WINTER 2022: 7 1
The Netherlands, is anything but play. It
is an art form and a difficult one because
the medium consists of just sand and
water. Nothing else. No permanent
structural supports are used.
HARD WORK
Since a sculpture can require as much
as 100 tons of sand, there is a lot of
shoveling as well as pounding sand to
prepare it for sculpting.
“It’s hard on the joints and your hands
turn to Velcro, they’re so chapped,
everything sticks to them,” Harris said.
The rough work is often done after dark,
away from curious viewers.
“You’re working tons of sand in the
middle of the night and it can be
raining,” Harris said. “Sand sculpture is
not for the wimpy. It’s hard work.”
While tough on the body, professional
sand sculpturing is good for the psyche.
Harris would not trade her job for
anything. She fell in love with the art
form a quarter of a century ago when a
>>
Mangroves and Manatees,
a Sandsational sand
sculpture for Brevard Zoo.
Koet of Satellite Beach works on an installation in The Netherlands.