Sand is their medium

. . . of an amateur sand castle sculptor. These are awesome. But . . . from what I understand- clay is added to the sand for these professional jobs. They are not pure sand- could be wrong- but that is what I have heard.

from the Revere Beach Partnership

Is it real sand?

Yes it is real sand but it is not from this beach. We are limited to what we can and cannot do depending on the characteristics of any given sand. This sand is from Hudson, NH and has the qualities that allow us to create more difficult, taller, sheerer sculptures.

Is there any structure inside?

No. every sculpture is solid sand and water.

Do you put anything on them?

The sun dries the sand and the wind blows it away. For this reason we spray diluted Elmer’s white glue on the finished sculptures. Although the solution is not waterproof, it does slow down the erosion process greatly. If these sculptures were indoors or it was continuously overcast, we would not have to put anything on them.

Hot, sunny day, subway accessible, pretty sand sculptures to draw the hordes. Friends of mine went, but I bailed due to low tolerance for milling mobs. Was it a zoo?

I was just moseying on through, what a mistake... Volume was heavy, gridlock at some points, no parking, sidewalks were packed. I thought it was just because of the weather.

. . .

Step One: Establish a suitable water table location.

In less pompous terms- pick a spot on the beach close enough to the water (mindful of the tides) that you can dig down a foot or so in the sand until you get a muddy water filled hole.

Step Two: Build your foundation.

Basically push dry sand around your location into a mound and then pack it down so it is level.

Step Three: Scoop and Plop.

Using both hands- scoop from your hole as much wet sand as you can and "plop" it on your foundation. And here is the trick- DO NOT PACK DOWN THE WET SAND- rather- shake the sand "patty" from the sides gently. This evens out the water in each sand "brick" or "patty". You want the water to dry throughout your patty or brick so don't push down on it- that only pushes the water out and you don't want that. Do this for every "plop" but be careful as you go higher.

Step Four: Stack

Stack sand "patties" one on top of the other. You can make all sorts of structures depending on how big you make your first base of "patties".

Step Five: Carve

Using anything as simple as a plastic butter knife carve out the details on your structure and smooth the surfaces by simply peeling off layers of wet sand from your big wet sand pile. If you want to get fancy- you can buy an artists painting trowel.