VOA常速英语2013--沙雕塑家庆祝短暂的艺术（在线收听）

Sand Sculptors Celebrate Transient Art 沙雕塑家庆祝短暂的艺术

LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA — Sculptures made of sand are transient, here today and gone tomorrow, subject to the whims of wind and waves. Yet each year, artists spend hours creating elaborate sand sculptures in a summertime competition.

长滩，加利福尼亚——由于受到风浪的不断冲击，沙雕转瞬即逝，也许今天还在这里而明天就消逝殆尽了。然而每年夏季的比赛上，艺术家们还是会花上好几个小时去创作一尊尊精美绝伦的沙雕作品。

It takes patience and skill to create a sand sculpture, and the annual competition here attracts sculptors and hobbyists who take the craft seriously, including Ko Tanaka, a professional architect.

沙雕的创作需要耐心和技艺，每年长滩的沙雕比赛都会吸引许多热爱手工艺术的雕塑家和业余爱好者，包括Ko Tanaka，他是一名专业的建筑师。

“This is sand. Once in a while, it's not unusual that things collapse...spending so many hours and have it collapse. That happens,” says Tanaka.

“这就是沙子，有时你的作品倒塌了…花了那么多时间在上面但它却倒塌了，这都是会发生的，这是再正常不过的事情了。”Tanaka说。

This year, the competition highlights characters from books and is raising funds for the local library foundation.

今年，比赛重点突出展现书本上的人物形象，是为了给当地图书馆筹集资金。

Sandis Kondrats, whose sculpture is inspired by the novel Atlas Shrugged, is a professional artist who worked with granite and marble in his native Latvia.

Sandis Kondrats是一名来自拉脱维亚专门从事花岗岩和大理石雕刻的艺术家，他的沙雕作品的灵感来源于小说《阿特拉斯耸耸肩》。

“In sand, it's more open, it's more free. I can experiment. I can do it in two days. This is the second day for me. Compared with stone, granite, this would take almost a year,” says Kondrats.

“在沙的世界里更加开放，更加自由。我可以不断尝试。我可以在两天之类完成我的作品，今天是第二天。如果换做石头或花岗岩，这恐怕要花上整整一年时间。”Kondrats说。

For artists like Bruce Phillips, sand sculpting is a job. 

对于像布鲁斯。菲利普这样的艺术家而言，沙雕是一项工作。

“It's something you can just totally focus on and tune everything else out in the world. And I just quit my job and just did sand sculpture full time,” he said.

“这是一件你可以全神贯注去做的事情，你可以将世界上其他所有一切摒除在外。所以我辞掉了工作然后全身心投入了沙雕工作。”他说。

Like other professionals, Phillips is paid to display his art at promotional events around the world. 

和其他专业艺术家一样，菲利普在全球各地的专业赛事上展现他的作品都是有报酬的。

This competition also draws admirers from the community. Some get tips on sand sculpting and join the competition.

此次比赛也吸引了社区里的一些沙雕爱好者，他们有些获得了沙雕的技巧也加入到比赛中来。

It's fun for kids, says sculptor Isabel Valaika.

这对孩子们来说很有趣，雕刻家Isabel Valaika说。

“And it's really cool to make stuff out of sand because you're usually just seeing it on the ground,” she said.

“利用沙子去做出一些东西来这是非常棒的一件事，因为你通常都只见到沙子散落在地上的。”她说。。

Competition organizer Michael Anderson likes the fact that the sculptures are temporary.

赛事组织者米歇尔。安德逊就喜欢这些沙雕的转瞬即逝。这个过程如此短暂

“Even though castles made of sand fade into the sea, I think that that's the appeal, it's so transient,” says Anderson.

“虽然沙子做的城堡消逝在大海中，我觉得那才是吸引人的地方，这是如此的短暂。”安德逊说。

Rusty Croft modeled his sculpture on a whimsical character in a children's book. He says these creations are made for the moment.

Rusty Croft的沙雕作品用儿童故事书上的一个古怪人物做原形。他说这些是他目前的创作。

“They're not supposed to last. It's kind of like life. It's here and then gone, so enjoy it now,” says Croft.

“这些雕塑不会持久，这就像生活。这些现在在这里等下就没有了，所以享受此刻的精彩吧！”克罗夫特说。

The sculptures will be gone, but many of these artists will be back next year, carving new creations in the sand. 

沙雕会消逝，但是许多的艺术家明年还会回来，用沙子雕刻出全新的作品.