Q and A with Todd Pangborn
We had a chance to catch up with Todd after his visit to Kiawah and to pose a few questions to him .
How is the Kiawah Island sand for sculpturing ? Kiawah ’ s sand is actually quite good . The fact that it is hard packed as the tide goes out is often a good indicator of sand that will work well for sculpting . A very fine , flat grain is the best sculpting sand because it will hold the water much better than a round-grain sand . Most beach sand has been tumbled by the surf and ends up round , thus not the best . Kiawah also seems to have a high silt content that also helps hold the water . It ’ s strong , meaning it will hold well when I am trying to get vertical height .
What is your favorite venue for your art ? Any place that has good sand and friendly people ! Oh , and is warm ! As far as beaches go , I would say Siesta Key , Florida , is my favorite . The sand there is pure white and very clean , soft and extremely fine . It ’ s probably the best beach sand for sculpting . Also , as long as it is not spring break time , the people there will not destroy the sculptures over night . Kiawah is among my favorites . Everybody is very respectful and appreciative of my sculptures , and I have never had one destroyed . They are allowed to just fade back into the beach .
What is your favorite of all the works you have done ? I don ’ t know if I could pick one over the others . They all have certain qualities that make each one different . If the spectators like it , I ’ m happy .
We see you also do clay sculpture . How much time do you spent on that ? Any competitions ? I have just dabbled in clay so far . I have made a few busts to work on facial features and used it for laying out concepts for sand competitions . I would like to get into clay more and make some permanent artwork . I just don ’ t know what I would make yet . That ’ s one of the things I like most about sand , you can make anything you want and it doesn ’ t have to be something worthy of “ living on forever .”
What has been your most significant challenge ? Time management and trying to do too much . All competitions are strictly timed and it ’ s difficult to know how much you can accomplish in the given time in a quality fashion . There is always a balance between wanting to have as much detail in a piece as possible and knowing what you create must be done with the highest quality . Its not a good situation if you need to rush to finish as the quality will suffer .
What is the best part of your hobby ? People ’ s reactions for sure . It ’ s very satisfying to sit back after finishing a sculpture and watching people react as they walk by . They range from joy to disbelief to total indifference . For most people it brings a big smile to their face and that makes it worth all the hard work . And it ’ s not bad being on the beach either .
How much time do you devote to sculpturing ? Right now I ’ m fairly to new the master sculptor ranks , so I haven ’ t been invited to many competitions . I ’ ve only competed in one or two competitions a year and , they are typically one week long . I will practice at home as time permits but that probably adds up to just a few weeks ’ worth . I may also have a paying job or two that are two to three days . Then there are the one or two weeks of vacation time . It ’ s extremely physically demanding , so taking time off is a must .
What have we forgotten to ask ? Any further comments ? All my sculptures and any in competitions are made of only sand and water . There are no adhesives added to hold them up . There are no internal structures to support it . This is the most asked question . Other frequently asked questions are : how did you do that ? And , what happens when it rains ? My answers are : you start with a pile of packed wet sand and then you remove all the sand that doesn ’ t look like whatever it is you ’ re making . And water is what holds the sculpture together , so the sculptures actually like rain as long as it doesn ’ t rain so hard that the water runs on the surface . NK
WINTER / SPRING 2017 • VOLUME 37
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