Rain, wind may impact Revere Beach Sand Sculpting Festival
REVERE - They aren't your average sandcastles. Artists from across the world are competing in the Revere Beach International Sand Sculpting Festival.
The competition began on Wednesday. These artists spent hours compacting wet sand into a formation.
"To make the sand strong, it's rock hard like concrete," explains Bouke Atema, a sand sculptor from the Netherlands. "Eight hours just to make the shape."
They have three days to create their pieces. Some of these artists have been building sand sculptures for more than 20 years. Rusty Croft was born in Iowa, but later moved to California. He got into the profession by becoming an apprentice.
"Just offered to work for free. I gave them two weeks free labor," explains Croft.
He is working on a Celtic horse sculpture for this contest. With a smile on his face, he says most of his designs come to mind while he is in the shower.
"All of a sudden 'Ding!' something pops in your head like, 'Hey that could be a good idea," laughs Croft.
With heavy rains expected to hit this evening, some artists are trying to protect their work, or come up with a "Plan B".
"You will see artists covering their sculptures with sheets of plastic in a dire hope, a desperate hope, it helps preserve it," explains Croft, "Hot dry wind can be really bad for sand sculpture, worse than a little bit of ran. What they are calling for tonight is another story."
Some artists will be spraying their work with a glue. Others will be covering the art up with the same wooden forms they used to pack the sand. Needless to say, there will be some touch up to do in the morning.
"The basic form will still be here, but the details may have run off," adds Croft.