RANDY HOFMAN PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURES

ARTICLES

THE DAILY TIMES B1 SUNDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2009

Artist captures spirit of Shore

Randy Hofman creates sand sculptures in summer, paintings in winter months

by Jenny Hopkinson staff writer

Randy Hofman of Ocean Pines stands in Water's Edge Gallery in Berlin. Behind him is a piece of his artwork, which was created using the gold leaf technique. Hofman is best known for his Christian sand sculptures, but in the winter, he creates paintings.

OCEAN CITY-Randy Hofman can't describe what draws him to Assateague Island.

Instead, he lets his paintings show what he is unable to say.

The Berlin resident is best known for his Christian sand sculptures that have drawn curious onlookers from the Boardwalk at Second Street each summer for more than the past two decades. But winter brings a different focus.

"I've always been a painter, even beforeI was a sand sculptor, and now I'm just concentrating on it," Hofman said. "In the summer, I make my sand sculptures, but I paint all year round."

This month, Hofman is displaying 78 of his original paintings, wood carvings and prints at Water's Edge Gallery in Berlin.

"It's kind of a big show," he said. "Some of it-I just can't help myself-it drifts in to the pure Bible stuff, but most of it is the easy-to-live-with nature scenes."

For the exhibition, Hofman, who is also an ordained minister, drew much of his inspiration from Assateague Island. He captured the scenes he saw while walking through the marshes and beaches and paddling up the coastal bays.

"Assateague, I find, is a very special place," he said. "It's so barren, as if there is nothing left of earth. I go over there by my kayak from West Ocean City, and you feel so remote-Ocean City is right there, but you wouldn't know. It's such a strange wonderful melancholy feeling."

In this latest collection, Hofman has incorporated gold leaf into his paintings and created smaller pieces, which he referred to as "visual souvenirs," from the metallic pages. He also created many of his own frames, drawing from his experiences as a sign maker in the 1980s and styles in traditional religious art.

"It's more than a frame. It's all one solid wooden panel with the edge molding in it," he said. "It"s in the style of what you would find in churches about 500 years ago. They are big and ornate-the type of things you would see on altars."

Most of them are about 2 square feet and reminiscent of a time long ago.

"You never see that much molding work anymore." Hofman said. "After World War II, no one put ornate molding in houses, so it's kind of a celebration of when wood craftsmanship was part of art."

His paintings are a mix of religious scenes and decorative pieces to please less spiritual types. However, in a place like Assateague Island, Hofman said it is often difficult not to find religious themes in the surroundings.

"It's a spiritual moment to find God in nature," he said. "I've talked to people who aren't churchgoers, hunter types, and they say, ' I go out in nature, that's my church.' You can feel the presence of God in nature."

If you go:

WHAT. Randy Hofman's "Signs of Assateague" show

WHERE. Water's Edge Gallery, 2 South Main St., Berlin

WHEN. Now through Nov. 30

CALL 410-629-1784

Power for Living

Oct. 28 2007

Good News by the Sea

by John W. Kennedy

The Sandman

A sand sculptor uses his talent to share God's Word with beachgoers.

Randy Hofman sculpts the Gospel into the eastern Maryland shore.

As a young child, Randy Hofman enjoyed playing in the sand. He and his eight siblings dug around the sandbox in the backyard of their suburban Washington, D. C., home. The family also took summer vacations to Ocean City, Maryland, where Hofman could build castles and roads on the white sandy beach. From the age of five, Hofman knew he wanted to be an artist.

Hofman grew up and faced a reality of adulthood: putting away childish dreams and making a living. He began to study advertising design and visual communications at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, with plans of becoming a magazine art director. But after a couple of years of classes, Hofman determined such a career path would be much too confining.

In 1974, Hofman returned to Ocean City, the site of his childhood summer vacations, to help sand artist Marc Altamar. For seven years, Hofman served as Altamar's apprentice. During that period, Hofman made a commitment to Jesus as his Savior. Since early childhood, Hofman had a head knowledge of the Lord. But at age 25 on the Ocean City beach one night, he agreed to allow Jesus into his heart to guide his daily life.

"I had gone through a party phase in my life and I wanted to be done with that," Hofman says "I didn't want to just trifle with the Lord anymore."

When Altamar moved to Florida in 1981, Hofman became the sole resident sand-sculpting artist on the Ocean City beachfront, turning it into a full-blown ministry.

The effort has grown more elaborate in the past quarter century. Initially, Hofman would take a few hours a day to build a sand painting. With overnight winds, it would be indistinguishable by the next day. Since 1990, a glue and water spray mixture has held sculptures intact for up to several weeks- and even months- if the elements or vandals don't damage them.

These days, Hofman puts in a lengthier workday at the beach. Using only a square shovel and plastic crab picking knife, he creates sculptures that can extend 40 feet wide and 10 feet tall. His most intricate and crowd-pleasing piece, depicting the Last Supper, sometimes takes 17 hours.

Once he begins a work, Hofman keeps going until finished, stopping only for dinner and restroom breaks. He never abandons a project to rest and may continue working until dawn.

John and Hale Harrison, Christian brothers who operate the Plim Plaza Hotel in Ocean City, provide free water and electricity to Hofman so he can construct his artwork on a public beach about 25 feet off the boardwalk. The water is essential to make the sand pliable. The lights make the sculptures visible at night. The boardwalk stretches for 2.5 miles as part of the 10 miles of Ocean City beach.

Hofman has a dozen basic Biblical themes for his work, including Noah and the ark, Moses caring the Ten Commandments, Samson crashing the temple pillars, David fighting Goliath, the Wise Men visiting the newborn Savior, and Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Hofman's favorite is an elaborate head of Jesus. A Biblical adage, such as "Wise men still seek Him" often is etched near the top of the carving, giving it the appearance of a newspaper headline.

"I want it to click so that even someone who is spiritually ignorant can understand," Hofman says.

In all, he has completed about 1000 sculptures, each somewhat different than anything he's done in the past. The artwork and the Bible passage-plus the fact that tens of thousands of tourists are relaxed while on a family vacation-provide and atmosphere for evangelism. "Kids ask their parents what the sculpture is all about," Hofman says.

Sometimes Hofman will create thematic stories side by side, such as Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, Christ dying on the Cross, and the appearance of the resurrected Lord.

Hofman, who also has been an ordained minister since 1985, engages inquisitive passersby in conversation about God. He sometimes preaches while he's sculpting. He also has distributed more than a million 32-page evangelistic tracts that are available next to his work at the beach.

Also Hofman has a jar beside the sand sculptures for tips, he survives financially by doing oil paintings, primarily individual portraits and landscapes. Hofman and his wife Marilynne, a registered nurse, live in nearby Berlin, Maryland.

There is room outside his spot near the hotel for four connecting scenes. Youth from a local church group, Son Spot Ministries, excavate the sand piles, digging with shovels to bring moist sand to the top to form a mound. Hofman creates his work at a 45- degree angle so that it's visible from the boardwalk to tourists who flock to Ocean City in the Summer.

Hofman crafts his designs on the beach from the beginning of April to the end of October.

While Christians usually admire the sculpting mostly for its Biblical storytelling, non Christians often are drawn by Hofman"s Craftsmanship. His attention to detail and classical portrayal of the human anatomy frequently impress observers who are Biblically illiterate or skeptical.

If a storm or vandal spoils the work, Hofman sometimes takes a day or two to repair it. Few people intentionally destroy the work anymore because the glue makes it difficult to budge.

Still, Hofman occasionally encounters an antagonistic visitor questioning his beliefs-or sanity. "Some people just have a nasty disposition," Hofman says. "the sculptures I Choose are about the love of God and His generosity. If somebody is crabby about that, they're just crabby."

Although his age, the hot summer sun, and the backbreaking work sometimes take a toll on Hofman, he plans to continue in the artistry that has kept him occupied for more than three decades.

"I see this as the highest calling," says Hofman, now 55. "It seems to complete me,"

SHORE LIVING MAGAZINE

DEC 2006

Spirits in the Sand: Rehoboth Church Sponsors Unique Artist Ministry

Story and photos by Bernadette Hearn

Take 40 cubic yards of wet sand, a shovel, a trowel and a plastic crab-picking knife, and what do you get? Not much, unless you also have the talents of Randy Hofman, a Maryland-based artist whose Bible-themed sand sculptures have graced the Ocean City shore for more than 30 years.

Expanding his horizons, Hofman recently completed his second sculpture at the Lutheran Church of Our Savior in Rehoboth Beach. He and his unorthodox ministry traveled north to Delaware after a suggestion from Edward Kovacs, a 24-year veteran of the Ocean City Beach patrol who served as a vicar at the Lutheran Church during a one-year pastoral internship in 2005-06.

"For many years, I've ridden by and watched Randy doing his sculptures on the beach," Kovacs explained. "When I came to the Lutheran Church and Realized what a busy corner it sits on, I talked to Pastor Schaefer and he agreed to give this "live art a try."

Hofman's first Rehoboth Beach scene, which went up in May 2006, was an illustration of Jesus and two disciples in a boat, with Jesus calming the waves and exhorting his followers to "Have Faith." The original sculpture took 20 cubic yards of sand, which was donated by the Web Building Company in Rehoboth. Lit by spotlights at night, the scene created a definite buzz in the community and stopped traffic both during the daylong sculpting process and for months afterward.

"I was a little nervous that some of the congregation would be upset because we dumped all this sand on the lawn and killed the grass," recalled Kovacs. "And then there were so many cars stopping by the side of the road so people could get a closer look and take pictures; it was even more wear and tear on the property than we expected at first. But the overall response was so positive that we decided to have Randy do a series of Scenes; this new one is for Christmas, and we hope to do a Resurrection theme for Easter."

"This is a new thing for me, after working on the beach in Ocean City for so many years," said Hofman. "I've always liked the idea of going out to churches and doing sculptures, but I've only had a few opportunities before this - one a little church in Crisfield, another at a Jewish temple near Ocean City."

Hofman's mentor, Marc Altamar, taught him the craft of sand sculpting in the early 1970s when Hofman moved to the beach area after tiring of the commercial art scene in New York City. He continued these labors of love after Altamar moved to Florida in 1981 and and has been spreading the Good News through his art ever since. He gives away religious tracts and miniature Bibles, and occasionally preaches to the crowds that gather to watch him work. In the early years, he produced new sculptures every day on a smaller scale, but when he learned how to preserve them by spraying on a mixture of Elmer's glue and water, the scenes grew larger and more detailed. A complex rendition of the Last Supper could be as large as 40 feet long and 10 feet deep.

In addition to sand sculptures, Hofman does oil paintings with both Biblical and secular themes; he specializes in landscapes and portraits. His work has been shown in group and solo exhibits all over Delmarva, and he also has a long history of doing commercial art for area businesses. The Peninsula Gallery in Lewes will host a one-man show of Hofman's works in April 2007 and currently includes some of his art in a group exhibit. He has produced and sold miniature casts of his sandy creations and is hoping to expand that aspect of his craft to allow resort visitors to take home a reminder of the inspiration they find in his beach sculptures.

The meaningful message in Hofman's latest sculpture at the Lutheran Church of Our Savior is especially appropriate for the Christmas season: "Wise Men Still Seek Him" is the legend incised above a portrayal of the Three Wise Men adoring the Baby Jesus. The work took him all day to complete with the help of a number of volunteers and passersby alike could sense the spiritual presence of this unique artwork. Creating art that illustrates and facilitates the connection between earthly beings and a higher power is what keeps Randy Hofman inspired.

For more information about this artist and his work, visit www. randyhofman.com. To view his latest sand sculpture, visit the Lutheran Church of Our Savior at 7 Bay Vista Road in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

Charisma + CHRISTIAN LIFE Magazine

December 2008

Getting creative for God

Story by Julian Lukins

Christians artists today are using their special talents to minister in ghettos, on beaches, in shopping malls, in prisons and anywhere else people need Jesus.

Messages in the Sand

Beach sculptor Randy Hofman lives for the sun, the surf and the lure of sand art. During the last 30 years, his fantastic sand sculptures have captivated hundreds of thousands of beach visitors, vacationers and partying college students.

As a kid, Hofman made sand castles like other boys. Now he spends hours crafting elaborate sand portraits of Jesus, with titles such as "God Loves You" and "Wise Men Still Seek Him" etched in the sand.

The images are intricate, but the message is simple. "Jesus on the cross--people get it," says the 56-year-old from Ocean City, Maryland.

The beach is Hofman's mission field.

In the summer, 10,000 people a day view his sand sculptures along the Ocean City boardwalk. Hofman hands out gospel tracts and discusses the images with onlookers.

During spring break, Hofman joins Beach Reach, a student mission ministering to the college-age party crowd. Students swilling beer stop to admire his sculptures on South Padre Island, a party mecca off the Texas coast.

Students hit the beach late morning, often nursing hangovers. By midafternoon, many of them are drunk again, "Hofman says.

But his sand images are a talking point for Christian students who come to mix with the revelers and converse about Jesus. In March, 70 spring breakers were led to Christ and 21 were baptized in the ocean.

"It revs me up," Hofman told Charisma. "My job is simply to communicate God's love to them through sand. It's like people walking past a newspaper stand--they scan the headlines and move on. With my sculptures, people see Jesus and 'God Loves you' and walk on. Yet it speaks the good news that God wants us in His family."

Beachcomer

OCEAN CITY MARYLAND

2003

By Susan Canforna

Q&A Question&answer

Sculpting a message in the sand

Known for creating impressive sand sculptures of Biblical scenes on the beach in Ocean City for the past 30 years, artist Randy Hofman is also involved in oil painting and is now working on a series that highlights the beauty of light reflecting on water. In the 1980s he made signs, including those for The Kite Loft and Bull on the Beach, and also formerly drew Biblical scenes on slabs of cement on the bay side in chalk. His oil paintings line the walls of the Coral Reef restaurant on 17th Street and Boardtwalk and are also on disply at The Globe Theatre in Berlin. He paints in a studio that was formerly a warehouse in Newark, Md. A native of Montgomery County, he is one of nine children. He and his wife Marilynne, a nurse, live in Ocean Pines.

Q You learned the art of sand sculpting from another artist.

A Marc Altamar taught me before he moved away to Florida. He died. He was about my age and I'm 51.

Q Were you a child who loved to play in the sand?

A Oh, yes. Every year of my life we came to Ocean City, but I never had any idea that I would do sand Sculptures for so many years. I knew I wanted to be an artist when i was 5 and I was doing serious oil painting when I was 11. I studied art design at Pratt Institute but I didn't want to do anyfthing hard core. I remembered Ocean City and I said, "there's a town where I can practice my art and be comfortable." Sand sculptures are a lot of work. I've never abandoned a sand sculpture. Some take 10 hours, some take 15 or 17 hours just for the center section. I wanted to do more. It use to be that it took just two to four hours, but now I spray them with Elmers glue so they last longer. If i'm going to glue it up and serve it I want to make it nice.

Q You're a Spiritual man, Is sand sculpting a ministry for you?

A It is a ministry. I am an ordained minister, involved with Son' Spot Ministries. I'm ordained in the Delmarva Evangelistic Church. It's a visual ministry but every now and then I turn around and adress the croud. I've added words to the scene, like "Wise men still seek him." It's like a newspaper headline, people stop and look. Even if they don't buy the paper, they will read the headline. They'll say, "Hey, what's going on?" There's a milk and meat theory. You give new belivers milk because they're not ready for meat. Like "God loves you" or "God wants you in his family" Mine is a milk ministry. People are on vacation and they're here to relax. They want a nice message.

Q What is your definition of Success?

A Are you doing what you want to do? Did you do what you set out to do, or did you defer that to chase the buck?

Q Do you have a favorite sand sculpture?

A The big face of Jesus is the one that is easy to see and it has a big impact. To put my best foot forward, I'll do the Last supper.

Q And that takes a long time?

A The Last Supper takes 12 to 17 hours straight through, like sometimes overnight. I might stop and get a gyro or something or Son'Spot might bring me a meal, but I'm on the job.

Q And when you're finished, are you exhausted?

A More, like, wired. Cranky

Q Do you worry that nobody will carry on the tradition of sand sculptures after you retire?

A I think, somehow Son'Spot will get involved. I don't think they would let it lapse. I'm not worried. Look, the Lord can get along without me. I count it the biggest privilege of my life to have done those sand sculptures. That sand pile has been the biggest event of my life.

FOCUS ON THE FAMILY

CLUBHOUSE MAGAZINE

JULY 2004

SANDSATIONAL

BY JESSE FLOREA

A shovel. A plastic knife, A pile of wet sand.

That's all Randy Hofman needs to spread to spread his faith in Jesus Christ with millions of people. yes millions!

For more than 30 years, Randy has used his unique artistic ability to create amazing images in the sand near the boardwalk in Ocean City Maryland. All of Randy's sculptures possess a common theme - they come from the pages of God's word. From Moses receiving the Ten Commandments to Samson breaking down the temple to the wise men visiting Jesus, Randy's art brings the Bible to life.

"This is about ministry and introducing people to the concept of God," Randy says. God loves us, and He wants to increase His family."

SUPER SCULPTURES

Randy grew up building castles and making roads in the sand at home or at the beach.

"I didn't have much of an attention span as a kid," Randy admits. "I knew I liked art since I was 5, but I'd work at something for half an hour and get distracted. As an adult I've developed the discipline to work longer and harder."

Each of Randy's sculptures reflects hours of grueling work. Just creating the huge piles of sand takes a lot of effort. Different church groups of kids helping at a local ministry often show up to dig the massive hills.

"you push away the dry sand and use the moist sand by digging it up from the bottom," Randy explains. "you have to start really deep."

After his moist sand pile is packed down, Randy grabs a crab-picking knife, climbs to the top of the mound and goes to work,

SHARP IDEA

Randy used to use a stick or his hands to create details, but now he's found the perfect tool: a durable crab-picking knife made of plastic.

"It's specially made for picking crab meat out of a hard shell crab," Randy says. "I lose them, break them and go through a couple dozen a year. It's the main tool I'm familiar with."

"You begin at the top and work down," Randy takes a bathroom break or eats dinner, but he'll often begin at 10 in the morning and not go home until 4 a.m. the following day.

"I don't know where the strength comes from," Randy says. "The Lord helps me."

Randy didn't used to put as much detail in his sculptures. He'd wake up early, create a small sculpture and then start all over the next morning after his art had lost it's shape. But about 15 years ago, some other sand artists showed him the trick of spraying the finished product with a mixture of water and Elmer's glue.

"If I give it a good consistent spray, it may stay for a couple of weeks if it doesn't rain and nobody jumps on it," Randy says.

Because his art started lasting longer, it didn't take Randy long to decide to give tourists some extra eye-catching art.

"It occurred to me that I could dig another pile and have a double feature," Randy says with a smile. "It's fun to combine: like Jesus praying in the garden and Jesus on the cross."

ARTIST TRAINING

In 1974 Randy moved from New York City to Ocean City, Maryland, to pursue his dream of being an oil painter. As he walked down the boardwalk, he ran into Marc Altamar creating Christian images in the sand.

"The Bible themes were endearing to me," Randy says. "I'd do my oil paintings in the day and come help Marc in the evening. I was his apprentice,"

Marc moved to Florida in 1981, and Randy has kept up Marc's legacy in the sand. Randy still makes his living as a fine artist.

BEACH PREACHER

Randy's art entices people to stop and look, but his ministry doesn't end there. Sometimes he stands near his sculpture and answers questions of shares about its meaning. Other times a church group will put on a performance. All the time he leaves tracts in a plastic jug that explain what it means to live for Jesus Christ. Over the years, Randy has given away nearly 1 million tracts.

"Anything you like to do, somehow you can use it for he Lord," Randy says. "God's invested something in everybody. It's our job to look for it, practice it, bring it out and give it back to Him."

Houston Chronicle

Section A, Page 21

Wednesday, March 17, 2004

CITY & STATE

News & Features

www.houstonchronicle.com/metro

"I know all the struggles that they're dealing with myself. I'm not perfect." Stephanie Moore, college student and Beach Reach member

Randy Hofman of Ocean City, Md., completes a sand sculpture titled "Open Up Your Heart to Jesus" for Beach Reach on South Padre Island on Monday. He creates a new Christian sculpture each day during spring break, and they become starting points for conversations about religion.

Beach Reach hits the sand

College ministries take message to South Padre partyers

By Robert Lopez Houston Chronicle

BEACH REACH

Sponsor: Southern Baptist Convention.

History: Founded in 1980

Mission: Employs college students to minister to their peers vacationing during spring break.

Cities: Works in South Padre Island and Panama City, Fla.

Pastor Bill Waddell baptizes Gina Rangel of Palo Alto College in San Antonio.

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND- Amid the debauchery sweeping this island resort this week, one group of students is hoping to give fellow spring breakers a different vision of paradise.

Like many here, the students of Beach Reach are crammed four and five to a room. They stay up all night and hang out at the nightclubs.

But that,s only so they can give others a bite to eat, a ride home or maybe a bit of spiritual advice.

"One of the things we're doing is providing safety and protection," said organizer Eric Herrstrom, who works as minister of college and missions at Lake Arlington Baptist Church in Arlington. "We're incredibly concerned about their well-being. And Christ developed a relationship with people by serving them."

Sponsored by the Southern Baptist Convention, Beach Reach also works in Panama City, Fla., and is hoping to travel to Virginia Beach, Va., and the California coast in the near future.

Joining the thousands of partygoers on South padre Island this month are more than 400 students representing 20 college ministries through Beach Reach, the students provide free rides for spring breakers to and from their hotel rooms and gratis pancake breakfasts to cure the hangovers in the morning. "We're not going up to them and yelling at them that what they're doing is wrong," Austin Community College Sophomore Stepanie Moore said. "I know all the struggles that they're dealing with myself. I'm not perfect."

The ministry's students look much like everyone else on the beach. Many of them sport shaved heads, long sideburns or scraggly hair. They wear UT caps and A&M shirts. Herrstrom said drunken boys have tried hitting on the group's women.

What sets them apart is that the Beach Reach students are fully clothed,

In front of the Radisson Resort, on one of the rowdier stretches of the island, sits a towering mound of sand with an image of Jesus' face etched into the side. Students linger around the sculpture, brandishing their beer bongs and cans of Bud Light. Others look at it curiously, snapping pictures.

Sand artist Randy Hofman made the sculpture for Beach Reach, which uses it as a starting point for conversations about the Sculptures.

"Does it mean anything to you?" the young ministers ask the alcohol-swilling students.

"People aren't always so receptive," said Texas A&M sophomore Connie Curtis, who was ministering at the sculpture. "But we're just glad to use our knowledge and our faith to help them out. We're not here to judge anyone."

On the sand, the Beach Reach students pass out pink cards touting their services. Some passers-by politely decline, but many are pleasantly surprised at the offer. "I'll be out there in a heartbeat if there are free pancakes involved," Quad City University junior Adam Murray said as he was sunning next to his case of Keystone Light. "Will there be eggs and bacon also?"

"Stop by anytime," replied Beach Reach student and Texas A&M junior Quinn Lung. "I hope to see you there tonight."

Beach Reach takes its missionary role seriously; nearby in the surf, Pastor Bill Waddell administered a few baptisms.

After sunset, the group sets out in a procession of vans and SUVs painted with such names as Swollen Ostrich and El Burro.

Students man the phones at Island Baptist Church, dispatching the drivers to bars and clubs.

Outside Louie's Backyard, one of the island's most popular clubs, they set up tables and offer breakfast to those stumbling out.

The spring break scene is a bit of culture shock to some.

"It's been eye-opening. We've definitely seen a lot of people yelling, talking off their shirts, passing out beads," said Howard Payne University sophomore Melissa Keasler. "We're not usually surrounded by that, but again we're supposed to come out of our comfort zone. If we're in our own Christian bubble, how are we going to get the word out?"

The ministry's students generally work until 4 or 5 a.m. and then return to help with the 8 a.m. breakfast at Island Baptist Church. They recieve no pay and must cover most of their own expenses. The pace has caused many to sport red rims under their eyes, but the Beach Reach students give similar reasons for being here.

"I think that this is what God wants me to do," Texas A&M senior Jenny Macias said. "We're here to show love to all these people, even if they don't love us back."

THE MANNA

JULY 2006

"Does GOD go on Vacation"

by Randy Walter

When people go on vacation, they take almost everything imaginable. Their luggage usually contains more stuff than they can possibly use. But the one thing they need most, they sometimes leave at home-God. Why?

Vacations are a means of escape from the rigors of the job, personal obligations, even the routine of church. When visitors come to the Eastern Shore to get away, the wonders of nature make them aware of the One who created them. The presence of God is detectable everywhere. As the Bible says, "The whole earth is full of His glory."

Delmarva residents who interact with vacationers say some people do bring God with them, others don't, and still others discover Him while they're here.

From campers who enjoy its serene splendor to beachgoers who crowd its busy resorts, the beauty of the Eastern shore attracts more vacationers each summer. The Ocean City Department of Tourism estimates 8 million people visit the town each year - over half of them between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

To many people who live in the resort area, the influx of visitors is an opportunity to tell them about God. One widely recognized way of doing this is the sand sculptures at Second St . For 25 years, Berlin resident Randy Hofman has shoveled the beach into mounds which he fashions into large-as-life biblical images such as Jesus calming the sea, the Last Supper and the Crucifixion.

Hofman believes the refreshing power of waves and sun invites people to forget about the daily grind and contemplate things of eternal significance, so he creates what he calls his "spiritual oasis" next to the boardwalk. He guesses 10,000 people pass by the sculptures on a typical summer night. Calling his creations a visual communication of God's love," Hofman has seen them appeal to people of all ages and backgrounds.

Hofman's forte is actually oil painting. His canvases hang in many area restaurants and art galleries. He once produced fish decoys with religious messages. But he is best known for the works he creates in sand.

Still in good physical shape at age 54, Hofman no longer makes fresh sculptures each day as he once did. Sometime back he discovered the technique of mixing glue with water and spraying the sand to hold it in place for several days, instead of letting the suns heat disintegrate his creations as the sand lost its moisture.

Hofman visits his oasis frequently to make sure the sculptures are holding up. Incognito, he often joins the conversations of people who stop to take them in. He remains anonymous to avoid being sidetracked by those who only want to talk about the technical side of his art. He prefers to interact with the people he perceives are searching for life's answers and are reminded of God's love by his efforts.

"Sometimes they get the scenes wrong," he said of bystanders who try to guess what story from the Bible has been depicted, even when inscriptions identify them. "Sometimes they'll think Jesus in the boat calming the storm is Noah's ark," he said. That's why he keeps his images and messages simple.

"Jesus on the cross-they get it," he said.

When he used to shovel and shape his creations every day, Hofman would conclude the evening by turning to the crowd to preach.

"I'd be the host and explain the sand sculptures. Then it would morph into the plan for man's salvation and an invitation from God, and conclude with a prayer of reconciliation with God."

Afterward he invited people to take free tracts and miniature Bibles. Then he would blend into the crowd and talk to people one-on-one. That was where the most memorable times of ministry would take place.

He still vividly remembers a woman who said, "My son died but he had one of your Bible books in his wallet." It was comforting for her to know her son had been thinking about God.

Now that Hofman isn't at his sculptures as much, church groups often come to engage passersby in discussions about Christianity. Recently Hofman and his wife, Marilynne, were checking on the sculptures when young people from Campus Crusade for Christ approached them. For the second year, this international ministry has established a summer outreach at the resort, going to the boardwalk to start conversations with people and steer them toward the most important subject of all-eternity.

"It's comfortable to talk about the Lord when you've got life-sized illustrations in front of you," Hofman remarked. "It's not politically incorrect of pushy. It's very easy to evangelize at the sand sculptures."

A few feet away is the noisy boardwalk, crowded with tourists who walk aimlessly on sensory overload from all the amusements, food and other enticements. Yet competing with this carnival atmosphere seems to be no problem for Hofman's ministry. When people come to the beach, he believes, they are primed for new experiences, ready to do things they don't ordinarily do at home. Being impacted by God's love is one of them.

"Finding yourself drawn closer to the Lord is refreshing. It makes you feel good and cleans you up. It renews you. The other things are just distractions," observed the artist.

Referring to Christians living in the resort area, he added, "This is our mission field. God's beauty is all over. What a time to announce that God is here and He beckons to us.

"Eternity is forever and this life doesn't last too long. People need to put this life in perspective."

Southern Living

MAY 2004

Mid-Atlantic Living: People & Places

By Lynn Seldon

Bible stories in the Sand

For kids-and kids at heart-building sandcastles may be the ultimate beach activity.

If you like elaborate versions of these coastal creations, the religious tableaux sculpted by Randy Hofman every summer alongside the Boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland, are beyond compare.

It's hard to overlook Randy's sandy handiwork. From spring to fall each year, the trained artist and ordained minister builds huge sculptures on the beach in front of the Plim Plaza Hotel in Ocean City. Randy has worked in the sand since the mid-1970s, and his creations lure hundreds of tourists and locals to the boardwalk.

"I grew up near Washington, D.C., and our family would come to Ocean City for vacations," Randy explains. "I was one of nine children, and we would all run down here and play in the sand."

From those simple beginnings, the size and scope of his work has grown over the years, with the finished scenes now often reaching 40 feet in length and 10 feet in depth. "I try to do something unique each year," says Randy, who adds lighting to illuminate his sculptures at night. He also includes scripture verses in some scenes, which typically take about 6 to 18 hours to complete. With lots of helpers hauling sand, he creates sculptures inspired by art from religious books and his own sketches.

Once he completes a work, Randy applies a mixture of glue and water to protect it from the elements. "I repeat the parts that work well and add in new things," he says. "It's like a recipe, but your main ingredients are just sand and water."

Randy's creations have become a big-time tourist draw in Ocean City, with USA Today naming them as a must-see seaside attraction.

"Ocean City is a family destination, so I feel I'm somewhat of an emissary," he says. The crowds gathering around his sculptures each day-and night-certainly attest to that.

STAND FIRM

JUNE 2004

Randy Hofman Speaking the Gospel with Sand

SANDMAN

For 30 years, Randy Hofman has sculpted heavenly pictures in the sand.

by Jesse Florea

Jesus told the people to build their foundation on the rock-not the sand. Sand, after all, shifts and falls apart. Randy Hofman wouldn't want to argue with the Lord, but it's with the aid of the sand that he's built a solid legacy for God for the last 30 years.

From the accounts of Noah's ark and David and Goliath to the wisemen's journey and the Last Supper, Randy's art brings these scenes from the Bible to life next to the boardwalk in Ocean City, Md.

"This is about ministry," Randy says.

"I try to entice people with the sweetness of the art and introduce them to more facets about the Lord."

Randy knows the power of images. He studied advertising and marketing in college and planned to become a magazine art director. But early in his career in New York City, he heard colleagues talking about retiring and moving to the country. That,s when Randy thought, "Why wait?"

On the Boardwalk

Randy moved to Ocean City, the destination of his childhood family vacations, and started painting. When Randy met Marc Altamar on the boardwalk, his life was changed. Marc was crouched next to a huge pile of sand, forming it into a beautiful image from the Bible. "the biblical theme was endearing to me," Randy says "So I'd do my oil paintings during the day and come down and help Marc in the evening. I was kind of his apprentice,"

Randy started helping Marc in 1974, and when Marc moved to Florida in 1981, Randy took over as Ocean City's resident sand sculptor. Initially, Randy did smaller images. Becouse the sand would lose its shape overnight, he'd build a new one each day. But in the early 90s, he learned the trick of spraying a mixture of glue and water on the finished piece. "that puts a crust on it," Randy explains, "and it may stay looking good for a couple of weeks if it doesn't rain too hard and nobody jumps on it,"

With this new technology, Randy began creating more detailed sculptures, adding words and even putting together multiple pictures. "It occurred to me that I could have a double or triple feature," Randy says. "It was a riot looking at the psychology of how the images could relate to each other, such as Jesus praying in the garden, Jesus on the cross and then the Resurrection. Sometimes you can read down it like a timeline."

Spreading the Word

Of course, building bigger and better Sculptures requires a lot of time and effort. At 52, he has a hard time digging up the wet sand his art requires. Thankfully, Son Spot ministries sends youth groups Randy's way to help with the shoveling.

After the kids dig up a pile of sand for Randy, they perform Christian dramas or talk with the tourists who've stopped to watch him work.

A really detailed image may take 15 hours to create, and once Randy starts a sculpture, he doesn't quit until it's finished. He'll begin at 10 in the morning and not go home until 5 a.m. the next morning. The only tools he uses are his hands and a plastic crab-picking knife.

"I don't know where the strength comes from," Randy says. "I maybe take an hour break for dinner. I know the Lord helps me."

The Lord also helps provide for Randy and his wife's financial needs. He doesn't charge for the sand sculptures he creates in front of the Plim Plaza Hotel but does leave out a plastic jug in case someone wants to make a donation. In addition, he sells oil paintings, and a Baptist church at South Padre Island Tex., brings him down to create sculptures on their local beach every spring break.

But Randy doesen't create sand images to get rich-he does it to spread God's Word. Up to and including this year he has given away more than one million tracts with the plan of salvation.

"I'm advertising the Lord," Randy says. "I get stories once in a while from people who have given their life to the Lord here. I like that."

OCEAN CITY TODAY

JULY 29, 2005

PURNELL MUSEUM DISPLAYS WORKS OF OC SAND SCULPTOR

Exhibit of Randy Hofman's Paintings to Open July 1

Snow Hill-- The art of Randy Hofman has truly become and integral part of our local landscape. Since the early 1980s millions of visitors to the area have viewed Hofman's sand sculptures on the Ocean city beach. While the artist's sculptures inhabit and transform the local environment, Hofman's oil paintings capture and meditate upon the region's landscapes. A selection of Hofman's evocative, spiritually infused landscape paintings will be on display at the Julia A. Purnell Museum in Snow Hill from July 1 through August 21.

Randy Hofman has been planning a career in art since early childhood. He began working in oils at the age of eleven after becoming envious of a young friend's set of oil paints. The significance of the medium wasn't lost on Hofman, who, even as a youngster, understood from museum visits that it was in oils that the masters' had "made their artistic statements."

Hofman, who was raised near Washington, D.C., continued his studies in art design at Pratt Institute in New York City. After relocating to Ocean City in the 1970s, he worked as a commercial artist and learned the art of sand sculpture from artist Marc Altamar. Hofman would take over from Altamar and carry on the Ocean City sand sculpture tradition for the next twenty-five years. The Biblically themed sand sculptures, inspired by the artist's Christianity, continue to impress the beach crowds.

As a student in New York, Hofman drew upon the urban environment that surrounded him for inspiration. His observations of subway riders led him to fill sketchbooks with quick contour line portraits. In the studio he transformed these into oil paintings influenced by the gritty paintings by the artists of the New York Ash Can School.

When questioned abort artist influences, Hofman recalls a Van Gogh exhibit that was staged in Brooklyn in the 1970s. Significantly, Van Gogh's expressive works kindled Hofman's interest in landscape painting. He also expresses admiration for the pure and crystalline colors of the Dutch master Vermeer.

During his tenure as Ocean City's premiere beachfront sculptor, Hofman has continued to paint in oils. Spirituality remains the common link between the pensive landscape paintings and the more literal sand sculptures. Hofman, who resides in Ocean Pines and works at his Newark studio, finds evidence of God's presence in the natural world-- a theme that imbues his paintings. "I'm drawn to the spiritual aspect of landscape," says the artist.

Viewers may recognize local scenery in the paintings, such as Newark's Marshall Creek and Southgate Pond in Ocean Pines. The dazzling effects of light on water are a recurring theme in Hofman's landscapes, a phenomenon he recalls being awed by as a young artist taking in the scene around his family pond. The skillful rendering of light reflecting off water's surface creates imagery that rang from dramatic to melancholy to peaceful.

Hofman often paints au plein air, sometimes completing a painting in the field, other times returning to the studio to complete a work. Along with landscapes painted wholly from nature, his oeuvre includes those in which the artist has teased out spiritual iconography amongst the landscape to emphasize the profound nature of the environment. Where the sun pours through the branches of clustered trees, the viewer can discern the suggestion of stained glass and towering cathedral windows.

Multiple layers of meaning are detectable in these landscapes, and Hofman points out that the viewer can opt to view the work as purely landscape, or to delve deeper into the art and discover the spirituality that infused it. Referring to the spiritual significance of a painting, the artist describes it as "a more valuable experience as an artist,"

A viewer of Hofman's landscapes may be impelled to contemplate the relationship between the material and the ephemeral. "Physical or spiritual--which is the reality?" poses Hofman.

The recurring subject of light reflecting on water is an apt metaphor for this, as the artist points out. With properties that suggest both the physical and the intangible, light--and its interplay with water--acts as a visual manifestation of the dual nature of creation.

"Randy Hofman is a remarkably versatile artist," comments Julia A. Purnell Museum Exceutive Director Mary St. Hippolyte. "We're very excited to offer our visitors the opportunity to view his paintings."

The Paintings of Randy Hofman will be on display at the Julia A. Purnell Museum from July 1 through Aug 21. For more information on this exhibit, contact the museum at (410) 632-0515. Hofman's art is available for purchase at Bishop's Stock gallery in Snow Hill and Waterline Gallery in Berlin. His Paintings are also on view at several Ocean city businesses, including the downtown Plim Plaza and the Coral Reef Restaurant at the Holiday Inn on 17th Street. To read more about Randy Hofman, Visit his website, www.randyhofman.com.