While many of us can’t keep a decent castle together, Carl Jara, a Cleveland-based artist, creates surreal figures and scenes that defy the medium of sand sculpture. Jara has nabbed dozens of awards and world championships, traveled the world, and even been featured on the Travel Channel for his efforts. And while many take to sea animals, pirate imagery, and other ocean fare for inspiration, Jara uses sand to inject life into the unexpected.
Jara also goes by the moniker “Grain Damaged,” and by day, he’s an exhibits artisan and technician at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. While some of Jara’s pieces are more narrative-driven, much of his work adds a psychological aspect to the medium. “Infinity conveys contemplation between decreasingly small figures that each reflect on the next smallest. “What Lies Beneath,” similar to Russian nesting dolls, offers a figure that reveals more and more beneath the surface as it splits apart.
These are complex ideas for such a temporary medium, though Jara seems more occupied by new ideas than preserving the older ones. Still, the stills captured of each of his pieces may linger the next time you find yourself lounging on a beach, with all of the ingredients for this artform at your fingertips.
Gabriel Barredo’s meticulous mixed-media sculptures and installations are made using found objects. The artist’s pieces are at times created to move, their writhing interworkings appearing both organic and mechanical in nature. Works like "Madamadam" (top), startle even in their stillness.
Matching the look of flesh has always been and is still considered one of the most demanding tasks for any artist. It is notoriously difficult for many reasons, making it a subject of intrigue throughout history. Brooklyn based sculptor 
Emerging Swedish artist 