Archisand sand sculptors brought their craft to the Washington State Spring Fair this weekend in Puyallup. Their sculpture features the Fair’s 125-year anniversary logo and the Fair’s Sasquatchian mascot, Big WA.
The photo closeups above shows Big WA winking (left) and Big WA enjoying a hamburger next to the Washington State Fair’s 125-year anniversary logo (right). The sculpture is made from Washington Rock’s Ultrafine Sand. Photos courtesy of Archisand.
45 Years of Sand Sculptures
Archisand founder, Greg LeBon, has been sculpting sand professionally for 45 years. He met his long-time sculpting partner, Kō Tanaka, in the ’90s at the real estate development firm they both worked at. Depending on the size of the project, Greg can also call on other artists for help.
Both sculptors maintained their jobs as architects and sculpted sand on the side until 2020 when they decided to make sculpting a full-time pursuit. Over the years, the Archisand team has won seven U.S. Open Sand Castle Masters Championships and sculpted world record-height sandcastles. They’ve created custom sculptures for iconic brands like Ferrari and celebrities like Taylor Swift.
Archisand even worked with Steven Spielberg to build a sand sculpture for The Fablemans.
“We were supposed to build a sculpture that looked like it had been made by teenagers in high school,” Greg said. “So sometimes that’s the most challenging thing: we make it too clean. Spielberg’s there [and says], ‘It looks too good.'”
Spielberg sent a crew member to un-perfect Archisand’s creation, Greg explained humorously.
The Sculpting Process
Archisand’s works of art start with a vision and reference art provided by clients. Greg and his team get to know each brand personally so that they can design unique and locally relevant sculptures. For the Washington State Fair, Big Washington—known as Big or Big WA for short—was an important part of the design concept.
“If we were told to come here and do a sand sculpture and there was no subject matter, we might do a castle and miss the boat on Big WA, who’s a descendant of Sasquatch,” Greg explained. “[Big WA] was allowed to come down and be the mascot for the Fair by the family of Sasquatch . . . you get the idea. There’s a whole story behind Big WA, and the story is the culture here. We want to promote the culture here.”
An important part of each project is sourcing sculptable sand locally. That’s where companies like Washington Rock Quarries come in.
Washington Rock sent Archisand technical information about Ultrafine Sand to make sure it met sculpting requirements. Then 15 tons of Ultrafine Sand was hauled to the fairgrounds and moved to the jobsite.
Ultrafine Sand is a mixture of very fine sand and 15%–30% silt. It’s shipped with optimal moisture content so that it can be sculpted on the job site. It’s typically used to construct pool bases and beach volleyball courts.
“I’ve lived 45 years looking for the best sands,” Greg said. “And what makes a good sand is that it clumps together like that—” he said, squishing a handful of Ultrafine Sand into a ball.
“It’s a really ideal sand for doing sand sculpture. So we’re tickled pink,” Greg said.
Sculpting sand requires many hand tools, air pressure, and water as well as vibrating forms. The forms vibrate the sand grains, helping the sand to compress together into a concrete-like state and retain its shape.
The sculptures usually take shape over a few days. Archisand’s largest sculptures, like a 70-foot sand castle, have taken up to 3 weeks with a large team of artists.
The Washington State Fair’s Big WA sculpture will be on display through Sunday, April 20th.
For more information about Washington Rock’s Ultrafine Sand, check out the Ultrafine Sand product page.
Learn more about Archisand on their website, or follow them on Instagram: @archisan_inc
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Washington Rock Quarries is a family-owned business that produces rock, sand, and soil products at Kapowsin Quarry and King Creek Pit in Orting, Washington.