Elephant and Mouse Play a Game of Chess in Hyperrealistic Sand Sculpture

Famous for his insanely detailed pumpkin carving skills, world-renowned sculptor Ray Villafane teams up with artist Sue Beatrice to carve up a different kind of sculpture. The dynamic duo used the common belief of an elephant’s aversion to rodents as the inspiration for their playful sand sculpture on display under the Sanderson Lincoln Pavillion in downtown Carefree, Arizona. Using sand collected from the Salt River in Phoenix, Villafane carves the amazingly realistic Chessie Trunkston immersed in deep thought while playing the complicated game of chess with his tiny friend Hershel Higginbottom while Beatrice created the following poignant poem to go with the charming scene:
“There was a young elephant named Chessie
who ate peanuts but was very messy
when a mouse had him beat
and with no way to cheat
he made one last move and compressed him”

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