Editing Sand art and play

{{Short description|Moulding and sculpting shapes out of moist sand}}
{{other uses|Sand art (disambiguation){{!}}Sand art}}
{{Redirect|Sandcastle}}

[[File:Større sandslot.jpg|thumb|Making a sandcastle]]
[[File:Sandcastle, Dover Castle (cropped).jpg|thumb|Sandcastle of [[Dover Castle]]]]
[[File:Sand Sculpture at Weston super Mare of Noah's Ark by Kuba Zimacek 4.jpg|thumb|Sand sculpture of [[Noah's Ark]]]]

'''Sand art''' is the practice of modelling [[sand]] into an artistic form, such as sand brushing, sand sculpting, [[sandpainting|sand painting]], or creating [[Sandpainting#Sand bottles|sand bottles]]. A '''sandcastle''' is a type of sand sculpture resembling a miniature [[building]], often a [[castle]]. The drip castle variation uses wet sand that is dribbled down to form organic shapes before the sands dries.

Most sand play takes place on [[Sand beach|sandy beaches]], where the two basic building ingredients, [[sand]] and [[water]], are available in abundance. Some sand play occurs in dry [[sandpit]]s and sandboxes, though mostly by children and rarely for art forms. Tidal beaches generally have sand that limits height and structure because of the shape of the sand grains. Good sculpture sand is somewhat dirty, having [[silt]] and [[clay]] that helps lock the irregular-shaped sand grains together.
[[File:2016_Songkran-temple-sand_IMG_4320.jpg|thumb|A [[sand pagoda]] constructed at Wat Phu Khao Thong in Ko Samui during Songkran]]
Sand castles are typically made by children for fun, but there are also sand-sculpture contests for adults that involve large, complex constructions. The largest sandcastle made in a contest was 18 feet tall; the owner, Ronald Malcnujio, a five-foot-tall man, had to use several ladders, each the height of the sandcastle. His sculpture consisted of one ton of sand and 10 litres of water to sculpt. {{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

== Sand castles and sculptures ==
Sand grains will always stick together unless the sand is reasonably fine. While dry sand is loose, wet sand is [[Adhesion|adherent]] if the proper amounts of sand and water are mixed. The reason for this is that water forms little "bridges" between the grains of sand when it is damp due to the forces of [[surface tension]].<ref name="SOS-1">{{cite web|url=http://www.firstscience.com/home/articles/earth/the-science-of-sandcastles_1262.html|title=The Science of Sandcastles|last=Barry|first=Patrick|date=6 January 2001 |publisher=FirstScience.com|access-date=2 August 2009|url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503191356/http://www.firstscience.com/home/articles/earth/the-science-of-sandcastles_1262.html|archive-date=3 May 2009}}</ref>

When the sand dries out or gets wet, the shape of a structure may change, and "[[landslide]]s" are common. A mix of fine (mostly sharper) and coarse sand granules is very important to achieve good "sand construction" results. Fine granules that have been rounded by the natural influences of [[sea]]s, [[river]]s or [[fluvial]]s, in turn negatively influence the bonding between the individual granules as they more easily slide past each other.[[File:Sand art of Ratha Yatra by Sudarsan Pattnaik.jpg|thumb|Sand art of [[Ratha Yatra]] by [[Sudarsan Pattnaik]]|left]]Shovels and buckets are the main construction tools used in creating sand castles and sand sculptures, although some people use only their hands. A simple sand castle can be made by filling a bucket with damp sand, placing it upside-down on the beach, and removing the bucket. For larger constructions, water from the sea to mix with the sand can be brought to the building site with a bucket or other container. Sometimes [[formwork|forms]] of other materials, such as wood or plastic are constructed to hold piles of sand in place and in specific shapes.<ref>[https://www.justsandandwater.com/#/799904201174/ How to make a sand sculpture]</ref>

Tunnels large enough to enter are extremely hazardous; children and adults die every year when such underground chambers collapsed under weight and instability of sand, or due to the tide coming up or the structure being hit by a wave. Sometimes, a [[dam]] can be built to hold back the water, tidal forts, which are incredibly large sandcastles with thick walls to protect the keep from the sea, can be built, or canals can be dug to contain the water.

A variant to a formed sculpture is the '''drip castle''', made by dribbling very wet sand.<ref>[https://www.wired.com/2011/10/fun-at-the-beach-drip-castles/ Fun at the Beach: Drip Castles]</ref>

Sand sculpting as an art form has become popular in coastal beach areas. Hundreds of annual competitions are held all over the world. Techniques can be quite sophisticated, and record-breaking achievements have been noted in the ''[[Guinness World Records]]''. Sometimes, contests are staged as advertising or promotional events. Most sand sculptors come from other disciplines but a few earn their living solely from sand-related activities.

Notable sand sculpture artists include [[Sudarsan Pattnaik]] and [[M N Gowri]] who created the [[Mysore Sand Sculpture Museum]].

===Festivals and competitions===
{{Main|Sand festival}}
[[File:Sand Sculpture Festival 2011 Taiwan.jpg|thumb|Sand Sculpture Festival 2011 Taiwan|left]]
From 1989 until 2009, a World Championship in Sand Sculpture was held in [[Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia|Harrison Hot Springs]] in [[Harrison, British Columbia]], Canada, also known as "Harrisand". The competition had solo, double and team categories. The world championship was held in [[Fort Myers, Florida]], and other venues for a limited time. Other countries hold their own versions of the world championships as it is not possible to get all the people who may qualify in the same place at the same time due to the expense and logistics.

The world's tallest sand castle was built on [[Myrtle Beach, South Carolina]] by Team Sandtastic as part of the 2007 Sun Fun Festival. The structure was 49.55 feet (15.1&nbsp;m) high. It took 10 days to construct and used 300 truckloads of sand.<ref>{{cite web|last=Volk |first=Willy |url=http://www.gadling.com/2007/06/11/the-worlds-tallest-sandcastle-and-other-sandsculpture-marvels/ |title=Retrieved on 19 June 2007 |publisher=Gadling.com |date=2007-06-11 |access-date=2014-03-01}}</ref> This record was broken in 2019 when a 58-feet tall sand castle was unveiled at Rügen in Germany. The tallest-ever sand castle was built by a group of international artists and was constructed with 11,000 tons of sand.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}[[File:Sandcastle1.jpg|thumb|upright 0.75|A simple sandcastle formed from a shaped bucket]]

Since 2003, [[Bettystown]] beach in [[County Meath]], Ireland has been home to the Irish annual National Sandcastle and Sand Sculpturing competition.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nationalsandcastles.ie/|title=National Sandcastle and Sand Sculpturing|access-date=4 May 2020}}</ref>

In [[Lappeenranta]], Finland, there is an annual tourist sight called the Sandcastle (''Hiekkalinna''), where a work of art made of sand according to a changing theme is created every year.<ref>[Sandcastle – Visit Lappeenranta]</ref>

The record for the number of individual sandcastles built in one hour, was set at [[Scarborough, North Yorkshire|Scarborough]], England, on 18 August 2012. Four hundred people constructed 683 castles, with each being two feet wide and high, accompanied by four turrets.

=== Sand pagodas ===
{{Main|Sand pagoda}}
In [[southeast Asia]] [[sand pagodas]] are created in order to build Buddhist merit<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nisbet |first=John |url=https://archive.org/details/burmaunderbritis02nisb |title=Burma Under British Rule--and Before |date=1901 |publisher=A. Constable & Company, Limited |language=en}}</ref> The tradition has been going on since the 1500s.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2020-03-07 |title=Tabaung, the month of Sand Pagoda Festival |url=https://www.globalnewlightofmyanmar.com/tabaung-the-month-of-sand-pagoda-festival/ |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200515004037/https://www.globalnewlightofmyanmar.com/tabaung-the-month-of-sand-pagoda-festival/ |archive-date=May 15, 2020 |access-date=2020-05-23 |website=Global New Light Of Myanmar |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Play ==
[[Image:sandfun.jpg|thumb|upright|Burying someone up to their neck]]
One of the main attractions of a sandy beach, especially for children, is playing with the sand; it presents more possibilities than an ordinary sandbox. One can make a mountain, a [[wikt:pit|pit]] (encountering [[clay]] or the [[water table]]), canals, tunnels, bridges, a sculpture (representing a person, animal, etc., like a statue, or a [[scale model]] of a building), amongst many other things.

Burying someone up to their neck in sand or burying oneself in such a manner is another popular beach activity.

* '''Sand angels'''

[[File:Girl Making a Sand Angel (12660998534).jpg|thumb|upright 0.875|Making a sand angel]]
Sand angels are made in the same manner as [[snow angel]]s; a person lies on their back in the sand, extending their arms and legs and swishes them back and forth.

* '''Fight against the tide'''

A popular game is building a heap of sand, as high as possible, to withstand the upcoming tide.
<gallery class="center" widths="200" heights="150">
File:Opkomend tij in Cadzand (1).JPG|A sandcastle with a [[moat]], at low tide
File:Opkomend tij in Cadzand (2).JPG|The sea moving in to surround the castle
</gallery>

== Sand art ==
[[File:Rake Art Ecrehous 0136.jpg|thumb|Rake art on a sandbar]]
=== Sand raking and beach murals===
''Sand raking'' is performed on a sandy beach where the artist rakes the dry top layer of sand, exposing the wet underlayer to create light-and-dark contrasts. Usually the designs are quite large and are similar to man-made art [[crop circles]]. The designs are ephemeral, and wash away with the next tide.<ref>[https://viralnova.com/beach-art/ A Man Takes A Single Rake To The Beach. And When You Zoom Out And See It… Mind BLOWN.]</ref> Some notable artists working in this medium include [[Andres Amador]], [[Sean Corcoran]] and [[Marc Treanor]].
[[File:Moving Art Sand (02).png|thumb|Moving Sand Art]]

=== Moving sand art ===
'''Moving Sand Art''' or '''Sand Frame''' is a display in which there are multiple colors of sand in water between two sheets of [[glass]]. Unlike [[Sandpainting|sand paintings]], a sand glass is meant to be turned; the sand, traditionally in black and a light color, moves into new shapes with each turn. Unlike sand paintings, which are a traditional craft, these are found around the world in many colors and sizes.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Art |first=Moving Sand |title=The Science behind Moving Sand Art |url=https://movingsandart.com/pages/the-science-of-sandpictures |access-date=2025-02-04 |website=Moving Sand Art |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-05-17 |title=Meet ‘The Sandman’: Artist Klaus Bösch discusses his sandy kinetic art |url=https://us.blastingnews.com/lifestyle/2017/05/meet-the-sandman-artist-klaus-bosch-discusses-his-sandy-kinetic-art-001705043.html |access-date=2025-02-04 |website=Blasting News |language=en}}</ref>

=== Others ===
{{See also|Sandpainting|Sand drawing|Sand animation}}

* [[Sandpainting]] is the art of pouring colored sands and other pigments onto a surface to make a painting.

* [[Sandpainting#Sand bottles|Sand bottles]] are created by pouring colored sands into a bottle to make a scene.

* [[Sand drawing]] is the creation of a drawing by scratching it out in a flat base of sand.

* [[Sand animation]] is the making of animation by manipulating sand to build figures, textures and movement, frame by frame.


== References ==
{{Reflist}}{{Commons category|Sand sculptures}}

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[[Category:Sand art| ]]
[[Category:Recreation]]
[[Category:Outdoor sculptures]]
[[Category:Sculpture techniques]]
[[Category:Beaches]]