VICTORIA, Australia -- Artists from Australia and around the world have converged on the southern Australian town of Frankston to take part in the annual Sand Sculpting Australia exhibition.
About 20 sculptors are putting the finishing touches on 280 truck loads of sand that were taken to the beach especially for the event. The sand is coarse and able to withstand the elements, organizers say.
Although sand is often at the mercy of the elements, it is also a forgiving medium for the artists.
"I think her bottom leg is still a bit short but, I'll fix it. That's the easy part of sand," explained Suzanne Ruseler of the Netherlands.
Apart from water, nothing is added to the sand other than some sealant spray on the smaller pieces, leaving the artists to compact the sand as hard as possible.
The artists are careful to take international politics into consideration.
"I had planned it a bit bigger, but on the other side, they have Genghis Khan. Genghis Khan wasn't happy with a Big Ben, so we had to make it small," said local artist Natasha Kameskaia, who is originally from Russia.
The sculptors had been scheduled to return to their respective homelands for Christmas, but due to recent rain which battered their sculptures, they prolonged their stay in Australia until after Christmas, when the exhibition is scheduled to open to the public.
