Jul 31st, 2023

Tenant Spotlight: Meet James, the Man Behind the Sand Sculptures

James, a talented artist known for creating sculptures out of sand and ice, has been living in the Ottawa East community for a year and a half. His home, located at 800 St. Laurent Boulevard, is a studio where he unleashes his creativity, crafting sand sculptures in the warmer months and working with ice and snow during the colder seasons. 

James expressed his appreciation for the landscaping crew that left a generous amount of sand on his property. “I’ve been playing with the sand they left ever since,” he said.  

His fascination with sand began in 2016 when he moved to Ottawa after years of frequent trips to the area for Winterlude ice carving gigs. 

James considers the sand on his property his own artistic playground and plans to create multiple sand sculptures throughout the warmer months.  

James’ artwork has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from his neighbours. However, he has also experienced instances where his sculptures were destroyed while still in progress – where he had to relocate the sand and rebuild his creations in an area where surveillance cameras are present. 

Nonetheless, his passion for his art motivates him to overcome any difficulties. While being interviewed for the tenant spotlight, James asked: “Just wondering if there’s any way to arrange for another load of sand, so I can make bigger sculptures?” 

So why does he work with sand? 

“It’s really a fun art medium to work with, as always a very moody one that will give you a lot of rude surprises.”