Eagle America

Every year my wife and I enjoy going to Hampton Beach, New Hampshire to watch the Sand Sculpting Competition. This year there were 11 folks from around the globe that came to show us their talents. We are always anxiously waiting when one of Cleveland's own, Carl Jara, from Lyndhurst, Ohio shows his stuff. Last year he won first place! You can visit his sand sculpting website or his woodworking website to see his amazing talents on display.


For 10 years they have been trucking in over 200 tons of special imported sand (yes, they import sand to a beach) and turn these wonderful artists loose to create masterpieces fitting to be in an art gallery or a museum. They work for over a week on their sculptures. 



Over the course of the event nothing but sand, water, and their own creativity is used to create astonishing works of art out of shapeless large heaps of sand. When completed they are sprayed with a solution of school glue and water to protect them from the elements which allows them to remain standing for viewing for weeks, creating a free museum of master pieces on the beach. Unfortunately, in a few weeks after the judging has been done and the awards have been made, they bring in bulldozers to knock them down. I encourage all of you to view the photo gallery on their website and become inspired.

So how does this apply to woodworking tools and woodworking accessories?  Eagle America is a woodworking company after all, so why am I talking about sand?  Seeing Carl's personal website made me think - how do you use your creative mind in ways other than woodworking?  He has the ability to create works of art in wood and in sand.  What other methods have you used to express your creative woodworking mind?  When you did it, were you able to incorporate any woodworking tools (like router bits) into your project?  Let me know, I'm curious!