Sand & Surf & Elephant Turf

Every year that we go to the beach, my dad never fails to make a sand sculpture. In past trips he has formulated the figures of turtles, dolphins, mermaids, seahorses, and other various sea-inspired creatures. This year, I inquired to him (on behalf of my cousin) about trying something new. Something non-oceanic. An elephant, to be specific. That was fairly non-oceanic. If an elephant ever tried to brave the ocean, I’m sure he would regret it. Or surprise us. One or the other. Either way, it’s a 1 in a 850,000,000,000,000 chance that you’ll see an elephant in the ocean.*

*Data not exactly accurate or accredited. Thank you.

Now, where, perhaps, did this inspiration come from? To do something new and different. To defeat the ongoing stereotype: the sea only yields sea-life. To find creativity in the norm. If you were to ask, I would say the answer is obvious. Among the rest of the sunscreen-wearing, umbrella-and-chair toting, book-engrossed beach-goers, this one is an artist. Not an artist of paper and pencil or canvas and paint. Not even of ceramic and acrylic (which is by far my absolute favorite). My art is the practice of bringing equality, peace, and inspiration to the generations of tomorrow. Yes, comic book expressionism at its best.

In gracing the beach sands with a beast that does not belong to it, one is inserting a piece of life into another, joining a setting with a juxtaposed object that inevitably contradicts its surroundings. This is the goal of the artist and the human being on this beautiful slice of soil called Earth: to be an individual in a setting that, whether subtly or extremely, contradicts us to the point of changing parts of the setting for the better. Call it environmental revolution:

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:2, NLT)

Woah! God thought of it first??? Crazy, crazy stuff…

Build a sand sculpture. Change the world.