Mysterious Sand Art On OC Shores: A Labor Of Love From A Local Artist
DANA POINT, CA — If you’re out on the shores of Orange County, you may have been lucky enough to stumble across a captivating work of art just at your feet — literally.
Local resident Zalan Szabo has been taking to the shores of Southern California to rake sand for some years now — his massive, ephemeral work spotted on the shores of Dana Point’s Baby Beach, Salt Creek and more.
Beachgoers at Salt Creek Beach in Dana Point were surprise on Dec. 3 with one of Szabo’s latest creations. These masterpieces depend on the moon, and the tide and Szabo’s free-time, and they last mere hours before the waves, the wind and foot traffic take their toll.
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Szabo told Patch that he organically started raking sand of his own accord. He started with a smaller piece of sand art. His tool? A single stick.
“Looking at it, I realized that this could look pretty cool from above if I made it bigger and more interesting,” Szabo said. “So I started learning about tides, moons, sands — and kept getting bigger and more complex with the ideas.”
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Szabo earns no money from the sand art he creates, and his inspiration for his works are not a tangible thing that he can point to, he told Patch. Rather, he has “random ideas” that he tries to project onto the sand — but the idea is just the start of it, Szabo said.
In order to create his sand art, the beach conditions must be just right.
“The moon has to be in the right position — around new moon and full moon periods — to create larger tide swings between high and low tides,” he told Patch. “That allows the beaches to be wider. In Southern California, we have very narrow beaches in comparison to some of the Atlantic shores.”
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But it doesn’t stop there. Szabo said that along with the moon and tides, the sand must also be optimal for the raking.
“The sand has to be hard, compacted and smooth — untouched. I have to find the time and place when there is no seaweed, rocks or pebbles washed up,” he said. “I have to find the place where there’s limited foot traffic… and all of this needs to coincide with my free time to be able to rake three to five hours before the tide starts coming up.”
While Szabo said he would like to rake once a week, in reality, he is only able to make it out to the shoreline every couple of months — but that isn’t slowing him down.
“I enjoy being out and giving the members of the public something unique. Something unexpected,” Szabo said. “Something that stops them to wonder.”
While Szabo’s sand creations takes three to five hours to craft, he understands the ephemeral nature of his art form.
“They usually stay for a couple of hours… sometimes they start washing away already as I’m finishing up,” Szabo said. “I don’t hang around to see them washed out. Not because it bothers me… I made peace with the fact that I will never win a fight against the tide.”
To follow Szabo’s sand art on Instagram, click this link.
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