A few expert tips on sand sculpting

Anyone planning to enter the Bermuda Sandsculpture Competition this Saturday should know that they can have plenty of fun on the beach without a lot of fancy tools. 

But in the spirit of some healthy competition here are some tips and resources straight from the experts:

Special Tips from the sand sculpture experts

Expert Tip # 1: Sand getting dry? Try to mix water and sand in a bucket and then taking out the sand and applying it to the appropriate areas of your sculpture. Adding water to sand, and hoping that they are mixing together is usually a recipe for disaster at some later stage when you are attempting to carve delicate details in a block that is not properly constituted. Much better to start adding sand to water for those delicate parts.

Expert Tip # 2: Dig a hole to the water table and then use your hands like a front end loader. Scoop out a large double handful of super wet sand from the bottom of the hole, pulling the sand towards you. Move that sand fast so you don’t lose all the water before you get to your destination. Start building your sculpture on top of the mound of sand you dug from the hole.

Expert Tip #3: Flatten your handfuls of wet sand into pancakes by jiggling them with gentle pressure. Pounding, pushing, patting, packing, pressing or pummeling the sand will not work. The goal is to distribute the water evenly so it settles and binds to the other sand around it.

Expert Tip #4: Ninety percent of the building process is actually sculpting the structure down from a larger pile. Unless of course, you enjoying doing things twice! 

Work from the top down. Make sure that there is ample sand for the creation to exist by piling a mound high and wide and then carving down from that.

Expert Tip # 5: SAFETY NOTE: Be careful where you step backwards.

There may be shovels, rakes, or other tools behind you!

Expert Tip # 6: Have patience! When sculpting, remove small amounts of sand at a time. 

It is very difficult, or almost impossible, to replace sand on the initial pile once it is gone. Also, be prepared to go slow with the small details and pass over an area with the finer tools more than once, taking only little bits of sand off at a time.

Expert Tip # 7: If you can, take a practice run at the beach.

Experiment with some of the above techniques so you and your teammates will already be familiar with what to do on the big day.

Expert Tip # 8: If something doesn’t come out as planned, or a tower topples over, or a wall looks too jagged, don’t despair - improvise.

Just as the sea remains constantly in motion, so too must the creative vision of the sand sculptor. Remember, first and foremost, you are doing this to have fun and to raise money for a good cause. Keep a relaxed and stress-free outlook on the project, and enjoy yourself at the Bermuda Sand Sculpture Competition. For more information email Bermuda [email protected]. Entry is free and there are many great prizes to be won.