Island artist becomes one with the sand in Parksville sandcastle competition

A sandy, bikini-clad pachyderm prone atop a beach towel graces a popular international seaside sand sculpture competition up Island. The feeling of life and gesture in the “truly sculptural” display earned kudos from both judges and peers for View Royal artist Damon Langlois in the Parksville sandcastle competition. Langlois captured third from the judges, and Sculptor’s Choice in the solo category for his work T.G.I.F., which stood out for its life-like expression and humour, resonating strongly among fellow master sculptors. “As an artist that always feels good to get positive feedback from your peers for sure,” he told the Goldstream Gazette. Langlois, an industrial product designer, started his first job here in Victoria, working alongside a sand sculpture artist a generation ago. That coworker was on a team called Freddy and the Sandblasters – which included former Greater Victoria artist Fred Dobbs, who now lives on Mayne Island. The former coworker had just started their own team and had a hole they invited Langlois to fill. “I said, ‘Sure, why not,’ and then we went and competed at Harrison Hot Springs,” he said. That Fraser Valley beach that hosted world championships for a decade up to 2009. The team finished second. “I was hooked.” He spent the next seven years working with a team at Harrison that generally did well. “When I started in the ’90s it was much easier with these large teams, more amateur with a lower bar. Now … the bar is so high, it’s definitely more intimidating,” he said. “The scene was a lot more amateur, with more fun on the beach, now it’s a high-level, high-calibre art form.” Still clearly drawn to the ephemeral art three decades later, Langlois credits both the medium itself and the community. His work as an industrial designer has a permanence, where the sand is temporary and subject to the elements – affording some spontaneity. “It’s a less rigid creative process,” he said. “You’re also at this challenge of gravity and the elements, and with this medium, you can’t just do whatever you want with it. You get into this strange mode, becoming one with the sand because you have to read it.” And the community has cultivated a subculture with its own language, stories and legends like Ted Siebert and the late Joe Maize. The Pacific Coast was the jam, with White Rock then Harrison bringing sculptors together and sharing knowledge long before the internet. The west was big, the east coast was all about busking. Maize was among the original busking sculptors, leading the crowd as he worked. But in those days, bigger teams included diggers alongside artists and more time for things like leading the public. And everyone travelled competition to competition and exhibition to exhibition full time. “They used to joke and call it joining the circus, because they’re always travelling,” Langlois said. “It really bonds you. You’re having these adventures that are outside the real world in a sense. You end up having these stories and legends that you share with each other.” It’s still required, with little work that will pay the bills outside of places like California where promotional work is big. Now, most events, aside from a handful of amateur U.S. events, are invite-only, and you have to prove your mettle to get one. Parksville remains “pretty precious” and is widely recognized internationally as one that top artists want to attend. “Right now, I think it’s the only competition in Canada.” Dobbs also earned accolades at the annual Quality Foods Sand Sculpting Competition, July 11 to 13. Teamed up with Jakub Zimacek of the Czech Republic, their work, The  Acrobats – with a daring structural design at nearly 14-feet tall with a central hole – clinched first place and Sculptors’ Choice in the doubles division. Parksville Beachfest continues, with the finished sculptures on display through Aug. 17 from 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily and visitors voting for the People’s Choice Award.