Surprisingly Simple Sand Sculpture!

An awesome art project for beach or home!

It's spring here in the Northeast and we're enjoying the warmth and sunshine - but it's not beach weather yet.    If you really crave the beach, you need to head for Florida.   In order to research our next blog, Bridget volunteered to do just that.  She and her family have been hard at work at an undisclosed location preparing this post.

Ryan, Ethan and Nana engineer several layers of protection for our project from the waves!

To make surprisingly simple sand sculptures, you'll need:

A beach.   If no beach is available, a container full of sand may be used.   The container should be 3 to 4 inches deep and about 10 to 18 inches on a side (or in diameter) - whatever looks right to you, depending on how grand your sculpture is to be.

A stick for stirring - paint stirrer, wooden spoon, stick from outside

A coffee can, half a milk jug or other disposable container

Small interesting objects: marbles, chips of rock, tiny plastic figures, shells - whatever your imagination suggests.

Plaster of Paris - the amount depends on how large your sculpture is to be.  Usually a small bag will do. Easy to find at the craft or hardware store.

A clip or wire for hanging (optional)

Sand

Water

Remember: everything you use must be disposable.  Never pour plaster of Paris down a sink or toilet. Don't leave it on the beach, either!  Let it harden and dispose of it in the trash.

1. Clear a sandy depression at the beach, at least 2" deep, or fill your shallow container within 2" of the top with sand.  My circle is almost 4" deep and will make a great doorstop for Nana.   The boys both made depressions with their feet!  Pressing their toes in deeply made great molds!

2. Use your stick, spoon (or foot!) to create any desired three dimensional features - holes, mounds, lines. You can even try putting in initials, names, etc.

3. Lay out your "interesting objects" in whatever design pleases you or just scatter them about.
Remember to lay your objects upside down, because the side facing upward will be embedded in the plaster and the side you want to show will be facing the sand until you unmold your sculpture, at which point it will become the surface that you are looking at!  Some of our shells disappeared into the plaster. So, next time I would press them into the sand a little deeper and squeeze in even more objects, lining the sides as well as the bottoms!

4. Mix plaster of Paris according to package directions.  Tip: The plaster will begin to harden soon, so don't dilly-dally.

5. Spoon or pour the Plaster into the sand mold, deep areas first.  Keep spooning in the plaster until it is about two inches deep.   If you want to hang your creation, this is the time to insert the paperclip or bent wire.  We carved names into ours.

6. Let your creation set for about an hour before you try to move it.  Carefully lift it out of the mold and brush off the sand.

7. Ta Da!!!  An heirloom foot-stop for Nana's door or perhaps a treasured 'stone' in her garden?

Variations:  Cast animal tracks or your own; create fake fossils with chicken or other bones; create imaginary cities with tall 'towers' (holes punched in the sand).   You can also paint the plaster and scratch designs in it with a paper clip for an interesting effect. Have fun!  Let your imagination run wild!


Adapted from: The Kids' Kitchen Takeover by Sarah Bonnett Stein
and Sand Casting found at  http://kidscrafts.suite101.com and from our own imaginations!