SUNDAY • SEPTEMBER 2, 2018
AROUND TOWN
MAKING A LIVING BY PLAYING IN THE SAND
Sculptors turn art
into a trade, traveling
around world for
contests, paid gigs
BY JOHN WILKENS
They’re here and then
they’re gone, just like their
art.
The annual U.S. Sand
Sculpting Challenge being
held on the Broadway Pier
this weekend is an invita-
tion-only event: 12 master
carvers brought in from
around the globe, all ex-
penses paid, to wield the
tools of their trade in front of
thousands of gawking, cam-
era-toting visitors.
And it is a trade. These
are people who make a living
turning large piles of sand
and water into jaw-dropping
depictions of people, ani-
mals, cars, angels, trees,
wine bottles and on and on
— even, in an occasional nod
to tradition, castles.
“We’ve come a long way
from the days when you did
this for a six-pack of beer,”
said Bruce Phillips, a San
Diego sculptor who decided
which artists to invite this
year.
Some, like Agnese
Rudzite-Kirillova, spend
half of the year traveling
from one place to another
with their trowels and
brushes. She’s from Latvia,
and it took her 24 hours to
get to San Diego for the com-
petition.
In a few days she’ll go
home before heading off to a
sculpting festival in Poland.
Said Leonardo Ugolini, a
competitor from Italy:
“Sometimes I wake up in the
morning and I don’t know
what city I’m in.”
Saturday he was in San
Diego, putting the finishing
touches on his creation. The
sculpting started Wednes-
day, a day after some 300
tons of sand — coarser than
what’s found on local
beaches — was trucked in
from a quarry in East
County and dumped on the
floor of a roofed, open-sided
building on the pier.
U.K. MOVEMENT PROMOTING VEGANISM HOLDS DOWNTOWN MARCH
BY GARY WARTH
SAN DIEGO
Holding signs proclaiming
messages such as “Meat is mur-
der” and chanting in support of
veganism, about 400 people took
to the streets of downtown San Di-
ego on Saturday afternoon for the
city’s first Official Animal Rights
March.
“We’re making history right
now,” said march co-organizer Bri-
anna Martelozzo as participants
gathered around noon at Pantoja
Park on G and India streets.
“From this day on, we are raising
the expectation of San Diego’s
participation in the animal rights
movement.”
The Official Animal Rights
March was created by the activist
organization Surge and was first
held in the U.K. in 2016. Last year’s
march in London reportedly at-
tracted about 5,000 people, and
CALic.
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SUN
DAY
CHARLIE NEUMAN
Sand sculptor Rusty Croft of Carmel works on his piece, “Existential Paradox,” at the U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge.
The sand was shoveled ant brain and called it “Cere- artists, he traced his roots to gin trowels and knee pads), “Everything we make, we get
into square, wooden forms bration,” explaining, “You his sandbox days as a child. cake baking (icing spatu- to let go of.”
and sprayed with water, need a mind to celebrate.” In college in Kansas, he las), horse grooming (spiral Maybe that’s why he
which eventually yielded Rudzite-Kirillova titled studied landscape archi- spring comb), and painting called his piece “Libera-
compact cubes ready for hers “Who Are You?” It fea- tecture, but it was a sculp- (brushes). In his hands, they tion.”
carving. The competitors tures a woman with a cat’s ture he saw in Florida by one brought out the feathery de- Public viewing of the
then had four days to work head, looking down at a real of the pioneers of sand carv- tail in the raven’s wings and sculptures continues today
their magic, finishing up cat. “The idea is to celebrate ing, Solana Beach’s Gerry the sharp edges of the bars from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and
Saturday afternoon. The the real you,” she said. “Be Kirk, that ignited his pas- in the cage the bird was es- Monday from 10 a.m. to 7
judges came in shortly after yourself.” sion. caping. p.m. Ticket prices and other
with their scorecards. Dan Belcher, from St. That was close to 30 years All that effort and skill, information about the
Winners will be an- Louis, carved a large raven ago, and now he’s been all all those hours spent — and event, which includes food
nounced today. Top prize is breaking free from a cage. over the world for contests come Tuesday it will be piles trucks, music, art booths
$5,000. He shrugged off questions or paid commissions. of sand again, headed back and a kids’ zone, are avail-
This year’s theme is “Cel- about his intent. “It depends Saturday, Belcher had to the quarry. able at ussandsculpting-
ebration,” and the artists on what people want to see with him his usual toolkit, “You can’t get into sand .com.
took that in all kinds of di- in it,” he said. which includes items from sculpture if you’re into per-
rections. Ugolini made a gi- Like several of the other the worlds of masonry (mar- manence,” Belcher said. john.wilkens@sduniontribune.com
was not easy to swallow for some people at Pantoja Park that most
observers of the march. One vegans grew up in conventional
Gaslamp Quarter business owner meat-eating households them-
on Fifth and J streets yelled at the selves before making a decision to
marchers for disrupting the street change.
on Labor Day weekend. “Hate is not effective,” she said,
Others who watched from the cautioning people about how they
sidewalks cheered them on. advocate for animal rights. “Hate
“We support the movement 100 is not our message.”
percent,” said Katie Ekema, hospi- The “die-in” briefly stalled traf-
tality manager of Union Kitchen fic, but drivers waited out the dem-
and Tap on Fifth Avenue. “We have onstration without honking.
vegan options on the menu.” Marchers didn’t confront people
Ekema is a meat-eater herself, dining on meaty lunches at restau-
but said she believes the farming rant patios, and many diners
industry should be more compas- seemed more bemused than an-
sionate in how animals are treated. noyed at the chants they heard.
Andrew and Jessica Sanchez, March co-organizer Rachell
having drinks on the patio of Bar- DeRose-Hosler had advised par-
ley Mash, watched the marchers ticipants before the march to avoid
stage a “die-in” by lying down at confrontations with anyone they
CHARLIE NEUMAN the intersection of 5th and Market passed.
Participants in the Official Animal Rights March stage a “die- streets.
in” in an intersection in the middle of the Gaslamp District on Jessica Sanchez said they ar- gary.warth@sduniontribune.com
Saturday. Several hundred marchers participated. en’t vegetarians but try to be re- (760) 529-4939
sponsible in what they buy by sup- Twitter: @GaryWarthUT
the event is being repeated in cities places as well as San Diego. porting organic farms.
around the world. Martelozzo noted that there “Veganism isn’t for everybody,
Los Angeles and several are more than 7,000 members in but there’s something that
other cities held a march the San Diego Vegans Facebook can be learned from their
Aug. 25, while Saturday group, and she said she expected message,” she said.
saw marches in New York; the movement to grow. A speaker who goes by
Denmark; Columbus, Ohio; The group’s message against “Vegan Danielle,” also the
Portland, Ore.; and other killing animals for food or clothing name of her podcast, reminded
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