Sep

Discovering the Art of Sand Sculptures

by Meredith Mullins on September 18, 2017

Winner of the 2017 Great Carmel Sand Castle Contest
© Meredith Mullins

The Great Carmel Sand Castle Contest

What lives and breathes sand and water . . . and brings out the kid in everyone?

What passion requires a unique combination of creativity, patience, delicacy, and grit?

What depends on building with the simplest of elements, but can rise to the pinnacle of artistry?

And what, without lament, is always inevitably destroyed?

Shovels in the sad, the remnants of a sand sculpture at the Great Carmel Sand Castle Contest, discovering the art of sand sculptures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Grand finale for a sand sculpture: Inevitable destruction
© Meredith Mullins

It is the wonderful world of sand sculptures, or, for us novices, the wonderful world of plastic shovels and buckets and mounds of malleable sand.

Oh, I see. Sand and water open the door for creativity.

The art of the drip technique
© Meredith Mullins

The Art of Sand Sculptures

There are sand sculpting events all around the world—well-known competitions from California to Florida and Europe to Australia. There’s even a World Championship of Sand Sculpting. Sand and water are a universal art form.

One of the classic sand events full of family fun is the Great Sand Castle Contest of Carmel—an informal competition held at the close of summer in Carmel-by-the-Sea on the central coast of California.

Roller skate sand sculpture at the Great Carmel Sand Castle Contest, discovering the art of sand sculptures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

A Roller Derby tribute by Dereck, William, and Adrian
© Meredith Mullins

This year’s competition—the 57^th annual— took center (sandy) stage this past Saturday, September 16.

The invitation called for everyone who has ever built—or dreamed of building—a sand castle to come to Carmel Beach, fearless in heart, tools in hand.

Carmel is known for its expanse of white sand beach—so soft underfoot, it feels like walking on powdered velvet. Beautiful to look at. Difficult to use as a building material.

Todd Weaver makes a sand sculpture at the Great Carmel Sand Castle Contest, discovering the art of sand sculptures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Veteran sand sculptor Todd Weaver makes the best of Carmel’s fine sand.
© Meredith Mullins

“The grains are round and fine because they’ve been rolled by the waves,” says Todd Weaver, a sand castle entrant and a veteran sand sculptor. “It’s like stacking ping-pong balls.”

He adds that some events import river sand for the competitions because the consistency is more like clay and easier to work with. Not Carmel.

What’s the secret strategy for this fine light sand? Water, water, and more water.

Sand sculpture with balls at the Great Carmel Sand Castle Contest, discovering the art of sand sculptures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Todd Weaver’s final sculpture won the Best Theme Award.
© Meredith Mullins

Lines in the Sand

The theme of this year’s competition was “Lines in the Sand,” quickly addended by the disclaimer that following the theme is not required.

Golden Shovel Award for the Great Carmel Sand Castle Contest, where entrants discover the art of sand sculptures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The coveted Golden Shovel Prize
© Meredith Mullins

Carmel city officials (including internationally-known professional sand sculptor Rusty Croft) and American Institute of Architects representatives make up the fun-loving and attentive judging panel. They awarded the following prizes:

First prize (Golden Shovel Award)
Second prize (Sour Grapes Award) (The winner of this award has to whine, mope, and tell the judges off.)
Best Traditional Sand Castle
Best Theme
Best Children’s
Best Bribe

Judges reviewing a sand castle at the Great Carmel Sand Castle Contest, where entrants are discovering the art of sand sculpture. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Judges review the “Stairway to Heaven” entry by Halden Frei and Sebastian Danielson,
which won the Traditional Sand Castle Award.
© Meredith Mullins

Judging criteria include the WOW factor, originality of design, artistic impression, difficulty of design, quality of carving, incorporation of theme, and quality of bribe.

Two simple rules are stated: (1) No machinery is allowed, and (2) All decorations must be found on the beach.

One guideline is unashamedly mentioned: Bribery of officials is condoned and encouraged.

And, oh yes, dogs must be leashed.

Sign to leash your dog at the Great Carmel Sand Castle Contest, a day for discovering the art of sand sculpture. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Carmel loves its dogs, but not on Great Sand Castle Contest day.
© Meredith Mullins

On the Beach

As expert judge, Rusty Croft says . . . “Dig in.”

And they did.

For a two-block section of Carmel beach, sand sculptures of all shapes and sizes appeared. The sculptors were solo artists, duos, families, small teams, and groups so large they might have benefitted from org charts (diggers, water carriers, carvers, rakers, sprayers, beer-drinking supporters, and cooks and bartenders for the judges’ bribes).

Team of sand sculptors work on a sand sculpture at the Great Carmel Sand Castle Contest, discovering the art of sand sculptures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The value of teamwork on the sculpture “All Lines Included”
© Meredith Mullins

There were children and adults. There were locals as well as visitors from afar who had driven hours to arrive at the beach by the 8 am start time.

There were veterans who had been to many of the sand castle contests over the years (including Jason Johnson, who had been to almost all of the 57 events, since he is a Carmel native and started coming as a child).

A sand sculpture aqueduct at the Great Carmel Sand Castle Contest, where entrants discover the art of sand sculptures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The delicate architecture of an aqueduct won Luci, Hannah, and Benjamin the Children’s Award.
© Meredith Mullins

There were birthday celebrants who, instead of a bowling birthday or a roller skating party, wanted a sand castle birthday. And there are first timers who just thought it would be fun to come to the beach for a day and build a sand castle.

Family inside sand sculpture at the Great Carmel Sand Castle Contest, discovering the art of sand sculptures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The Elfwing family from Sweden came on a first-time whim.
Their strategy: working from the inside out.
© Meredith Mullins

As for the sand forms, the variety was inspiring. Castles, aqueducts, Aztec ruins, sand villages, animals, sea creatures, shoes, man in a bathtub, and amazing mazes—all built within the four-hour timeframe.

And even though the “Lines in the Sand” theme was optional, several entries were particularly creative: “Lion in the Sand” and “Lines in the Sand-al.”

A sandal sand sculpture at the Great Carmel Sand Castle Contest, where entrants discover the art of sand sculptures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

“Lines in the Sand-al” by Makenna, Connor, Neil, and Kyle
© Meredith Mullins

There was also “A Matter of Perspective” (a village of structures that spelled out L-I-N-E-S when viewed from a specific spot), and a structure with balls that appeared to be tumbling down carved steps but screeching to a halt just before the line in the sand (although one ball figured out an escape route).

Sand sculpture that spells out LINES for the Great Carmel Sand Castle Contest, discovering the art of sand sculpting. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

This village of structures spelled out L-I-N-E-S when viewed from the prime spot.
© Meredith Mullins

Tales from the Sand

Tom and Roan Collom were spontaneous entrants. They had no tools with them, so they adopted the “caveman approach”—their feet for rough digging and a Frisbee for a more refined “shovel” approach.

Two people digging sand maze for their sand sculpture, discovering the art of sand sculptures at the Great Carmel Sand Castle Contest. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Tom and Roan Collom go back to basics with the “Feet and Frisbee” approach.
© Meredith Mullins

With just these basic tools and the spirit of the day, they built a participatory maze, so visitors could plot a journey through the tangle of sand paths.

The Frei family designed multiple entries, including a birthday celebration and a mound constructed by Dad and his toddler, who kept smushing and jumping on the sand structure.

“I’m going for my fourth spire,” Dad said. “I think I’ll call the project ‘Ruins by a two-year-old.”

Dad and child make a sand sculpture at the Great Carmel Sand Castle Contest, discovering the art of sand sculptures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Dad and his two-year-old sand sculptor build . . . and rebuild . . . as needed.
© Meredith Mullins

The Humpback Homies went big. A whale of a design, inspired by all the whales that have been in the Monterey Bay lately.

The Homies’ claim to fame, however, is judge bribery. In fact, they have remained virtually undefeated in this category over the years.

Whale sand sculpture by the Humpback Homies, part of the Great Carmel Sand Castle Contest, discovering the art of sand sculptures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The Humpback Homies sit back and relax after completing their whale.
The next step: the bribery portion of the contest.
© Meredith Mullins

This year was no exception. Their lobster gazpacho, filet mignon, organic fruits and vegetables, ice cold beer, and caramels won the hearts of the judges (although a champagne and caviar bribe and a taco stand offered by competing entrants raised the stakes.)

MariJane from Humpback Homies serving snacks at the Great Carmel Sand Castle Contest, where everyone is discovering the art of sand sculptures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The Humpback Homies’ lobster gazpacho bribe was a thing of beauty.
© Meredith Mullins

A “Go with the Flow” Philosophy

Aside from muscled shoveling, hand and foot compacting, precise water/sand formulas, and engineering/architectural design, just about everyone on the beach had the “zen and the art of sand crafting” attitude. Going with the flow.

Woman patting sand sculpture by hand at the Great Carmel Sand Castle Contest, where entrants are discovering the art of sand sculptures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Hands-on work by first timer Melodie Bahou, building an Aztec ruin with Cielo Cervantes
© Meredith Mullins

“You have to be ready to change,” mused Dereck Farren, talking about the fickleness of the sand. “It’s fun anyway, even if your creation fails.”

Of course all the artists have to be ready for the inevitable destruction. The tide will come in. The art will change . . . and ultimately will dissolve back into its simplest form.

“Once, our castles lasted for three days,” said Doug Evers of the Familia Creativa team. “Each day the sea changed the shapes.” But in the end, everything disappeared.

Abstract sand sculpture at the Great Carmel Sand Castle Contest, showing the art of sand sculptures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Even the Sour Grapes winner “All Lines Included” by Craig and Scott Comming (and team)
will wash back into the sea.
© Meredith Mullins

Soon, the sand sculptures of the Great Carmel Sand Castle Contest will be gone. The judges will no longer accept bribes. The lobster gazpacho will be just a fond memory. The carving tools will be put away. The beach will return to its pristine whiteness. And dogs will run free again.

Until next year.

Winners and judges of the Great Carmel Sand Castle Contest of 2017, discovering the art of sand sculptures in the best possible way. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The grand finale of the Great Carmel Sand Castle Contest 2017
© Meredith Mullins

The Great Carmel Sand Castle Contest is sponsored by the City of Carmel and the American Institute of Architects/Monterey Bay.

For more information about the art of sand sculpting, visit Judge Rusty Croft’s Sand Guys website.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Meredith Mullins 2 Comments

Discoveries/USA

Sep

A Tale of Two Jungles

by Eva Boynton on September 11, 2017

Trees in the jungle and a a city monument, symbolizing life in the jungle of Quintana Roo and the concrete jungle of Mexico City (images © Sam Anaya).

From the Mayan jungle to the concrete jungle
© Sam Anaya

Sensing Life in Quintana Roo & Mexico City

A symphony plays before me in an outdoor theater. The sun passes through a roof of leaves, tree branches crawl up and around the doorways, and rain delicately drizzles upon the earthen seats. This is the Mayan jungle in Quintana Roo, Mexico.

I had arrived here from another theater where sunlight illuminates towering structures and passes through glass windows. The red, yellow, and green of signal lights reflect in the puddles of afternoon rains. This is the concrete jungle of Mexico City.

Sometimes you have to see—feel, taste, and hear—things differently in order to sense their similarities. From 2015 to 2016, I lived in both a thick tropical forest and a crowded city. Although these two environments could not be more different, I found my sensory experiences revealing theatrical parallels.

Oh, I see more than just urban versus rural. I sense life in two jungles that are not all that different: one in Quintana Roo and the other in the middle of Mexico City.

Listen to the Symphony

In Quintana Roo, I wake up to parrots chattering and to a “swoosh” of wings as they fly off from the trees. Neighboring birds sing to welcome the day. Their overlapping calls vary in note and rhythm.

A Motmot bird in the jungle, illustrating life in Quintana Roo (image © Sam Anaya).

A blue-crowned motmot (Toh in Mayan), adds a song to the eclectic symphony.
© Sam Anaya

Listen with me to an expansive aviary that stretches for thousands of miles around me:

I also hear the chopping of wood in the nearby pueblo. I smile at the familiar call; “Booooooxxx (Bo-sh)! Panchoooooo!” Down the dirt road, our neighbor Máxima yells for her two dogs, a yellow lab and a black and orange chihuahua. I wonder if they are off following their noses through the jungle.

Back in the concrete jungle, I wake up to another symphony of sounds. This time, I hear a classical melody from outside the window; a woman plays her violin on the street corner.

A woman playing violin on the street in Mexico City, showing that sound helps us see things differently (image © Eva Boynton).

Morning serenade in Mexico City
© Eva Boynton

The sounds of doors opening and closing overlap with voices of family farewells as they head to work and school. I listen to this musical composition as the walls become windows, connecting apartment worlds for miles and miles.

I smile when a familiar voice crescendoes from the courtyard: “Gelatinnnnaaaaaaaass!” It’s Señora Ruano wheeling her cups of gelatin through the neighborhood. I wonder how many people will come out to buy her colorful treats.

Taste and Smell the Streets

The scent of the air in the Mayan jungle sends me to Máxima’s house. On the way, I smell the leaves of epazote, a Mayan herb, standing out among the jungle’s varied plants. I gather some leaves as I remember their lemony flavor, essential to black beans and quesadillas.

Máxima invites me to taste her caldo de carne (meat soup). My eyes squeeze shut from the spice hitting my tongue. She takes me onto a dirt path where a habanero pepper plant grows. She laughs as she shows me the tiny secret ingredient to her green–hot soup.

A hand holding two habanero peppers, illustrating life in Quintana Roo (image © Sam Anaya).

Some green peppers are red-hot in the Mayan jungle.
© Sam Anaya

In Mexico City, scents in the air always invite me to the downtown market. Leaving my apartment, I smell the limes growing from a manicured garden in the courtyard. I slip a couple into my bag, remembering how well their flavor goes with everything in Mexican cuisine.

A vendor with a plate of tacos and a spoon of salsa, showing life in Mexico City (image©alexsalcedo/iStock).

In the unique buffet of senses, first comes smell and then, undoubtedly, taste.
© alexsalcedo/iStock

At the market, a taco vendor waves me over to try his tacos al pastor (shepherd tacos with pork). I dip a taco into the salsa verde (green salsa), thinking it will be less spicy than the red one. Immediately, my eyes start watering, and the vendor laughs as he tells me to try the salsa roja (red sauce) next time.

Feel the Texture of the Walls

Paths in the Mayan jungle are decorated by walls of smooth ferns, spiky ceiba trees, and firm chic palm leaves. I touch the bark of a chicozapote tree. It is rough and has deep lines running from root to branch.

The trunk of a chicazapote tree, showing one aspect of life in Quintana Roo (image © Sam Anaya).

Paths are enclosed by a green hallway. Here, nature is the structure that gives proof of time passing.
© Sam Anaya

My fingers trace the man-made lines that cut through the natural patterns of the tree bark. I imagine the Mayas who made those marks first, gathering the sticky resin to use as glue for their ancient structures. I carefully trace the grooves.

Such trees show up in the cities of Mexico, proving that even in the concrete jungle, nature reaches and changes structures. My fingers touch the peeling paint of old wood doors in Mexico City. I am careful not to take any of their splintering wood with me.

An old door with chipping wood and paint, showing life in Mexico City (image © Eva Boynton).

Trees become doors for stone walls of Mexico City.
Here, too, they stand tall through time and weather.
© Eva Boynton

See the Vistas

When I’m in the Mayan jungle, I take an evening walk to my favorite vista point and witness the forest changing from dusk to dark. I stop at a busy intersection where ants cover the ground in organized lines, monkeys swing from trees, and butterflies swirl by.

A monkey swinging from a tree in the jungle in Mexico, showing how a different vista can help us see things differently and see life in Quintana Roo (image © Sam Anaya).

Trees are pathways for the residents of the Mayan jungle. Play and survival intersect here.
© Sam Anaya

From the roof of an abandoned building, I take in more of the evening view. I look down to see the intersection of jungle life. Fireflies turn on their lights and illuminate the dirt path below. Parrots return to rest in the trees. I watch the horizon turn from a lush green to a black backdrop for leafy silhouettes.

When the sun starts to set in the Mexico City jungle, I head downtown to the roof of a museum and watch the city’s evening transition. There’s a busy intersection there, too, where traffic zooms by and people file in and out of buses.

When cars stop, a man balances a bike on his head and does a juggling act. Kids play soccer, and a woman sells a colorful array of balloons.

A man juggles while balancing a bicycle on his head in Mexico City, showing life in Mexico City (image © Eva Boynton).

Like the Mayan jungle, the concrete jungle’s intersections are full of life:
travel, performance, and entrepreneurship.
© Eva Boynton

Streetlights and car headlights turn on to illuminate an asphalt maze. The horizon changes from colorful architecture to dark silhouetted rectangles.

Sensing life in Quintana Roo and Mexico City, I see two jungles where the inhabitants of each balance creativity, spirit, and survival. Some may feel that one jungle is cruder, dirtier, or more arcane than the other. But in the evening light, I see their similarities; I see two very vibrant jungles.

Comment on this post below.

Eva Boynton 2 Comments

Cultural Encounters/Mexico

Sep

A College Course in Wanderlust?

by Joyce McGreevy on September 5, 2017

A dorm room at Carr-Saunders Hall, London lets travelers on a budget indulge their wanderlust. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Travelers on Budgets
Go Back to School

As students return to college each September, another group is preparing for college visits— travelers on budgets. To pursue their wanderlust, they’re majoring in Travel Economics.

How? By booking “university vacation-accommodations.”

Translation: They’re staying in dorms.

More and more colleges today offer clean, comfortable dorm rooms to non-student visitors. While some do so only when classes aren’t in session, a growing number of colleges offer dorms year-round.

For travelers on budgets, this means more “oh I see moments” in the history, geography, arts, and culture of world destinations—and fewer “IOU” moments. After all, when the cost of visiting a place is minimized, your ability to explore it is maximized.

Theatre-goers waiting to see a hit show at London's Palace Theatre include travelers on a budget who saved money by staying in university vacation accommodation. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Do the Travel Math

Now I know what you’re thinking: I may be traveling on a budget, but I don’t do hostels.

In fact, most university vacation-accommodation is private. Your only roommates—should you so choose—will be your Significant Other. (Or “Otherettes.” Kids are welcome at most colleges.)

Need another reason for staying in dorms? How about hundreds? Daily rates for dorm rooms start at $35-$45 per guest. Suddenly, the world’s most expensive cities become affordable.

Consider Yourself at Home

Booking a college dorm room nets you a surprising number of extras. Typically, these include:

Central locations in cities around the world
Free wifi
Breakfast included, or nominally priced
On-site laundry facilities, so you can pack light
Fully-stocked kitchens—one or more per floor
Common rooms with TV, books, and games
Depending on location, access to a swimming pool or gym

All at a fraction of what most home-shares and budget hotels charge. That’s especially helpful in fiendishly expensive cities, where “budget” can mean a whole lot of Dismal at very little Discount.

Colleges give solo travelers opportunities to socialize with locals and international visitors. Some give you access to libraries, special events, and lectures. Aptly, you’ll learn a lot, and save a scholarship’s worth to satisfy future wanderlust.

A dorm room overlooking Coram's Fields, London lets travelers on a budget indulge their wanderlust. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Basics, Baths, and Beyond

While college exteriors reflect the style of local architecture, interiors emphasize function. These are student residences, so don’t expect lush carpeting or fine furniture. What you get is a room to yourself, a bed, towels, toiletries, and ample storage space.

Few rooms have TV. But who travels to stare at the tube? With some exceptions, bathrooms are “down the hall.” Yes, you’ll have privacy. No, I’ve never had to wait for a shower or been left with cold water.

A bargain for solo travelers, dorm rooms get even cheaper per person if you’re rooming with friends or family. Choose from singles to quadruples, depending on your group. All beds are twins.

A dorm room snack in London lets travelers on a budget indulge their wanderlust. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

All I Want Is a Room Somewhere

For some, the setup may be too Spartan. If you require lavish suites and chocolates atop pillows, look elsewhere—and bring your inheritance, darling.

Me, I like having a desk to write at and a bookshelf to fill with works by local authors. (I donate them to the students’ common room afterward.) As for chocolates, I’ll happily supply my own.

The student dining hall at Goodenough College, London helps travelers on a budget indulge their wanderlust. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Global School Field Trips

You’ll find college dorm rooms in cities all over Europe and Canada, plus parts of Australia, New Zealand, and South America.

To give you an idea of options, I’ve focused on London, where I’m a proud non-alumnus of London School of Economics (LSE) and University College London (UCL). Both learning institutions offer multiple sites in superb locations.

William Goodenough House welcomes dorm-room travelers on a budget and makes wanderlust affordable. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Best College Name Ever?

And then there’s Goodenough College.

Yes, that’s really its name. If I owned a car, the fictitious bumper sticker would say, “My average child did just fine at Goodenough College.”

Goodenough College is actually rather splendid. Situated in Bloomsbury, Goodenough’s moderately pricier dorms take things up a notch. Most dorm rooms, for example, have bathrooms en suite, and some dorms are spacious, with parlors, bay windows, and other stylish features.

For scholars who love to travel (and skeptics of “staying in dorms”), Goodenough College offers “Nerdvana.”

Many dorms overlook beautiful gardens. On-site pubs, a café, and dining hall offer excellent fare at modest cost. Concerts and lectures are often open to visitors.

With the best of London in walking distance, Goodenough earns “extra credit”—and won’t dent your credit card. Visit the School of Life on Marchmont Street, just 5 minutes away, or explore history and art with locals and others at London CultureSeekers.

The quad at Goodenough College, London greets A dorm room at Carr-Saunders Hall, London satisfies the wanderlust of world travelers on budgets. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Homework Has Its Rewards

Staying in dorms isn’t for everyone. But for travelers on a budget, university vacation-accommodation offers a rich cultural experience without the sticker shock. Support your wanderlust, not your creditors. Do the travel math, study your options, and let the world “class” travel begin!

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Discovering the Art of Sand Sculptures