MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Arashaad Davids, the man behind the sand sculptures at The Point, uses his creativity not only for these sculptures, but to spread the word of God.
Although he grew up in Gqeberha, he has been living in Mossel Bay for about 10 years now.
Simply put, he is a man of faith, and what he does and how he lives is based on his belief in God and what He has done in Davids' own life and the lives of others.
Davids said he has survived some difficult times in his life - his sand art was born from such a time in 2006. He had just lost his job, and after praying and fasting for nearly three weeks, said: "God, You don't speak to me." He had thoughts of taking his own life, but moments before he did, a voice told him to stop, saying that there was a plan for his life.
The next morning, said Davids, something told him to go to the beach and sit there. "Something told me to throw the sand in a bunch and do anything I can do." Not knowing what to do, he looked around for inspiration, saw a man sitting on a rock, and started to make a sculpture of that image.
He spent nearly three hours on this. Some people who passed by asked what he was doing, to which he replied that he didn't know, but would continue nonetheless.
At some stage a lady approached him and told him that he should add a message to his sculptures to say that donations were welcome. And he has been making sculptures ever since.
What makes his art unique to him is the Bible verses he adds to each sculpture, said Davids. This started in Gqeberha already and continues to this day. He said this also led to more people approaching his sculptures, so they could read what was written there. He said he had even had an instance where a man told him a verse had stopped him from taking his own life.
His message for other creatives is that they must go to God and that God will give them a gift that they must never stop using. "My gift was for a reason, to save people's lives, and even my own life. It is not an easy path to walk with Jesus; it is the hardest path in life, but you must never give up."
Davids said there are a handful of people in Mossel Bay who have supported him along his journey, and he thanked them from the bottom of his heart.
A dream he hopes will still come true is to have a religious event with dancing and singing on Santos Beach, centred around a life-sized sand sculpture - all to bring glory to God.
Davids wants to make a life-sized sculpture of this car. Photo: Supplied
Anyone who wishes to reach out to Davids, can contact him on 074 234 6545.
Nominate our next creative
Would you like to nominate someone for this weekly feature? It could be anyone in the Mossel Bay area you believe is a creative in our community. Send your nomination to [email protected] or WhatsApp it to 072 599 8533.
Please include the following: the name of the person you are nominating, the reason for the nomination, your contact details, and the nominee's contact details. Who knows - your local artist might be featured in our next 'Creatives' Corner/Kreatiewe Hoekie'!
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