Sand artist Paul Hoggard describes discovering a love of sand sculpting, the ever-growing global sand scene, and how it took him ten years for his hobby to become a full-time job.
Discovering a talent for sculpture
“I started playing, like you do when you’re sitting on a nice beach. I built a face and that’s how I became interested in sand sculpture. It was a very spontaneous event and I’ve been hooked ever since.
“It’s a natural human instinct to play with sand. Take children down to the beach and the first thing they do is start patting and start playing. We’re just taking it a step further, that’s all.”
Making a living from sand sculpture
"Before I was a sand sculptor, I worked in the steel industry in the North. I was a builder for many years. I did a lot of mixing cement, so I already had a grounding in sand. I had a good idea of how to turn sand into a medium that was solid. So my building history came in and still does.
“You’ve got to keep pushing it, you’ve got to keep trying. When it’s not easy, you’ve got to keep going at it, even if it’s difficult. And it is difficult."
“It took me ten years before I could see any financial gain in sand sculpture. I never went into sand sculpture to make money. I was doing sand sculpture purely for pleasure.”
“Working on the beaches in Cornwall, I quickly got noticed by local media and local press. I spent most weeks on the beach making one form of sculpture or another, always something different, experimenting.
“Slowly but surely, different jobs would appear. I taught sculpture to the children of Cornwall for at least seven years: on the beaches, even in the long jump pits in schools.
“There are about sixty professional sand sculptors in the world, maybe two in the United Kingdom. We are growing larger every year, people are entering professional sand sculpture from ice and snow sculpting, and stone sculptors.”
Advice for artists
“You’ve got to keep pushing it, you’ve got to keep trying. When it’s not easy, you’ve got to keep going. You’ve got to keep breathing and going at it, even if it’s difficult. And it is difficult, it’s difficult for a lot of the time.
“I always think it’s best if we make our passion our day-to-day thing. For me personally, it’s sand sculpture.”
