Artist Tina Marie Cunningham fashions a bird from willow and driftwood	Wave Art	Bird sculptures adorn the beach by Artist Lynne Bebb and team
.......and mermaids	Bird by Artist Pip Woolf	Oystercatcher made from willow and ripstop by Oystermouth Primary School, Year 2 and Artist Sara Holden

Passing boats	Ringed Plover by Grange Primary School and Artist Tina Marie Cunningham
Oystercatcher from driftwood
Artist Dave Marchant - bird nest sculpture

FESTIVAL BIRDS

Dunlin sculpture by Oystermouth Primary and Artist Tina Marie Cunningham

Oystercatcher by Oystermouth Primary Year 2 and Bar Tail Godwit

by Waurnalwydd Primary Year 3 with Artist Sara Holden

Bar tail Godwit	Fish and Chips and below Sea Mobile Artist: Steve Phillips
Bird by Artist Lynne Bebb

Three friends create a sand crocodile

WEEKEND 2 - 9th and 10th July

Young Jacob enjoys the sounds of Steve's sea mobile The temperature soared during the second weekend of the festival and everyone enjoyed making their sculptures in the sun. Although temporary, the artworks were appreciated by young and old alike! Jacob's Dad even brought a wheelbarrow to collect treasures for their bird nest sculpture. Toby Downing's stunning shell mosiac was a favourite with everyone and was created with a team of children carefully placing the shells in a pattern.

 

Photos include the mathmatical sand series by Artist Sarah Tombs and team, Irish Artist Rorie Brophy and team masterminding the creation of the wonderful Pirate ship, building of a rock nest with Artist Dave Marchant and other inspired artworks by the general public.

Wave Arch - Artist Tina Cunningham	Artist Sarah Tombs creating her mathematical patterns with youngsters
Above: skull and crossbone from shells Pirate ship by Artist Rorie Brophy and crew	Shell form by Artist Sara Holden and team
	Above: Artist Dave Marchant with his bird colony made from beach stones and below Bird by Artist Toby Downing
	Bridges were made over the river by Artist Pip Woolf's team
Making Sea Arches and paths with Artist Sara Holden

Artists running the workshops during festival weekends were Toby Downing, Lynne Bebb, Pip Woolf, Sara Holden, Dave Marchant, Tina Marie Cunningham, Sarah Tombs, Steve Phillips and Rorie Brophy.Thank you to all our artists for helping to make the festival such a success.

If you enjoyed working with the artists and taking part in the Festival, please let us know your comments on what aspects you enjoyed and which artists you worked with. Please e-mail:- info@sculpturebythesea.co.uk

Some of the comments we have already received are published here below:-

A lovely idea - my son forgot about everything else and started immediately a sculpture and my daughter didn't stop for hours.

I have had a great time down here with you and hope to see you again. I liked finding the shells.

My children - ages 3, 6 and 2 years have enjoyed a wonderful experience today. I have been impressed with the use of the space and loved seeing my children being so inspired. Great work - more please!

Very innovative - excellent project - re: Biodiversity and helping young and old to be more creative and environmentally friendly.

Thank you, really innovative and fun. Absorbing attention with really good atmosphere.

I really enjoyed making the seahorse - thank you so much.

We enjoyed making a bird's nest - it was fun and a great thank you.

We made a shell out of shells, it's a great idea. I hope they (the artists) come back.

Two children totally absorbed for two hours! I'm not sure which they enjoyed more - making sculpture or bossing me about! O - great fun!

I had a smashing time and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

The children enjoyed themselves very much. Very cheap afternoon. Very good.

We had lots of fun with Sarah with patterns and maths sequences in nature. Lovely morning.

We had lots of fun building a boat.

Really enjoyed tying pretty beach string onto shell structure.

I've had lots of fun building a pretty shell out of willow. I feel very artistic now.

It was fun.

I had lots of fun - I made a tree!

It was the best day ever - I helped build a boat, a shell and sea arches.

We had a lot of fun building a mermaid out of sand and shells.

A very inspirational day - lots of fun and I made a mermaid sculpture.

Very, very enjoyable. Thought of ideas for future trips to the beach.

Excellent, fun and inspiring. we enjoyed making the pirate ship.

I was helping Rorie build the pirate ship and the best part of all was the flag at the top.

The Robinson family - Lloyd and Darcey had a great time - what a wonderful idea. Thank you very much.

Myself and my daughter really enjoyed your festival. We can't wait for the next time, my wife doesn't want to miss it. It would be great if you could run them through the Summer Holidays.

Is at' shame its your last weekend - it would be fantastic to have it throughout the summer.

We will be back tomorrow to make some more sculptures.

I thought it was just for the children but I really enjoyed myself.

Its wonderful to see this beach used in this way.

I was going home an hour ago but I'm still here enjoying myself.

I can't look at the driftwood now without thinking what part of a bird it could be!

We could make sculptures with stuff we found in our garden.

I enjoyed helping Dave stack his stones for a bird habitat.

I made the Swansea logo in shells which I was very pleased with.

They should have one of these set in concrete on the front over there!

I didn't know you could make so much from beach stuff.

I never knew you could have so much fun with sand.

I want to be a sculpture (sculptor!) when I'm older.

Really encouraging for children's confidence to have workshops like this.

Shame we are going back tomorrow as we would have liked to have come here again.

I don't want to leave yet - its too exciting.

Messages from the Artists involved.

It had cannons, an anchor, seats, a flag and telescopes (front and rear). It was a fine craft, built with great care and attention to detail. Instead of a rotten old hull (my original idea) buried in sand, our ship sailed across oceans! Pirates were spotted through telescopes made of empty bottles and were then cruelly dispatched with cannons of wood, firing pine cones. Countless monsters were avoided and many people were rescued from certain death. It was a splendid voyage - my crew changed many times but they never lost their enthusiasm for adventure! The ability to look through the cracked and dirty end of a plastic water bottle (balanced on a long stick) and see new worlds filled with endless adventure and excitement is a skill I definitely need to relearn! Rorie Brophy

There is a fine line between idle play and curious investigation. Having artists working with attention allowed a deeper level of engagement with materials, place and subject. I was thrilled at the infectious way a simple and wholly spontaneous idea took off resulting in a plethora of bridges!

Pip Woolf

A great day of interaction through making sand sculptures. Children felt liberated to work in a relaxed and friendly environment discovering their own natural creativity. Really beneficial to all - it was difficult to leave, even at 5 o'clock! Ami Marsden

The shell mosaics engaged lots of people - they were impressed with the use of natural materials and the simplicity of construction which resulted in an eyecatching artwork. Toby Downing

It was a great opportunity to interact with our environment and other artists. Some very exciting work started to emerge during the day with not only children participating but whole families! Very inspiring. Dave Marchant

As the day progressed, I noticed a variety of approaches - some that were very free and spontaneous. People seemed to enjoy working in a different environment, exploring their own creativity. Others were very positive about the festival, even if they didn't want to join in. They thought the atmosphere was friendly and non-aggressive, unlike what you often find when the public come into a gallery context. Definitely well recieved. Sarah Tombs

The sculptures created at the festival were site specific - about the place and its wildlife. People really embraced that as a worthwhile reason to make art which will highlight the importance of sustaining and preserving natural places for future generations. Sara Holden

I had underestimated how magical the surprise of finding and using natural resources was - it forced us to use our imaginations more as there is very little forward planning. Steve Phillips

I found the workshops exceptionally enjoyable and inspiring due to the members of the public who helped create the work with me. I hope that they explore their creativity further and realise the possibilities of their ideas. Tina Marie Cunningham

More photos on Schools Page

All photos copyright Sculpture by the Sea. Photographer: Phil Holden (BscHons)