Architects of sand

Last year's winner, Karen Fralich from Ontario, Canada, again took first prize ($3,000), this time with the remarkable "Wild Wheels," a sculpture depicting a woman – her hair flowing – astride a half-motorcycle, half-steed.

The rough idea was preconceived, says Ms. Fralich, but not solidified. "I didn't know what it was going to look like." Within a week, "Wild Wheels" will again be a patch of beach. That doesn't faze Fralich. "It feels just fine," she says, "as long as I get to take pictures."

Fralich, who began her career as a potter in 1983 and discovered sand sculpture about a decade later, says she is off next to Junction City, Kan., where a 25-ton mound awaits.

The pipeline of sculptors like Fralich is filling. Today, master-class shows – often with instructional sessions on the side – can be found from Dallas to Dubai.

Georgia's Savannah College of Art and Design sponsors a major sand-sculpture exhibition in May. Artists of all kinds gather in Jesolo, Italy, each summer for a sandcastle festival. Last year the city enhanced things with light effects.

In the Netherlands, sand sculpture is part of the curriculum in some schools. "We tend to get a lot of sculptors out of there because of that," Grady says.

Even as it it advances, sand sculptures – like ice sculptures – are generally given a "novelty" label by the art community.

By and large, they depict a "literal and narrative interpretation of fantasy subjects," says A.E. Ted Aub, a sculptor and professor of art at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, N.Y.

"Museum critics would not find much of interest here," he writes in an e-mail. But beachgoers – himself among them – can certainly still delight in the mastery of a very challenging medium, he says.

"To observe the process and product of the sand sculptor," says Professor Aub, "is one of the liveliest and most satisfying forms of summer entertainment."

Want to visit one of the temples of this temporal art?

Sand-castle exhibitions and contests hit high gear around the Fourth of July and continue through Labor Day and beyond. (One of the premier events, Sand Castle Days at South Padre Island, Texas, runs Oct. 19-22 this year.)

The following list – a sample of forthcoming events – comes from sandcastlecentral.com, which posts detailed information about these and other contests around the US and worldwide. (Be sure to double-check the year; portions of the site haven't been updated lately.)

July 28-29 Sand in the City Bowling Green, Ky.

Aug. 1-2 Second Annual Sandcastle & Sculpture Contest Edgartown, Mass.

Aug. 5 28th Annual Sandcastle Contest Rehoboth Beach, Del.

Aug. 5 (rain date, Aug. 12) East Hampton Sandcastle Contest Amagansett Bay, N.Y.

Aug. 19 Sandblast! Crane Beach Ipswich, Mass.

Sept. 3 25th Annual Sand Sculpture Contest, Drakes Beach Point Reyes, Calif.

Sept. 5-10 World Championship, Harrison Hot Springs British Columbia

Sept. 29-30 Sand in the City Bellingham, Wash.

Sept. 29-Oct. 1 North American Sand Sculpting Championship, Neptune Festival Virginia Beach, Va.

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