< Previous20 COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2022 COURTESY EMERSON SCHREINER COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2022 21 FEATURE SCULPTING SAND Team has shaped works of art and strong bonds on the beach story by KERI HEATH F or some, it’s about more than the castle. Each year, dozens of teams compete in the AIA Sandcastle Competition at East Beach in Galves- ton, a show of architectural skill with sand that lures thousands of admiring onlookers. The AIA Sandcastle Competition, scheduled for Aug. 20, is a fund-raising event for the American Institute of Architects Houston and the Architecture Center Houston, which cultivates public appreciation for architecture and its effect. The competition also is a big revenue-generating event for Galveston. Teams compete for the prestigious Golden Bucket Award. Building competition-worthy sandcastles is hard work, but worth it, said Evan McClimans, one of the team cap- tains of Galveston Local, which has participated in the intense AIA competitions. (Above) Becky Major, from left, Ania Mantooth and Evan McClimans, all members of the Galveston Local sandcastle-building team, shovel sand at Beach Access 1C in Galveston. (Opposite) A sand sculpture by Emerson Schreiner. The Galveston-based artist gives sandcastle lessons on island beaches. LESLIE PLAZA JOHNSON22 COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2022 FEATURE “We got our butts kicked all day but we had a blast,” McClimans said. “It was some- thing we all worked together and did. We were with our friends.” Constructing sandcastles for Galveston Local is about teamwork and camaraderie. The day of building is long and laborious and requires months of planning, but it’s time well spent on the beach, said Surinder Aulakh, another team captain. “As locals, you go to the beach, but you go a total of one week a year,” Aulakh said. “This is our time to be at the beach, so we might as well go hard while we’re here.” The community-focused aspect of building sandcastles also is part of the reason Emer- son Schreiner was drawn to the art. The Galveston-based artist tends to paint portrait pieces alone, he said. But building sandcastles is an inherently social art, he said. “It’s almost always a form of public art,” Schreiner said. On the one hand, it can be embarrassing to make a mistake on a public piece of art, but it’s also interactive, said Schreiner, who gives sandcastle lessons on Galveston beaches. “It’s just so nice to be able to share your art form with people,” Schreiner said. “That’s always cool to see people’s face light up when they figure out how to carve a stair- case. Something about sand is just really enchanting for most people.” Schreiner also travels extensively to sandcastle competitions, generally week- long events where he’ll meet sculptors from around the country. “Sand sculptors are really great, fun-loving people,” Schreiner said. “A lot of times, the contests feel just like parties. It’s just like hanging out with your friends and making something together.” Building elaborate, highly detailed sand- castles requires a lot of advanced planning, Aulakh said. Since the team’s first competition in 2017, its members have learned a lot, he said. A sandcastle typically starts with a form that helps contain and compact the sand. Then comes the detail. “It requires a lot of different things that you wouldn’t imagine go together,” Aulakh said. “We’ve got a lot of woods and nails. The sculptors, they need spoons, knives, straws, paintbrushes. It’s all about texture.” Typically, the team builds sand replicas of iconic buildings around Galveston, such as the Rosenberg Library or Bishop’s Palace. Schreiner also often teaches people using molds, which helps the sand keep a firmer shape, he said. With the fine grains and high clay and silt content, Galveston’s sand is ideal for making sculptures, he said. “The sand here is really remarkable for making sand sculptures,” Schreiner said. “Having worked on different beaches, I’m really, really happy that I get to do it here because the quality of the sand is so high.” One of McClimans’ favorite parts about building sandcastles is the drive home, when everyone is exhausted and has a sense of accomplishment, he said. “All of the original people on this team have been friends for years and years and years, which is great,” McClimans said. “It’s this thing that has become our thing. My fa- vorite part of it is my Galveston family doing something together.” Surinder Aulakh sweeps the sand around his team’s sandcastle to finish the product for the 2019 AIA Sandcastle Competition in Galveston. DAILY NEWS FILEThe University of Texas Medical Branch is in-network for most major insurance plans. 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Podoll’s mother and grandmother both were artists and she is now following in their footsteps. (Opposite) Podoll helped to paint a tropical beach mural for a waterfront home in Kemah. COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2022 27 CURRENTS | ART ‘MY CALLING’ Self-described chameleon is an artist inspired by contrasts story by SUE MAYFIELD GEIGER | photos by JENNIFER REYNOLDS I t was pretty much a given that Mollie Podoll would become an artist. After all, her mother and grandmother were artists. “I inherited their artistic talents, especially those of my mom, Susan Parker,” Podoll said. “She owns Parker Studios in Austin and Houston, and I started working with her when I was 20 years old.” Although Podoll spends most of her time in her Dickinson studio, she often collaborates with her mother, especial- ly when it comes to larger projects, like the 12-by-80-foot coastal-themed mural in Kemah they recently completed. Because of inclement weather, it took nearly two weeks for them to finish the mural, which features a clear blue ocean, sandy beach, palm trees, tropical flowers, white pelican, pink flamingo, tiki hut and surf shack all under a yellow and pink sunset. “It’s exactly what the client envisioned,” Podoll said. Growing up with a mother and grandmother who are artists and a photographer father, Podoll had to work to find her personal style and now knows what she likes, she said. “Right now, I am inspired by geodes,” she said. “I use metallic plaster and gold leaf to add sparkle in the middle to mimic a geode. Typically, I have an idea of what I am going for, but I also let it happen on its own. There are several 28 COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2022 (Clockwise from top left) Mollie Podoll paints abstracts as well as figurative pieces featuring moths, mermaids and plants; “Día de los Muertos” by Podoll, who is inspired by the Mexican holiday as well as New Orleans’ voodoo culture; a pair of Podoll’s abstract paintings are done with metallic plaster and glass glitter. (Opposite) The hutch in Podoll’s studio is one of her favorite pieces that she uses for storage and to display art books. She refinished the hutch, painting it a glossy black and used a Harry Potter wallpaper to line the back of the cabinet. COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2022 29 CURRENTS | ART layers, so when I add a clear gel, mix in color and combine the gold leaf, it reactivates and tarnishes some of the gold, creating more depth and color. Then I let it do its thing.” Podoll also paints what she calls “the drippings,” she said. “I love the abstract drippings, high contrast and pops of black,” she said. In that work, she uses mixed media — acrylic, metallic plaster, gold leaf and glass flakes. “It’s layers and layers and has a lot of texture,” she said. “I comb it or trowel it on like a plaster look, and just like with the geodes, I let it go.” When it comes to Podoll’s personal style, she likes the dark and moody side of art and has a penchant for pin-ups, mermaids and winged creatures, she said. “I’m a chameleon and like very high-contrast pieces with lots of juxtaposition, so I don’t have a name for it,” she said. “I’m very inspired by the Día de los Muertos theme and the New Orleans vibe with its voodoo culture. I love that it’s vibrant, but it also has grit. I’m also drawn to pin-ups and mermaids because they represent that strength in beauty and femininity. Moths, butterflies and bees inspire me to experi- ment with resin and glitter.” Her mermaids sell quickly, so her inventory is low at the moment, she said. “They are more challenging,” Podoll said. “Every time I paint a mermaid or pin-up, I redo their faces four or five times. I typically like to paint a moon behind the mermaids, as it looks good on print.” Podoll grew up in Seabrook, attended Clear Lake High School and junior college in Austin, then moved to Galveston County. “My mom showed me how to be successful in the art world, so now I have a nice base of clients who call me to help them with their home projects, like textured alligator walls, remodeling fireplaces to resemble metal or stone or adding domes in entryways,” Podoll said. “I appreciate the maximalist style of décor and also like the vintage parts of houses, like original crown molding and crystal doorknobs.” Podoll always has loved art, and studied it in high school, but mainly learned from working with her mother, she said. “Once I started helping her, I realized it was my calling,” she said. What Podoll does just for her soul are textured abstracts, she said. “Those are my favorites, but I love the figurative too, espe- cially the darker contrasts,” she said. Swimming around in her head these days is the Pacific Ocean and watching it come alive, she said. “I want to paint a cloudy thunderstorm because I like the depth of going from black to grayish,” she said. “And I might even throw in an octopus.” Next >