While I have never been to Revere Beach, I look forward each
year to photos of the amazing sand sculptures from a competition
that brings people from throughout the world to this location just
north of Boston.
The winning entry in the Revere
Beach sand sculpting contest was “Nest” by Mélineige Beauregard of
Montreal, Canada. // Photo: Revere Beach
Partnership
Adding to the enjoyment of the Revere Beach International
Sand-Sculpting Festival are longtime sand-sculptors Dan Doubleday
and Meredith Corson-Doubleday, who bring the event to life,
especially for distant viewers, with their expert commentary on all
the pieces. I also appreciated the slide show created by
professional photographer Greg Cook on his
Wonderland website.
The sand sculptures are evaluated using four categories: (1)
degree of difficulty, (2) originality and creativity, (3) quality
of sculpting, and (4) overall visual impact.
In the two videos on this page, Dan and Meredith conduct their
fourth-day “walkthrough” together, as the sand sculptures take on
their final forms. At the time that Dan and Meredith recorded their
commentary, they did not know who the winners would be, so I would
like to add some help with that:
We’re near the peak of sand sculpture season, and the works
being created this year by artistic sand masters seems to be as
good or better than ever.
“Muse” by Pavel Mylnikov, first
place at the Revere Beach International Sand Sculpting
Festival.
Photo: Revere Beach Partnership
The latest event this past weekend was the Revere Beach
International Sand Sculpting Festival in Revere, Mass., billed as
America’s first public beach.
The first photo on this page shows the top prize winner in the
contest titled “Vanishing Muse,” and the artist is Pavel Mylnikov.
The second photo shows the People’s Choice Award, titled “A Nouveau
Love” by Rachel Stubbs.
See all the winning photos on the Facebook page of the
Revere Beach Partnership. Photographer Joe Siciliano of
RevereBeach.com posted some nice photos on the website
massive.com. Meanwhile,
WBZ-TV in Boston produced a video of the event.
Another recent event, held in June, was the Hampton Beach Master
Sand Sculpting Classic in New Hampshire. Photographer Matt Parker
of
Seacoast Online put together a nice photo gallery of the
sculptures along with the artists at work. (If necessary, scroll
down to June 18.)
In Cannon Beach, Ore., the annual Cannon Beach Sandcastle
Contest attracted large teams of sculptors at various skill levels.
The NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt visited the festival and
produced a national story, shown in the video on this page.
Results of the contest along with pictures can be seen on the
festival’s website.
Creativity, humanity and whimsy seem to be abundant qualities
among the sand sculptors producing unique works of art at various
competitions across the United States this year.
“Dance of the Undefined,” first
place in the Hampton Beach Sand Sculpting Competition. Artist:
Mélineige Beauregard, Montreal, Quebec. // Photo: Hampton
Beach Facebook page
In June, the Hampton Beach Sand Sculpting Competition in New
Hampshire celebrated its 17th anniversary by attracting more than a
dozen professional artists, including at least five from
Canada.
This year’s winner at Hampton Beach was Mélineige Beauregard
from Montreal, Quebec. Her work in sand, titled “Dance of the
Undefined,” shows a woman from the waist up with honeycomb arms
stretched above her head. Mélineige explained that the piece
represents how people are constantly changing in some ways while
staying the same in others.
She considers art as a kind of spiritual experience, according
her to bio on the
Hampton Beach website.
“When my hands touch the material, when my heart opens to give
life, when my head is illuminated by light, I become the co-creator
of the universe,” she was quoted as saying. “An artist is one who
spiritualizes matter. For me, art is a means of communication, a
way to transmit the energy of life, to affirm its vastness and its
beauty.”
Mélineige has won more than 30 individual awards in sand
sculpting. In 2004, she teamed up with her father, renowned
sculptor Guy Beauregard, to win the World Championship doubles
competition. Last year, she was the winner at the Revere Beach
International Sand Sculpting Festival in Massachusetts. See the
article by Liz Vanderau in
Boston University Today. A slideshow of the
Hampton Beach sculptures was posted on YouTube by Ammoguy5.
Winners
were listed on the Hampton Beach website with
photos on the Hampton Beach Facebook page.
“Soul Evolution,” first place
in the Revere Beach International Sand Sculpting Frestival. Artist:
Pavel Mylnikov, Moscow, Russia.
Photo: Revere Beach Facebook page
This year’s winner at the Revere Beach competition, July 21-23,
was Pavel Mylnikov of Moscow, Russia. His sculpture, titled “Soul
Evolution,” is an intricately carved piece with two masculine
angels on a rocky outcropping. Artist-reporters Dan Doubleday and
Meredith Corson-Doubleday of RevereTV do a nice job of explaining
their craft in a series of videos. Below, I’ve linked to two videos
focused on four sculptures in this year’s competition — including
entries by Pavel and Mélineige:
The festivals at Hampton Beach and Revere Beach are listed among
the top 10 sand-sculpting competitions in the United States,
according to
Coastal Living magazine. Also making the list is the SandSations Sandcastle
Competition in Long Beach, Wash. (See Facebook for
some random photos and a list of winners.)
Another great sand-sculpting festival was held this year on July
14 and 15 at Imperial Beach, California.
NBC 7, San Diego put together a nice video of the top
winners.
“Neptune’s Organ,” first place
in the 2016 Virginia Beach International Sand Sculpting
Championship. Artists: Meredith Corson Doubleday and Dan Doubleday,
Florida.
Photo: Virginia Beach website
Last year’s first-place winner in Virginia Beach was Mélineige
Beauregard, mentioned above. The first-place in team competition
was won by Meredith Corson Doubleday and Dan Doubleday, mentioned
above as artist-reporters in the Revere Beach competition. Their
sculpture, Neptune’s Organ, also took the Neptune’s Choice,
Sculptors’ Choice and People’s Choice awards in the team
division.
After enjoying dozens of photos showing amazing sculptures, I
can’t help but think about the fragility and temporary nature of
these artworks. For all their beauty and intricacy, as well as the
thoughts and emotions they inspire, these sculptures soon
disappear, and the artists are left to prepare for their next
fleeting creation.
