Treasures Under Water’. You will get to see some breathtaking sand sculptures depicting the theme. The theme for the Goa Sand Art Festival 2009 was Global Warming, which was conveyed through six different sand sculptures, while the theme for 2010 was Wildlife Conservation.

This year, the three-day festival will showcase different sand art forms like sand sculptures, sand dance and sand drawings. In addition, there will be a free workshop on sand art.

GSAF encourages people to try their hand at sand sculpting, drawing, writing messages on sand or just playing with sand at the designated practice pit. This is not for competing with one another, but for the love of art.

Gain from every grain

Sudarshan Pattnaik of Puri in Odisha is a world-renowned sand sculptor. He started sculpting images on sand at the age of seven. He has participated in over 35 international sand sculpture championships and won many awards. He now runs the Sudarshan Sand Art Institute to popularise sand art among art lovers.