Can You Dig it?
Sandcastles are small potatoes for a record-breaking sand mason and his team of sculptors.
Photo provided by Sandtastic
Sarasota-based Team Sandtastic has travled the world
competing in the art of sand sculpting. Captain Mark
Mason, left, and Team Sandtastic have constructed
everything from a life-size Biggie Meal from Wendy's to
1,500-ton walk-through sculptures.
Their first attempt collapsed at 23 feet. Their second attempt, a 23-foot-6-inch sand castle made the Guinness Book of Records.
Mark Mason and Team Sandtastic crafted the world’s tallest hand-built sand sculpture in fewer than 100 man-hours. Two years later, the team hand shoveled, packed and sculpted 240 tons of sand into a 28-foot-7 1/4-inch carousel, breaking their own record.
It’s been eight years since that day at Georgia’s Stone Mountain Park, and despite the (collapsed) efforts of other sand sculptors, Team Sandtastic still reigns over their sandy domain.
Today, Team Sandtastic, a Sarasota-based business that specializes in turning sand, and sometimes snow, into masterpieces, keeps busy creating “absolutely positively anything.” The team has never met an idea it could not tackle, says Mason, founder of the team.
Whether it’s a 50-ton Medieval castle, a 250-ton ancient Egyptian scene complete with pyramids and sphinx, a 15-ton replica of a 1940 Harley Davidson Fat Boy motorcycle, or a life-size Biggie Meal from Wendy’s, Mason and his team create art from grains of sand. Being Floridians, it is no surprise that underwater themes are one of their specialties.
Team Sandtastic’s projects, 70 per year on average, range from small tabletop displays, usually involving one artist and costing approximately $1,300, to more than 200-ton displays, involving an entire team of sculptors and costing more than $100,000. Mason and his team even create walk-through sculptures, sometimes involving up to 1,500 tons of sand, allowing people to actually step inside their creations.
“Couples have been married in our sculptures and there have been a lot of engagements literally in our sculptures,” Mason says.
Team Sandtastic not only creates pieces for individual and corporate functions, but also performs demonstrations designed to draw crowds. Sand sculpting is just as much a performance art as it is a display art, Mason says.
The set-up requires a lot of planning, but as for the actual design, “that’s the fun part, we make it up as we go,” Mason says. They might begin with some specific ideas, but Mason says “how they come together in a collage happens via serendipity on site.” Even before the “serendipity” comes the most crucial step – packing the sand.