We all go to the beach to relax and get away from work, but there’s a guy whose job starts when he hits the sand. Deco’s resident beach boy, Alex Miranda, has all the deets about this “shore” thing.
Most sculptors create their art indoors, but one guy calls the beaches of South florida his own personal studio.
Behold the sandman.
We’ve all built sand castles at the beach, right? A local artist has taken that simple move to a whole different level.
Josh Clyde: “Well, I’m a professional sand sculptor.”
Professional sand sculpting’s not your average gig, but a guy’s gotta do what a guy’s gotta do.
Josh Clyde: “I was at a resort, and I saw a sand sculptor doing his thing. He was making a castle, and of course, I asked the same questions I get every time I’m doing them. He told me quite a bit of information. I’ve been an artist my whole life, so I took that and ran with it.”
It’s almost as though the sand was calling his name.
Josh Clyde: “For me, it comes natural. I can draw anything I see, so I do a lot of logos.”
Now he’s fixture on the SoFlo shoreline.
Josh Clyde: “And now I pretty much do South Florida all up and down the coast — different hotels, resorts, events, all kinds of things like that.”
One of the perks of being a sand sculptor has to be the location of your workplace.
Josh Clyde: “I love getting out on the beach; this is my office, pretty much. That’s what I hear from every person that comes by, “Aww, you’re lucky, you’re not even working.'”
All it takes to start working is a pile of saturated sand and one essential tool.
Josh Clyde: “This is a one-inch-and-a-half spreader margin trowel, and I do all my detailed work. A lot of this is the smoothing part. This is my favorite one.”
Josh has been jazzed to do work for the National Hockey League’s upcoming All-Star game, Absolut vodka and Abita beer.
But his latest work just might be his most impressive one yet.
Josh Clyde: “I created a 21-foot-long, 7-foot-tall sand sculpture of the ‘Avatar’ logo, ‘Way of Water,’ and that was commissioned by Disney.”
You’ll never see any of Josh’s creations in a museum, but he’s totally cool with that.
Josh Clyde: “A lot of people do ask me, ‘Hey, does it make you sad when you spend all these hours on a sculpture and then it’s gone?’ And I tell them the same thing: I really enjoy making it, I have the picture forever, and I know that it’s a temporary art installment.”
Josh’s next big work will be a mighty one, indeed. He’s going to cover the beach with his art when the Tortuga Music Festival comes to Fort Lauderdale in April.
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