Steven Greydanus does sand sculptures and this one is sure to attract attention:
I’ve always loved sculpting in sand on summer vacation. As a kid I started out making sharks and other sea creatures; I’ve also tried my hand at castles, dragons and mermaids (and mermen and merbabies), among other subjects.
But the crucifixion is my favorite subject, obviously for spiritual reasons, but also artistically. Artistically, it’s a great anatomy study, with the arms outstretched, the musculature of the upper body clearly displayed, the whole body symmetrically laid out.
Spiritually, of course, it’s a labor not just of love of the art but of devotion. In the 90 minutes or so it took me to complete this sculpture, a crowd gathered to watch, and for hours afterward people stopped to take pictures and express their appreciation, and sometimes their faith. One woman said, “We’ve been watching you since you started, and debated what you were making. And right from the start I said it was our Lord.” I like people stopping to admire my dragons and mermaids, but when it’s Jesus it’s an opportunity to connect spiritually with people.
The image above was taken at dusk, so I bumped up the contrast to show the detail more clearly.
Seems wrong to describe a crucifix as beautiful but... it is. In so many ways.
More pics at the link.