HUNTINGTON BEACH : Logo Rises to Occasion, Only to Fall

In the past 13 years, Jeff Poland has helped build hundreds of sand sculptures, including a 53-foot-tall castle on a Florida beach and detailed replicas of the Acropolis, the Sydney Opera House and the Eiffel Tower.

By comparison, his project Friday on Corona del Mar State Beach was mundane: a 4-foot block, with an angled face bearing Golden West College’s 25th anniversary logo.

Still, it took five hours, 1 1/2 tons of sand and about 600 gallons of water for Poland and his three assistants to finish the sculpture, a promotional stunt sponsored by the college.

“This one is pretty easy,” Poland said near the end of the nonetheless meticulous job, “but it’s just scary, because it has to be just a certain way. It has to be just right.”

When the work was completed about 4 p.m., it was time for the wind and tide to eventually dismantle it.

Poland, a 41-year-old Newport Beach architect by profession, also heads a local team in Sand Sculptors International. He often charges hundreds of dollars for his works, but volunteered to do Friday’s job as a favor to Golden West College, where he once took some art classes.

The project, which Golden West documented for upcoming promotional publications and video productions, cost the college $400, which went to Poland’s assistants.

College spokeswoman Lori Thomas said the money came from Golden West’s community services account, which is entirely funded by student fees paid for non-credit classes. Money was set aside in that account for Golden West’s yearlong 25th anniversary celebration, she said.

Corona del Mar’s beach was chosen for the project, Poland said, because it is close to the sculptors--and the sand is polluted enough.

“The best sand for sculpting is at Seal Beach, because it’s full of oil,” Poland said. “But this is pretty good here too. Really clean sand doesn’t bond. You can’t sand-sculpt in Hawaii.”

Beneath azure skies, Poland and his crew began the project at 11 a.m., shoveling mounds of the relatively sullied sand, continually covering it with buckets of water hauled from the surf a few feet away.

Compacting the sand and keeping it wet, Poland said, is the key to sand-sculpting.

“We’ve used lots and lots of water today. That’s not low tide you see out there. That’s from all the water we’ve hauled out,” he joked, looking out at the receding tide.

After the sand was packed into a series of wooden frames, the sculpting and shaping began: First with shovels, then bricklayer’s trowels and finally, dental tools and straws.

Shortly after 3 p.m., the crew began carving onto the face the series of curved lines forming the number 25 in the logo--with the aid of a large wooden stencil.

Asked if using a stencil was a sand sculptor’s way of cutting corners, Poland smiled, and replied: “It’s a trick. That’s true. Whatever it takes to get it done is what you’ve gotta do.”