International sand artist visits Ilocos Norte

Mr. Nathaniel Alapide, a Dubai-based Filipino sand artist and a Guinness Book of World Records holder for the largest sand drawing, visited Ilocos Norte on July 15.

Mr. Alapide started sand drawing, an artistic work created in sand, volcanic ash, or clay, consisting of a continuous meandering line on a pictured grid, in 2014 by making an image of a massive tree at a beach as a tribute to his grandmother.

According to him, he continued to do the art because the process has a meditative quality. Moreover, he considers this artwork "unique." Unlike paintings in galleries, sand drawings are to be relished because it does not last that long, he said.

Some of his drawings featured Leonardo Da Vinci's “Mona Lisa,” Lionel Messi, a famous football player, and his record-breaking artwork, which he worked on for 30 days, an image of the United Arab Emirates map and its leaders.

Mr. Alapide visited the province for a vacation. He stayed in Currimao and also visited the desert-like landscape of Ilocos Norte Sand Dunes.

"I saw the sand on the beach, and it was perfect, and the desert after the rain weather condition is perfect for me to create an artwork," he said in an interview.

Mr. Alapide expressed his anticipation to comeback to Ilocos Norte for more sand drawing activities, saying:

"I would love to do more artwork here because the desert you have here is beautiful.”

“It's perfect, and even the shorelines that you have - the color of the sand, it's perfect, it's so great [and] perfect for this kind of artwork, and I will definitely come back to do more artwork," he ended.