Orissa artist wins 3 Medals at -Virginia Beach Sand Sculpting Championship
Sudarsan Pattnaik is one of 11 professional sculptors
to take part in the largest competition of its kind in the US
Virginia, Sep 26, 2010
Surinder Kaur
The Virginia Beach Neptune Festival is held annually on the last weekend in September, and is recognized as one of the Top 100 Events in North America. Over 500,000 visitors attend the festival each year. Winners of The North American Sand Sculpting Championship, a featured event in the 37th Virginia Beach Neptune Festival were announced Friday evening.
It is one of the world's largest sand sculpting competitions and Orissa-based artist Sudarsan Pattnaik wins 3 Medals at North American Sand Sculpting Championship in US.
Save the Sea by Sudarsan Pattnaik by Photo credit: Meryl Ann Butle
The oil spill was also the topic of "Save the Sea" by Sudarsan Pattnaik (India.) It won fifth place for Solo Professionals ($1,000) and depicts King Neptune rising from the Sea to discover oil spillage. It also won the Neptune's Choice and Sculptor's Choice Solo awards.
His sculpture City Of Peace won the peoples choice award for the best sand sculpture in the 2nd USF World Solo Sand Sculpture Championship 2009 held from June 4-11, 2009 in Berlin, Germany
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2010 MASTER SANDSCULPTORS - SOLO: Matt Diebert | USA;
Sudarsan Pattnaik | India;
Katsu Chaen | Japan
Alexey Schitov | Russia;
Rich Varano | USA;
Sue McGrew | USA;
John Gowdy | Italy;
Matt Long | USA;
Lucinda "SandyFeet" Wierenga | USA;
Walter McDonald | USA;
Peter Vogelaar | Canada;
Ilya Filmontsev | Russia
Poor Planning by Walter MacDonald by Photo credit: Meryl Ann Butler
John Gowdy (Italy/N.J.) won the $5,000 for first place in the Solo Professionals category for "Love Never Grows Old." A retired firefighter, he is now a professional artist, painting and carving in both marble and sand. Gowdy conducted free "No Hassle Sandcastle" clinics on sand sculpting which were open to the public prior to the festival.
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Indian sand sculptor wins three medals in US
Washington, Sep 26: Noted Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has won three medals in the North American sand sculpting competition at Virginia Beach as part of the Neptune Festival 2010 celebrating its 37th anniversary.
Pattnaik, one of 11 professional sculptors to take part in the largest competition of its kind in the US, won medals for Neptune's Choice, Sculptor's Choice and fifth place in the solo championship at Virginia Beach, about 200 miles from here, on the east coast.
Pattnaik, the first sand artist from India to win this championship in US, created a sand sculpture of Neptune giving the message 'Save The Sea from Oil Spill'. He was presented the medals Saturday in a grand prize distribution ceremony by 'King of Neptune' Bruce L. Thompson.
An elated Pattnaik said: "I am very happy to have won three medals for India in a championship in solo category. This is the first time I have won three medals in a single championship".
He has participated in more than 40 sand sculpture championships around the world and won many prizes. He is also running a school to teach sand sculpting in Orissa.
This year the sand sculpting competition on the Virginia Beach Oceanfront was a special feature of the Neptune Festival started by the Virginia Beach Chamber of Commerce to highlight the heritage of the beach.
The 32 blocks of boardwalks catering to the Neptune Festival 2010 also offered number of concerts along with arts and crafts exhibitions and an extravagant fireworks display. Keeping in view the popularity of the Neptune Festival, it is ranked among the top 100 festivals on the East Coast.
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