No, not me...and not really castles. But, yesterday at the Ex (Canadian National Exhibition, for you out-of-country sorts who happen upon this post through a series of errant clicking), Myles and I caught a glimpse of the International Sand Sculpting competition. Regrettably, I did not take pictures of all of the sculptures (there were 6 in total), created by representatives from Canada, USA, Italy, Australia, Japan and...uh...Germany? I can't remember where the last one was from and I don't have a picture of his sculpture, but rest assured that it was as equally magnificent as those by his fellow competitors. [Edit: I just checked the site and the final competitor was from Ireland.]
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| This is by the entrant from Australia. It has a fantasy feel (the artist was working on a large dragon head while we were watching). |
Without much to say about each sculpture, I think I'll just let you see what I saw - and perhaps you, too, will be as much in awe of the sheer talent and creativity of these artists as was I.
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| I HAD to take a closer shot of the cat. The detail is pretty impressive. The grain on the wood and the texture of the stone border look very realistic! |
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| This one from Italy was my favourite. The detail is so fine, it looks like it could have been sculpted in stone! |
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| Myles liked this one from the US the best. He was most impressed by the cloth connecting the people. This was the only piece with a title: The Blind Leading the Blind. |
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| This sculpture has home field (beach??) advantage. The Canadian artist has a unique science fiction style - look at all the eyes!! |
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I'll have to keep an eye on the CNE web site to see who wins the competition, which I think ends today. My vote is still for Italy, but Myles argues that it's pretty 'traditional'. He likes "The Blind Leading the Blind" but, while the patience and skill required to create the thin cloth is undeniable, I did not really like the people themselves. Maybe he spent more time refining the details on the people after we left...I hope they post pictures on the web site so I can see the finished sculptures. [Edit: Myles is now singing a new song about how he actually prefers the Canadian one, then the Italian and THEN the US...that is a far cry from what he ORIGINALLY expressed, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt...THIS TIME. ~ks] We had a hard time figuring out what the Japanese sculptor was making. One side looked a bit like Alice in Wonderland, and the other seemed to have a scuba diver??? Very strange, indeed.
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If you get a chance to see them in person, I would recommend you do so, because these pics really do not do them justice!!
