Honolulu Star-Advertiser © Susan Scott
November 29, 1999
I recently had a remarkable marine animal experience. In one small area, I saw two huge moray eels, three leaping dolphins, a giant octopus, and some of the most unusual snails, crabs and sea stars I have ever encountered.
And then there were two lovely mermaids, King Neptune in his chariot and lots of twinkling luminescence.
No, this wasn’t a day of delirium at Hanauma Bay. It was my first view of the exquisite holiday sand sculpture at the Pearlridge Center mall.
Four artisans from a mainland company, Sand Sculptures International, created this statue of sand called “Undersea Christmas.” It took the men three weeks and 60 tons of Barbers Point sand to complete the piece.
It’s hard to believe the intricate design was not preplanned, but according to company president Todd Vander Pluym, that isn’t how he does it. He simply chooses a theme, then he and the other artists look at pictures for ideas.
Once they have the general image in mind, the artists moisten their sand with water. There is no recipe for this mixture; rather, the men judge the correct amounts by feel. When the sand is properly moist, the artists make blocks of it from forms and arrange them in the contour of the imagined monument. Then off they go, carving, scraping and shaping under the curious and admiring eyes of shoppers and passersby.
One of the reasons sand sculptures are so extraordinary is that they are so temporary. We know these intricate shapes and forms are a trick of sand and water that will soon revert to their previous disorder. In fact, this is one of the draws of this kind of art for Vander Pluym — the medium is 100 percent recyclable.
So, what is it that makes wet sand so artistically cooperative?
Two physicists wondered the same a few years ago and devised an experiment. They reported their results in a 1997 issue of the science journal Nature.
In a nutshell, the scientists found that in precise amounts, water builds tiny, liquid bridges between grains of sand.
Here’s how it works: Each molecule of water is like a tiny magnet, positive on one side, negative on the other. Therefore, like all magnets, water molecules tend to stick together. This attraction water has for itself is the reason water forms into droplets.
If you add just the right amount of water to just the right amount of sand, water’s pull on itself is strong enough to hold up, or bridge, grains of sand. Then, you can build a castle.
But add too much sand and water molecules are too few and far apart to make sturdy polar bridges, and the mixture falls apart.
Imagine 100 domino-size magnets all stuck together. If you put a marble in the middle, the magnets will stick together around the marble, holding it in their midst. But add 50 marbles, and the magnets aren’t strong enough to hold together and the mass crumbles.
Since too-dry sand can’t maintain a shape, I wondered if the Pearlridge sculpture needed periodic spraying during its six-week display. No, say the artists. There is enough humidity in Hawaii’s air to keep the structure intact without touch-ups.
You can see this amazing piece of art at the Pearlridge Center mall until Jan. 9. On that day, workers will demolish the sculpture and the sand will go back to the local cement company that delivered it.
The artists don’t feel bad that their work of art will be torn down because that’s the beauty of sand castles.
Their temporary nature reminds us to enjoy the moment.