Kids learn new way to make sand castles at sculpture camp

When he creates a sand sculpture, Bill Night works with as much as two tons of sand to design pieces that dominate parties and events. 

Yet he said it’s possible even for kids to hone the basics of the craft. 

The key is starting smaller, with just 100 pounds of sand and a shape familiar to anyone: that of a sand castle. 

In fact, the Sand Sculpture Camp, held through a partnership between Sarasota County and the company The Sand Lovers, which Night co-owns with his wife, Marianne Night, has been doing just that. 

The summer camps have taken off, with a waiting list for each session, each of which hosts a maximum of 20 children. 

During one session of the camp from June 19 to 21, kids could be seen using straws to blow bits of sand away, and using tools to create features like windows, doors and texture. 

“Now they know the basics of sand sculpting they can carry the rest of their life,” Night said. “There’s no end to where they can go with it.”

By the final day of the camp, which saw campers making sculptures of their own devising, kids were applying skills they hadn’t known upon arrival and getting creative with the process. 

“It’s been kind of hard, but also kind of easy,” said Bera Tardin, 8.

Photo by Ian Swaby

Magnus Aoden, 10, decided to create a recess with a staircase winding around his tower. 

“That was hard; I had to get my spatula in there and curve around the entire thing,” he said. 

Night said learning sand sculpting is all about lessons.

“My advice to anybody that wants to learn sand sculpting is find a local sculptor and take a lesson, because once you learn, there's no secrets to it, but once you learn the process of how to pack the sand, how to prepare the sand, then a light bulb goes off and you go, ‘Oh my gosh, look what I can do.'”

Photo by Ian Swaby

Night brings an extensive background in sand sculpture. 

He started learning the art after watching the Fort Myers Beach American Sand Sculpting Competition. He was impressed with the work and its scale. 

"I just started learning and just started going to competitions around the United States and getting better," he said. 

When he was asked to create a piece commercially in 2006, he decided to try opening a business, with the business being launched in 2011. 

The Bokeelia, Florida-based company creates sculptures for events and other occasions across the country, and even in other countries. 

The couple also helped to manage the Siesta Key Crystal Classic tournament for a short time. 

“We travel around the world making beautiful works of art out of sand and water,” Night said. “We’re very blessed to be able to make a living doing something that we love."

Photo by Ian Swaby

He also hopes that some young campers may eventually have the chance to enjoy the same kinds of experiences. 

“They’re the future,” he said. “We say that in everything, but they are for real. Already some of them are competing at the amateur level. … My dream would be to see one of these kids competing as a master at the Crystal Classic or one of the other events in the future.”

It seems like his work may be making an impression. 

“Maybe I’ll take more classes,” said Benjamin Pala, 8.