Artist Creates Realistic Sand Sculptures You Can Easily Mistake Them For Real Creatures

Where we see just a piece of sand, an artist sees a canvas. One where they can create such realistic pieces of art, that you’d actually have to double-check if that’s a real creature or just some sand perfectly composed into an animal.

The sand is Andy Bastarrika’s canvas. While most of us feel really good about ourselves after we build a castle at the beach, Bastarrika isn’t content with that. His works are much more ambitious, usually revolving around the natural world. From bulls to sharks and beyond, continue scrolling and check out some of the best creatures the artist has made. And yes, they aren’t just animals that he unearthed, Bastarrika really did sculpt them.

More info: Instagram | Facebook

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Credits: Andoni Bastarrika

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Credits: Andoni Bastarrika

Bastarrika said that his artistic journey with sand began in the summer of 2010 on a beach with his two girls. The first sculpture he made was actually a little mermaid. Working on it allowed him to discover what he calls his gift — the ‘fluidity’ of his hands. “They knew what they were doing,” Bastarrika described the process. “I devoted myself to developing this gift and have spent the last 10 years doing just that.

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Credits: Andoni Bastarrika

“The sand fascinates me because no matter how you look at it, it will always teach you things if you are willing to learn,” he wrote on his Facebook account. “In order to create a sculpture, an unthinkable number of sand particles participate, hugging each other tightly through humidity, so that someone could model their union. And once the artist steps back, its piece will remain at the mercy of nature, meaning that sooner or later the wind will dry them up and release each particle, slowly consuming all the individuality and authenticity.”

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Credits: Andoni Bastarrika

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Credits: Andoni Bastarrika

According to Bastarrika, although there are a thousand reasons why he’s attracted to sand, this one is probably the main one. In fact, he even thinks that we humans should act like this. “To create a beautiful world, we should all embrace each other just as tightly.”

“There are a lot of reasons why I like to make animal sculptures as well, but one is the fact that animals are free spirits,” Bastarrika explained, adding that animals are not only unique and beautiful but bearers of great wisdom as well. “Humans can reflect and learn from them.”

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Credits: Andoni Bastarrika

“Then, there’s the nudity they bring with themselves to this world at birth which they keep until their death. That nudity — at least to me — symbolizes freedom, the essential ingredient to being able to truly live. Humans ‘overdress’ to survive in a lot of ways. I have never made nor will I make an animal with a necklace or chains. I prefer to embrace their freedom, power, and wisdom through beauty rather than a form of suffering.”

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Credits: Andoni Bastarrika

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Credits: Andoni Bastarrika

The actual creation process goes something like this: Bastarrika piles up moist sand and starts shaping it, trying to find its expression, the movement that will bring it to life. After finding it, he uses a sharpened stick and a feather to deepen that expression and to transmit life into it. He also sometimes uses other materials like ashes, coal powder, clay powder, stone powder of different colors, glass shards, and so on.

“The time it takes to create one piece largely depends on its size,” Bastarrika explained. “The elephant, for example, took me 2 days, while the horse and the bison took 12 hours each. The dogs, which were smaller, needed about 6 to 8 hours.”

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Credits: Andoni Bastarrika

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Credits: Andoni Bastarrika

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Credits: Andoni Bastarrika

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Credits: Andoni Bastarrika

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Credits: Andoni Bastarrika

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Credits: Andoni Bastarrika

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Credits: Andoni Bastarrika

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Credits: Andoni Bastarrika

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Credits: Andoni Bastarrika

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Credits: Andoni Bastarrika

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Credits: Andoni Bastarrika

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Credits: Andoni Bastarrika

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Credits: Andoni Bastarrika

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Credits: Andoni Bastarrika

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Credits: Andoni Bastarrika

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Credits: Andoni Bastarrika

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Credits: Andoni Bastarrika

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Credits: Andoni Bastarrika

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Credits: Andoni Bastarrika

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Credits: Andoni Bastarrika

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Credits: Andoni Bastarrika

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Credits: Andoni Bastarrika

Guy Explains Why His CEO Left Work At Exactly At 5 PM, Others Share Stories About The Wholesome Bosses They’ve Had)

Throughout the months, we’ve known some people who had conflicts with their higher-ups for not respecting their work schedules. For example, we met this man who wasn’t allowed to leave early even though there was no more work, so he saw to it that he wouldn’t work anymore after his time. We have also known this guy who wasn’t let go even after his work hours.

Today, we’ll end these kinds of stories on a positive note. In a TikTok video by Alec (@handle), he retold his story where he observed his boss leaving at 5 pm on the dot. He then discovered him doing some work in his car. When he asked him why he did his matters in the car and not in his office, the boss responded that he wanted his employees to appreciate their work schedules by making them comfortable at leaving at 5 pm as well.

More info: TikTok

Bosses who respect their employees’ work schedules still exist, and this man can attest to that

Image credits: pm_alec

In his video, he revealed that his CEO would leave the office exactly at the last minute of work



Image credits: pm_alec

The viewers applauded the CEO for such a positive habit



Some users shared that there are even more of those who care








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