Semi-Pro Sculptors

These artists’ journey has not just begun, but their skills continue to strengthen with each carving of a sandcastle they create and each competition in which they spend time building out an artistry of sand. You won’t want to miss watching these semi-pro artists transform into excellence right before your eyes with unbelievable talent create sand sculptures worth remembering.

A tanned older man with white hair smiles at the camera. He's outside in front of some greenery and he's wearing a stars and stripes tank top

Marc Mangia

Marc Mangia was born, raised, and live in Columbus, OH. At a young age, Marc started working with his hands assembling and taking apart anything and everything. As a teenager, he started working with his dad in the construction business as a carpenter, and he...

A man bends over a large sand sculpture of a fish with a paintbrush. He is wearing a bucket hat and focuses on his work.

Jim Butler

Growing up in southern California, many of Jim Butler's earliest memories are of days at the beach, making drip sandcastles and moats. He guesses building things was in his veins because he's now an architect and master sand sculptor. Jim's...

A bald, bearded man with blue eyes looks over his shoulder and smiles at the camera. This is a close up of his shoulders up. he's wearing a coral-colored shirt

Thomas Brown

Thomas Brown, born in 1976 in Muscle Shoals, AL, and hailing from Louisville, KY, is a versatile mixed-media artist. Transitioning from clay, stone, wood, and metal sculptures, he entered the realm of ice sculptures when he embraced the vibrant chaos of New York City in 2008....

Selfie of a young man in a teal shirt and a camo bucket hat smiling down at the camera

Joon Park

Joon Park was born in 1997 and started helping carrying buckets at the beach at contests back when he was 17, during the years of 2015–2019. Over the next few years, Joon started sculpting and started doing it everyday at the start of 2019 till this day. He has made...

A man in a yellow long sleeve shirt kneels down next to a sand sculpture depicting a man's face and hand coming up out of the ground, rocking out on a guitar

Leonard Gonzales

It all started more than 30 years ago in Imperial Beach (“IB”) California. In the 1980s, IB was home to the U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition, one of the largest events in the country for decades. In grade school at the time, Leonard joined his family and friends, who...

Selfie of a young, bearded man with long brown hair soft smiling at the camera. There is fluorescent lighting overhead. He is wearing a brown jacket.

Thomas Earing

Usually found in a tree, Thomas Earing can occasionally be found carving wood and ice. Now, he is adding sand to his repertoire as a repeat attendee of Texas SandFest. With a passion for making cool stuff and hard work, Thomas looks forward to providing an appealing...

A middle-aged man in a baseball cap, a long-sleeve white shirt, and dark sunglasses leans over in front of a sand sculpture and smiles at the camera.

Darrell O'Connor

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing.” During the week, Darrell O'Connor works as a computer systems analyst with AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals supporting and implementing Enterprise Software from German Software...

Mitch Guerrero

Mitch is going on his 9th year as a sand sculptor and his 6th year as a Pro-am sculptor. This will be his third season at his favorite contest ever—Texas Sandfest! Mitch has decided to take his passion for art and sand sculpting and make it his full-time career in...

Semi-Pro Support Sculptor

Tyler Morris is this year's Semi-Pro Support Sculptor! Thank you for all your help and hard work.

Tyler Morris Semi-Pro Support Sculptor