'Sandtastic' Sand Creations

The sand at Siesta Beach and Clearwater Beach is just one of many yearly stops for Team Sandtastic sculptors.

The group travels the world playing in the sand, and recently composed a massive, 75-ton sand sculpture at Pier 60 Park. It depicts many Clearwater attractions including the Super Boat National Championship races, Phillies spring training and Winter the Dolphin.

The creation was mainly aimed to coincide with the press junket surrounding the release of Winter's movie "Dolphin Tale." The movie opens nationwide Friday (Sept. 23).

Clearwater is one of the more successful stops for Team Sandtastic because of the amount of feedback from locals, said owner and spokesman Mark Mason.

“We’ve had a lot of repeat foot traffic. That’s what we like to see, ‘Oh, we saw it yesterday, we wanted to come back and see it today,'" Mason said. "A lot of times you can go some place and give them a brochure and 50 yards away everybody’s throwing it away. Here, everybody’s out with their cameras taking their own picture so we’ve reversed that cycle. I like that.”

Dunedin resident Tom Howell made the trip to Clearwater Beach to see the finished product.

“This is real interesting artwork, how they can visualize this, and how they get three people thinking together on it. Art is art,” he said. “People that are artists have a lot of different canvases.”

Jack Johnson of Spring Hill made the hour drive to see what he called the biggest sand sculpture he’s ever seen in person.

“I’ve seen four (sand sculptures) but never one this size,” he said. “It won’t be a bad thing to see out here every time you come here.”

Hitting the road

Team Sandtastic, based out of Sarasota, has hundreds of clients worldwide.

“Most of the time we’re on a plane, flying somewhere, packing all our tools,” Mason said. He has traveled around the globe in his 20 years as a professional sculpture.

For Mason, it never gets old.

“I’d rather be working then sitting back and relaxing,” he said. “I love doing what I do.”

They recently finished a project in Los Angeles and then have another to do in West Palm Beach after completing the Clearwater sculpture.

“Labor day weekend, we had 11 jobs happen on the same day, all across the country,” Mason said.

Team Sandtastic has done work at Caribbean Islands, Hawaii, South Africa, Australia, Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe, the Middle East and all throughout the United States.

“I’m not on the road as much as you think,” said Mason, who is the father of 16 and 18-year-old sons. “When I’m not carving, I work out of my home. I’m (at home) quite often… It’s a win-win situation for me.”

The process

Professional sand sculpting looks sophisticated, though Mason said he and his team build even the most detailed sculptures with everyday household tools.

“Everything to be a professional sand sculptor can be found in your garage or your kitchen,” he said. “It’s not brain surgery.”

A few of the most important tools needed for professionally-constructed sand sculptures include ashovel (to transport sand and carve complex shapes), a paint brush (the eraser of choice), cake icing spreader (for precise carving) and melon baller (to add round features in sand).

But before the tools are used the sand must be prepped.

First, the sand is compacted into custom made wood forms. Packing sand with water in a bucket, flipping the bucket upside down, packing the edges and pulling it off is a viable way to get sand wet and fluid and ready to be used for a sculpture, Mason said, even for the most simplest of creations.

Professionals rely on the same concepts, though just on a grander scale. The most appealing part can be the lack of pre-planning needed to do the job.

"Make it up as you go," Mason said. "My favorite part of the job."

Putting up with the elements: Mason said he’s built a sand sculpture in temperatures below zero all the way to scorching heat. It rained during the beginning stages of the Clearwater Beach sculpture, but since wet sand is already needed, nothing other than lightning has affected the crew.

Mason said he always been drawn to the sand, and even in his leisure time, he'll do what he does best.

“I still go to the beach with my family, or if one of my relatives has a birthday party or something like that at the beach, I’ll go down and make a sand castle ahead of time,” he said.

“Most times I do something sand sculpture wise on the beach,” he said. “How can you not. You’re in the middle of it. I love it.”

Fast Facts about Team Sandtastic:

• Owner Mark Mason placed first in the World Championship Sand Sculpture Competition held in British Columbia, Canada.

• Won first places at The American Sand Sculpting Festival, The Myrtle Beach Open and The Southeast US Championships.

• Team Sandtastic holds  Guinness World Record for creating the tallest sand castle ever hand built in less than 100 manhours July 1998, for Georgia Stone Mountain Park. It was 28 feet 7 and 1/4 inch.