Lake County beaches transformed into public art spaces with sand sculptures

The act of creation carries tremendous satisfaction for the artist and the observer. As Jara was working on the sculpture at Madison Township Park, random people stopped for a few minutes or much longer to ask what Jara he was doing, why, how and more.

One woman visited daily, taking photos as Jara spritzed water on the sand and delicately wielded a trowel to remove material. Another man bonded with Jara and invited him to share a beer. Yet another observer commented on the scarf protecting his head and neck from the sun; it was gift from Jara’s brother who brought it home from a military assignment in Iraq.

Answering questions and actively sharing art is a big objective.

“Its entertainment and art,” says Jara. “That’s 90 percent of it. Public art should be done when the public can see it. I’ve done some closed away from the public, in a tent. You lose the whole point.”

“Public art,” he says, “is different from art that’s stuck in a museum. For that you have to break down your personal barriers to go find that art. If you happen upon a piece of art on a beach, you have to look at it. You get to be involved. You get to chat with the artist and learn a few things about it. You can’t put a price tag on that. It transforms people’s lives.”

In that case Jara has transformed a lot of lives. He started sculpting sand while he was still in high school. After studying art for seven years, with plans to become a graphic designer, life took him in another direction. For nearly three decades he traveled the world, making a professional career as a sand sculptor.

In that time, he has worked and/or competed in more than a dozen countries and three dozen states winning more than 100 hundred medals including 14 from the World Championships. He has been featured in four seasons of “Sand Blasters” and “Sand Wars” on the Travel Channel.

So, yes, sand sculpting is a career, albeit one with fewer than 200 practitioners worldwide, according to Jara’s estimate. During the busiest years of his career Jara completed up to 20 pieces in a year.

“Now I’m smarter and have more credibility with my time in the sand,” he said. “I have managed to bring that to about 10 pieces a year and still maintain a living. It’s hard to do a lot of these a year, it’s a lot on your body and your mental reserves.”

Each sculpture takes four days to complete after sourcing sand and organizing ideas. The actual work requires one day for preparation and three days for sculpting.

The right sand is crucial for successful sculptures. Most Lake County beaches don’t have the right stuff. Jara tried mason sand, which doesn’t hold water well, before discovering glacial till sand.

“Glacial till is ground-up materials as glaciers move along and scrape the bedrock clean, which causes all the particles to be jagged,” he explained. These jagged particles stick together better.

“Beach sand is round like marbles,” he said. “The difference is that glacial till sand mixed back in with silt holds water, packs well, and stays intact with some weathering.”

And so, Jara had 10 tons of glacial till sand delivered to each Lake County beach. He uses round forms to create a tall, solid cylinder to work on.

“I tamp sand solid in four-inch layers from the ground to the top, almost like recreating sandstone,” he said. “When I’m finished, I have this wonderful solid sand I can work on.”

The four Lake Erie sculptures are designed specifically for their locations.

“A piece is a reaction to the space. As soon as I get there, I look around me,” said Jara. “Look up history of the space and things create their own ideas. Visit Lake County offered ideas, too. Each sculpture relates to its regional ideas and influences.”

For example, the Madison sculpture reflects the proximity to Ohio’s wine region. Jara prefers the other sculptures to remain a “secret” so people will visit to view them.

Jara is pleased by the connections formed through his public art.

“People are coming to each piece and are now visiting at other locations,” he said. “These people get to talk to each other. We’re creating little community networks. That’s what I think is special about public art. It’s such a positive thing.”

When not sculpting sand, he works part-time at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History building exhibits.

For those interested in following his footsteps, Jara said, “Go for it. Watch. Learn. Read. Go to my website. Read books about sand sculpture. You need to learn the right techniques and have the right sand.”

For those who can’t truck in glacial till, he recommends the sand at Huntington Beach in Bay Village or even Edgewater.

“Dunkirk, New York, sand is wonderful, but you need a screen because it’s full of shale,” he said. “If you think you can, you can. Keep trying, you’ll get it.”

The sand sculptures were commissioned by Tour Lake County, Lake County’s official destination marketing organization, with the help of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the Friends of Headlands Beach State Park, the City of Willoughby, Lake Metroparks and Madison Township.