Odisha artist wins international sculpting award

Bhubaneswar: Odisha sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has won a prize at the sand sculpting World Cup in the US, the artist said Saturday. Pattnaik said he won the People`s Choice prize in the solo category for his sand sculpture "Save Tree, Save the Future". The 37-year-old artist was the lone participant from India at the June 15-29 competition in Atlantic City which was attended by artists from several other countries. Pattnaik, a native of Odisha`s beach town of Puri, about 56 kms from state capital Bhubaneswar, said that he was thankful to the people who liked his sculpture and voted for him. Pattnaik is a recipient of the Padma Shri award and has participated in over 50 international sand sculpture championships and festivals.