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the SAND MAN Ed Moore has made a career as an artist in an unusual medium by AYN-MONIQUE KLAHRE photography by JOSHUA STEADMAN
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ou may not know him by name, but you’ve probably seen Ed Moore’s work: gigantic, whimsical sand sculptures that frequently grace downtown street festivals. Moore’s sculptures typically have a sense of humor — ladybugs drinking tea for BugFest, for example, or a bevy of birdhouses for Artsplosure — and are as much fun to watch being made as they are to see as a final product. An architect by trade, Moore was born and bred in Raleigh. “I had a sand pile when I was 2 or 3 years old, and we were always going to the beach,” he says. He’s always had an interest in sculpture as well, working with wood, clay, and metal.
When his two sons were young, they’d work together with a couple of other families to build epic castles and sculptures on Atlantic Beach, just for fun. About 40 years ago, they entered their first contest, held by the Atlantis Lodge, and then they competed a few times at the Neptune Festival in Virginia Beach. “It’s fun to work this way; you’re not doing it just for yourself, but involving others on the beach,” he says. As the kids grew up, the group sessions wound down, but Moore’s interest in sand sculpting continued. He kept competing and widened his circuit, eventually making his way to the International Sand Sculpting Contest in British Columbia, Canada.
He’s now firmly within a small circle of professional sculptors who work on projects together and, sometimes, compete. “I travel all around the country,” says Moore. “I’ve met people from all over the world doing sand sculpture.” Now retired from the building industry, what was once a “serious hobby” has turned into something of an encore career. “Some people play golf, I make sand sculptures,” says Moore, who named his sand sculpting company Sandy Feat. In some ways, architecture and sand sculpture are the same, Moore says: “They are both 3D things and involve work with your hands.” But he likes how sand sculpture is temporary, which allows more room to play and have fun. He also The Art & Soul of Raleigh | 25
