Sand Sculptors..The South African Beach Artists

I remember i used to love building sand castles on the beach a couple of years ago,yup I was a beach artist myself Though I must admit I was never good at it! The sand castles on the beach in South Africa's port of Durban caught my eye big time...they're surprisingly  lifelike sand sculptures in form of cars, buildings and wild animals which take up to a week to complete but can be destroyed in a matter of minutes. .One of the main reasons i stopped my 'sand castle art', ocean waves always swooped em before i had a chance to show em off.

On the other hand Siboniso Shezi, a 16-year-old homeless teenager, using sculpting as his source of income
"Sometimes people are really impressed by what we do and give us money," he says."I enjoy what I do because it keeps me out of trouble. I also like getting donations from the tourists who visit Durban."His car sculpture took him and a friend three days to complete.


Sandile Dube, 17, who has been making sculptures since he was 13 years old, lives more than 40 kilometres outside Durban and has already been making sand sculptures for four years. "I use some of the money I make to travel between home and the beach. Some days I make up to 100 rand ($13; £9) a day, it makes me feel proud to earn a living on my own." "I love making sand sculptures, most of them include wild animals because they fascinate me.

His latest masterpiece is a woman whose head is stuck inside a leopard's mouth.Dube pays focuses much on detail, he uses black sand to create the spots on the animal's body and carefully carves its teeth with a sharp object."I see pictures of wild animals in magazines - that image stays in my head until I make a sculpture of it," he says.
Passers-by drop coins for in Dube's Handkerchief which he keeps not far from the sculptors, sometimes they offer to extra money so they can take photographs near the works of art.

Lungile Dlamini, who is one of the oldest sculptors working from the Durban beach front and says the younger sculptors offer some healthy competition.
"You have to stay on top of your game and always be creative; I enjoy the competition we have here."

He specialises in sculptures of buildings - from modest huts, including a recreation of the village of Zulu King Shaka, to skyscrapers. He has been working along the beach front for the past 10 years.
Mr Dlamini is from Umlazi township, approximately 20 kilometres outside Durban and commutes to town daily - just to get his hands on the sand. Now thats deddication..."I enjoy recreating homes or buildings I've seen. I think what we do goes a long way in further beautifying the beach," he says.
Its a form of art that just goes unnotices you know...there should be sand sculpting museums now, if people are that dedicated...i think it will show appreciation of creactivity.