Believe (It or Not) Calligraphy on the Beach

Thanks to Pam's post Physical Graffiti I learned about Andrew van der Merwe, a Calligrapher from South Africa who carves words in the sand!

"The work is usually very temporal, often lasting no more than an hour before it is taken by the wind or the tide. I carve the letters in the sand using various instruments and then photograph them with my Nikon D700."

Andrew carves many things, but names are his favorites, this is what he says:
"I have a strange relationship with names. They have a sort of a grip on me. Even when I was kid, before I even knew what calligraphy was and I was experimenting with all sorts of weird and wonderful letters, I'd be drawing girlfriend's or boyfriend's names for the other kids. I'm quite capable of doing larger, more interesting projects, but a simple name? I love it!"

Have a name carved:

Andrew is accepting requests for names carved. How cool is that! You'll get a high resolution file that you can use for pretty much anything, a birthday invitation, announcement or business cards. Click here and scroll to the bottom to learn more.

"believe"

And some of his work is also available as Posters, sold at Artfire (click image).

About Maya @ Completely Coastal

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11 comments:

Midlife Roadtripper1/13/2010
Looks really cool. Simple, but cool.
Julie@beingRUBY1/13/2010
Hi Maya
Calligraphy aside the beach photos are glorious!! Would make a great marriage proposal!! hehe

x Julie
Shellbelle1/13/2010
I went to his website and all his work is beautiful, I love writing in the sand. It's fun walking on the beach and seeing how others express themselves, knowing it will always be different and the canvas wiped clean when the tide comes in.
Tamerie Shriver Halliday1/13/2010
Simply beautiful!
Sierra 1/13/2010
Oh wow what a talented guy! I love how beautiful the sunset looks with the words. I am off to visit the website too!
LIBERTY POST EDITOR1/13/2010
That would be a huge hit here in Wasaga Beach.
Glamoursurf1/14/2010
How wonderful his work is, truly talented. I really enjoy the timelessness of it all.
Mickey (Michel) Johnson1/14/2010
...beautiful words in a beautiful setting...xo, mickey
Erin @ The Impatient Gardener1/14/2010
That would be an awesome way to propose to someone but you probably have to have very good timing!
Regina 1/15/2010
So talented. Beautiful creations!
Low Tide High Style1/16/2010
Such a cool idea and so beautiful! Thank you for posting this!

Kat :)