Fair display builds sand cows

COSTA MESA — Greg Glenn toils in the hot sun nearly 12 hours a day during the Orange County Fair — but he’s one of the few people there who isn’t hoping for a cool breeze.

Glenn’s company, Sandscapes, was hired by the fair this year to create sculptures out of sand and water. Every day, he and two other artists use their simple materials to build increasingly bizarre sights: cows riding surfboards, cows building sandcastles, even a cow driving a car. It may be grueling work in the middle of July, but at least the heat makes the sand dry quickly.

“In situations where we get thunderstorms, we’ll often spray our sculptures with sealer,” Glenn said. “But that’s not an issue here in Southern California.”

Sandscapes, sponsored at the fair by the Irvine Co., travels to about 40 events every year to create its unique brand of art. The company, which last appeared at the Orange County Fair in 2003, brought 500 tons of sand to work with this year. Each day, fairgoers can stop by to see the artists developing new sculptures — and even the crew isn’t sure what the whole display will look like by the end of the fair, since there’s often a little improvisation along the way.

“Sand sculpture is not written in stone by any means,” said Karen Fralich, another member of the crew.

As the group worked Saturday, it had a captive audience, as a number of visitors stopped by to gawk at the intricate designs. Jannay Morrson, an Irvine resident, spotted the display from across the fairgrounds and stepped in for a closer look.

“It looks like 3D animation,” she said. “You could picture it as a movie frame. I’ve been to sandcastle contests, but I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Bryce Mirtle, a Costa Mesa home inspector, said the display brought back childhood memories of the beach. “That is just the coolest thing ever,” he said. “Having just grown up in Huntington Beach and being a surfer, that is just too cool.”