ADVOCACY A large-scale sand sculpture created by more than twenty middle-school gifted art students at the Virginia Beach Neptune Festival. Artistry in the Sand V Leigh Drake irginia Beach holds such a love and passion for the arts. Each year at the end of September, Virginia Beach oceanfront holds its annual Neptune Festival, an event that features a boardwalk full of art-ists and crafters alike, each in their own white tent to display their talents. Sand sculpting is one of the most eye-catching of the art forms down at the oceanfront during this three-day event. Professionals, amateurs, and students compete in the annual sand-sculpting competition. My students love to par-ticipate in this event and anticipate its arrival each year. Inspired by a Theme Each year, the competition announces a theme for students to inspire them. One year, the theme was Dr. Seuss; another year, the theme was Virginia Beach. Inspired by the theme, our middle-school students plan together during the first few weeks of school before the competition to come up with a game plan. The sand-sculpting team members discuss their plan of action. They brainstorm ideas, come up with sketches, and critique their ideas and plans before even setting foot on the beach. Students volunteer to bring different items necessary for the perfect sand sculptures, including brooms, water buckets, shovels, and more to enhance their design. Creating on the Beach On the day of the competition, stu-dents meet bright and early with their sketches in hand. As the competi-tion starts, students line up in their have about four hours to create their sand sculpture, and they use every last minute of that time. Discussion Once the sand sculptures are com-plete, the waiting game begins. Sev-eral students take a break from the hours of building, while others prac-tice speaking with the judges. Stu-dents prepare their sketches and ideas for the judges to see and discuss the artwork that has been created, provid-ing the judges with added feedback. Collaborative Effort Teamwork makes the dream succeed. Students need to communicate, col-laborate, and work together as a team. No one task is more important than another, and each student plays an essential part in the creation of the sand sculpture. The love of working with natural materials and being a part of the environment is also some-thing students thoroughly enjoy, even on a Saturday morning! Leigh Drake is a visual arts teacher at Old Donation School in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and a contributing editor for SchoolArts . leigh.drake@vbschools.com Students prepare their sketches and ideas for the judges to see and discuss the artwork that has been created. designated area on the beach and, when told to start, rush to the water’s edge to collect buckets and buckets of water to start their design. Each team member is assigned a designated task to ensure the design’s comple-tion. Some students collect water, some draw out the dimensions, some start building up the design, and oth-ers help where needed—every one of them focusing on the theme. Students SCHOOLARTS.COM 11
School Arts Magazine Summer 2020: Page 11
