Tacoma — What's 17 feet tall, home to all kinds of sea creatures, and is made entirely out of sand?
The answer is the latest sculpture by Tacoma native Sue McGrew. For more than ten years she's been building towering works of art that defy gravity.
“I am really lucky to say I have this really cool job,” admitted McGrew. “I get to play in the sand and make some amazing sand sculptures.”
McGrew caught the sand sculpting bug while at Bellermine Prep. Despite no formal training, she has built sculptures all over the world, including Denmark, Japan and Brazil where a 40-foot tall piece broke the Guinness World Record.
“I love working with my hands,” said McGrew. “I love really being able to carve something, step back and say 'Wow, I made that!'”
It bears repeating: McGrew and her crew of local friends are building sculptures out of the same stuff you use to make sand castles on the beach.
The sculpture at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium celebrates World Ocean Weekend.
“What you see here is 100 tons of sand, which is basically like 20 Elephants all compressed into a little pile, which is a lot,” McGrew laughed.
The sculpture begins with blocks of sand mixed with water.
“You're pounding it down, pounding it down,” said McGrew. “ Because you really need the sand pressed together so all the individual grains line up. And then on top of that, you build another box, another box and then it looks like a layered cake by the time you are done with it.”
The team begins carving at the top using the boxes as scaffolding. The boxes are removed as they work their way down.
“Sand sculpting is actually just one giant magic trick,” said McGrew.
The finished piece is topped with bird wires, to protect the sculpture from peacocks and crows.
On the morning of the 15th day of construction, Sue McGrew and her crew can celebrate. Sand sculptures harden as they dry, but even this beauty is fleeting.
Warning signs have no effect on weather, birds and little ones.
“Some people always ask aren't you sad that it doesn't last? But for me it's actually part of what I love about it because it's ephemeral,” said McGrew. “It is more about interacting with people and getting to watch people just light up when they see a sand sculpture that is this big.”
You can see McGrew’s sculpture at Pt Defiance Zoo and Aquarium through July 1st. McGrew will be on hand Saturdays and Sundays to do interactive sand sculpture demonstrations.
