Contestants

• Greg Grady – Hampton, New Hampshire – Organizer and Founder

  

  20 years later and here we are bigger and better than ever with the beginning of what is sure to be the best and most memorable season and competition to date! Who would have known that what started off as ahobby on vacation some 40 years ago would have transpired into a world class event that means so much to so many people. Over these past 20 years it has been a great pleasure to bring world class artists to Hampton Beach who create museum quality sculptures for us all to enjoy,
  and this more than ever, I am thrilled to be a part of such a great event. I want to thank everyone who has made it possible with their help and support in bringing this event back year after year and hopefully for many more to come. Please remember to vote for your favorite TBA at our 20th Annual Hampton Beach Sand Sculpting Classic!….good luck to all. For more information on this or our own sand event contact me at [email protected].

• Mélineige Beauregard – Montreal

  

  Some believe sand sculpting is art, some believe it’s a sport. While others, like Melineige, believe it’s a spiritual experience. “When my hands touch the material, when my heart opens to give life, when my head is illuminated by light, I become the co-creator of the universe,” she said. “An artist is one who spiritualizes matter.” She should know. Art is in her blood. Her  father is internationally renowned sculptor Guy Beauregard, and like her father, she too has achieved international success. In fact, in 2004 the father-daughter duo teamed to win the World Championship in the doubles category. Since then she has won more than 30 individual awards. In 2013 she was Grand Champion of the first All Woman World Championship of Sand Sculpting in Florida and the World Cup Champion 2014 in the doubles category. “For me, art is a means of communication, a way to transmit the energy of life, to affirm its vastness and its beauty,”. Other material: Snow and Ice since 1998.
  Website: www.sculpturebeauregard.com

• Justin Gordon – Massachusetts

  

  Justin Gordon has been carving since 1974 and sculpting sand since 1978. He started sculpting professionally in 1991 after a lay off  from his engineering job. He sculpts in ice, snow at ski areas, wood, including chainsaw tree carvings for StoryLand, wax for the jewelry industry and bronzes, foam, clay, stone, sand, pumpkins, and chocolate. Justin has competed in Taiwan, Kuwait, Oman, the Caribbean, BC and Quebec, Canada, and throughout the US. He does the 50 ton sand sculpture at the Topsfield Fair. He concentrates on carving custom clock cases, architectural carvings, fine sculptures, and period gun stocks. www.ElwinDesigns.com.

• Greg J. Grady – Derry, New Hampshire

  

  Greg is a veteran of the Marine Corps and a 2nd generation sand sculptor. This self-taught artist was introduced to sand sculpture as a young child but his career started off as more of a ‘breaker’ than a maker. Summer vacations were spent as a family on Cape Cod beaches where his father spent his vacation days making sand sculptures, and young Greg would wait to crash the sand sculptures down. Greg outgrew his appetite for destruction and became more interested in the creative process just as his dad’s hobby was becoming more serious, and took his own skills to the next level. Sr. began competing in the master sand sculpting circuit and G2 (called junior in the sand world) would tag along, eventually following in his father’s footsteps. He has learned from the best, playing in the biggest sand boxes around the world to become a full-time professional artist. He makes sand sculptures for any event from a wedding proposal to the largest of corporate events and shows, locally and abroad. His creatively has expanded and he also works with snow, wood, foam, pumpkins and more. Visit: www.facebook.com/ProfessionalSculptures

• Rusty Croft – Carmel, California

  

  Rusty’s sand sculpture career started in 1997 with the world record setting sculpture, “The Lost City of Atlantis” in San Diego. He has traveled and won awards samd sculpting in 30 countries. In 2010, with Kirk Rademaker, Rusty formed Sand Guys International. A year later the Sand Guys were offered their own T.V. show “Sand Masters,” by Travel Channel that chronicled their adventures in sand for two years in 29 episodes in New York, New Zealand, Palau, and Thailand. The show has been translated into Spanish, French, and Italian, airing in the Asian-Pacific rim and Europe, making the Sand Guys the most recognizable sand sculptors in the world. Their client list includes Apple, Disney, Google, Facebook, Pixar, Lucas Film, and Legoland. In 2014, the Sand Guys’ reached “new heights” when Caterpillar hired them to create the Guinness Book of World Records “tallest sand castle” in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Leading the Sand Guys team, Rusty has been on the Today Show, Good Morning America, Hell’s Kitchen, The Rachel Ray Show, and Home & Family. He has been on every episode of “Sand Wars” and “Sand Blasters” on Discovery Channel and has been in The Wall Street Journal, SunSet Magazine, American Lifestyles, Kinfolk, and AARP Magazine.

• Jill Harris – Satellite Beach, Florida (Alternate)

  

  Jill discovered her love for sand sculpting 24 years ago. She switched careers so she could learn more about this art form. In founding her own company, Sandsational Sand Sculpting, she combined her love for art and creativity with her skills in business, marketing and performance art. She dedicates herself to her artistic passion full time. Sandsational does commissioned sculpted works worldwide. As an artist, Jill is known for the abundant detail she puts in each sculpture. She strives for her sculptures to tell a story and be complete with all the elements that make them so enjoyable for people of all ages. Realizing higher quality, more detailed and large scale artwork is what inspires Jill’s best work. See her work at www.sandsational.com or on @sandsationalsand on Instagram.

• Thomas Koet – Satellite Beach, Florida

  

  Thomas has always felt an urge to do something artistic, creative, and technical, like architecture or engineering. Soon after Thomas received his master’s degree in Industrial Design Engineering in the Netherlands, a friend introduced him to sculpting sand. Immediately drawn to the medium, he has become a designer and sculptor for some of Europe’s and North America’s largest sand sculpting events, and has made extraordinary sculptures with the highest quality possible in China, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Qatar and Canada. Unable to attend in a long while, he is happy to be back in Hampton Beach this year. A fierce competitor, he’s won many first place, sculptor’s choice, and other titles worldwide. He won the 2010 World Champion of Sand Sculpting. His World Champion win was a proud moment in his career of over 20 years. www.sandsational.com

• Chris Guinto – Florida

  

  “I remember as if it happened yesterday. As I was passing by, Chris was sculpting this divine, perfect piece. I was able to witness that incredible moment in time. It changed my life forever. I knew right then and there that I needed, somehow, to become a professional sand sculptor. There are no words that can genuinely express my sincere gratitude, but thank you Chris, you gave my life meaning again…you’re a true master.”   – Abe Waterman  Chris was one of the stars in the widely acclaimed television series ‘Sand Masters’, ‘Sand Wars’ & ‘Sand Blasters’ on the Travel and Discovery Channels and has a humorous side as well!”

• David Andrews – Wisconsin

  

  Placing in the top five for the past seven years Dave is due for a win.  After skipping out of high school over thirty years ago to compete in the US Snow Sculpting Competition he’s been smitten with sculpture and competitions ever since, and has won his share of awards in everything from chocolate to potatoes. Although rewarding, the day job of restoring artwork, stained glass and murals in historic buildings, leaves little room for creativity, and Hampton is the perfect place for him to let that creativity flow in the form of grains of sand while enjoying a day the beach with his family as well…. far better than freezing beards and
  soggy boots!

• Karen Fralich – Toronto, Canada

  

  Karen has been creating sand sculptures for 26 years. She has a diverse background in multiple forms of sculpture, including clay, stone, snow and polymer. Although she has no formal art training, her passion, curiosity and many incredible mentors lead her to embrace this unusual career. In 1998, she entered her first international sand sculpting contest and by 2001 she was working full time as a free-lance sculptor. To date, Karen has competed in over 120 Masters Level International sand sculpture contests, winning 27 First Place Titles, as well as five World Championship titles. She collaborates with sand sculpture companies in Canada, the USA, Japan, Mexico, Italy, Holland, Spain, England, UAE, South Korea, Taiwan, and Australia. She is very honored to be a long-term part of the “Grady Bunch”, this will be her 16th time competing! She loves Hampton Beach, the incredible hospitality, food, sand (10 out of 10!) and especially the friendly people, make it one of her favorite destinations! www.sandqube.com

• Abe Waterman – Prince Edward Island

  

  Abe Waterman would have you believe he is a mild mannered sand sculptor from PEI, Canada. A 38 year old with approximately a dozen years experience in sand, who has done little else with his life besides collect “happy meals” toys, watch “The Golden Girls” reruns, and flatulate almost incessantly. Very little, however, could be further from the truth (except the flatulating.) It has recently been revealed that he is in fact a Canadian spy, and furthermore, one of the leading agents of the Caledonia Liberation Front. The Caledonia Liberation Front, or “Caliber F” as they are colloquially known, has for years been hell bent on destroying society as we know it through nefarious subterfuge, namely spreading good cheer by means of the dispersal of free beer. The casual observer will likely pass Abe by and see no more than a child playing in the sand, but a more perceptive gaze will reveal the telltale signs of Caliber F; self satisfied grins accompanied with easy laughter, a care free demeanor, frequent trips to the potty, perhaps a droopy eyelid, and the smell of brussel sprouts and cabbage.

• Carl D. Jara – Ohio

  

  For most of my life I’ve pursued that narrow line between public acceptance and pure expression, all the while adhering to the whims of a delicately balanced, often temperamental material and its physical boundaries. I’ve strived to illustrate the profound changes, moments, and efforts of my own personal narrative, in a fashion that thinly veneers a true translation, while maintaining a familiarity to my audience. For me, the moment of its realization, combined with the raw, arduous nature of the art form itself, and the intimate connection with the vicarious viewer, redeems my connection to the creative spirit that underpins the definition of fine art. Carl D. Jara at www.artcleveland.com.