PORT ANGELES – Vern Cooley’s sculpture of two circus clowns crammed into a tiny clown car, titled, “Not So Fast,” was awarded first place in Saturday’s Windermere North American Masters Invitational Sand Sculpture Competition by a panel of five judges.
Cooley, a Seattle architect, celebrated the award and his $1,750 prize at the artists’ dinner Saturday night.
The sand sculpture competition was part of this weekend’s Arts in Action Street Fair, organized by the Nor’wester Rotary Club.
Second place and a $1,250 prize was awarded to Damon Langlois of Victoria, an electrical engineer, for his piece, “Inflated Ego,” of a clown making shapes out of balloons.
Langlois won third place in last year’s competition.
Rusty Croft’s fanciful sculpture, “Monkey See Monkey Do,” featured a monkey sitting on the head of a giant with massive feet, with the two imitating each other.
Croft, Park City, Utah, won a $950 prize.
Doc Reiss, a member of the Nor’wester Rotary Club and one of the organizers of the event, won the sculptor’s choice award.
Reiss’ piece – an elephant on its back playing with a large ball, titled “Playful Pachyderm,” – was his first attempt at sand sculpture.
It won the admiration of the fellow artists.
He was awarded a $500 prize.
The people’s choice award will be announced today at the end of the weekend festival.
Other entries are:
