If you happened to walk along the beach between the Sandcastle and the Sanctuary during the middle of September, you may have noticed some new construction underway. Building centered on a Kiawah Island sign complete with palm leaves, a loggerhead turtle and a heron. Along side the sign was a 12-foot long figure of a giant holding a ball and in between the two was a towering castle. No building permits needed.
The structures were made only of sand and water, materials gathered straight from the beach. The solo architect and builder was Todd Pangborn from the tiny( population about 1,350) town of Kiantone near Jamestown, New York. Todd is a nationally recognized master sand sculptor who has won multiple competitions. For him, sand sculpting is currently just a fairly serious hobby that began very slowly and simply on a family vacation in Virginia.
Almost 20 years ago Todd, his wife Lori, and two young daughters were enjoying a vacation gathering with members of Lori’ s family in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Reluctant to just sit on the beach, Todd decided to make something his daughters would enjoy. By the end of the day he had formed what he described as a“ not bad” dolphin, but was sure he could do better.
The next day he created a turtle, after that a shark, then an octopus. By the end of the week he completed a 15- foot long lobster. And so it began. He kept at it during the following years using kitchen utensils, particularly in Siesta Key, Florida, where the family often vacationed, because the sand was particularly conducive to sculpturing. Lori probably realized it was getting serious when she noticed 10 tons of sand in their six-acre yard. There is also a small sandbox in the house. All this is for practice.
By 2011 practice had readied him for competition. In September of that year he entered his first competition in
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