TACOMA, Wash. — A Tacoma native who travels the world creating sand sculptures is working on a special piece at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium.
Sue McGrew has been working on an endangered species sculpture at the zoo which includes many of the animal and plant species that staff at the zoo care for. Work for the sculpture began on May 17, World Endangered Species Day.
McGrew said she gets satisfaction working with sand.
"We mix it with water and compact is into these wooden boxes. You take the wooden boxes and you stack them one on top of another until you have a giant pyramid looking thing," McGrew said. "Then you get to the top, you take the box off and then you start carving your way down."
McGrew's work is sought all over the world. She has worked on pieces in Belgium, Portugal, Fiji, Norway, Australia, Germany, Japan, Korea, Brazil, Puerto Rico and many other places.
"I am living the dream. I had no idea that doing sand sculpting would lead to here," McGrew said. "It's an amazing medium where you can play and create and use your hands to just make anything you want."
You can see the endangered species sculpture at Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium every day from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.