- April 11, 2025
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Ringling College graduate Dean Arscott won first place in the Sculptor's Choice and People's Choice awards for single projects, with "Neanderthal + Narwhal". The 2008 graduate and illustration major pulled the idea from an old sketchbook of drawings on letters of the alphabet.
Photo by Ian SwabyIsabelle Gasse finishes off "To Be Fold."
Photo by Ian SwabySculptors Ludo Roders and Brian Wigglesworth, a former Siesta Key resident, spin Roders' lizard sculpture, the winner of the Quick Sand competition.
Photo by Ian SwabyAshlyn Siilliman, 6, makes a miniature sculpture.
Photo by Ian SwabyJoaquin Cortez and Craig Mutch won first place in the people's choice awards, doubles, for "Be the Change".
Photo by Ian SwabySkyler Dorlus, 6, prepares to dig into the festival experience.
Photo by Ian SwabyMorgan Rudloff and Amanda Bolduc assess the progress on their sculpture "Peace Within."
Photo by Ian SwabySharon Rock and Dan Anderson admire "The Future Awakens" by Maxim Gazendam.
Photo by Ian SwabyReady to Fly by Agnese Rudzite-Krillova.
Photo by Ian SwabyMatthew Deibert and Ian Deibert, a father and son sculpting team, compete in the Quick Sand competition.
Photo by Ian SwabyLudo Roders finishes off "Stop and Smell the Roses" with glue.
Photo by Ian SwabyJim Schlosser, Bradford Henrion, 3 and Baker Henrion, 5 work together to build sandcastles.
Photo by Ian SwabyMorgan Rudloff finishes off a sculpture.
Photo by Ian SwabyAI... by Matthew Deibert and Ian Deibert depicted an artificial intelligence.
Photo by Ian SwabyDylan Ruback, 13, and Cade Sibley explore the amateur sculptures.
Photo by Ian SwabyTo Be Fold was the work of Isabelle Gasse and Marie-Line Gagne.
Photo by Ian SwabyMorgan Rudloff looks at "Peace Within" after the sculpture's head collapsed, and the artists finished it off with a crown during the Siesta Key Crystal Classic sand sculpting.
Photo by Ian Swaby"Patience" by Wilfred Stijger and Edith van de Wetering
Photo by Ian SwabyJosh Abrams and Elizabeth King admire the sculpture work.
Photo by Ian SwabyArtists gather atop the centerpiece sculpture.
Photo by Ian SwabyFollowing the impacts of multiple hurricanes to Siesta Key, the Siesta Key Crystal Classic sand sculpting festival is being held as usual from Nov. 15-18.
In fact, sculptor Dean Arscott, a 2008 Ringling College of Art and Design graduate, was having an excellent time over the weekend.
It wasn't just because he managed to win the first place award in both the sculptor's and people's choice categories, among a group of international artists.
"We've had gorgeous weather this year," he said. "Didn't have to deal with any rain. We had like a tiny, tiny little sprinkle the first morning, but that was virtually nothing, so it's been as perfect as a sand sculpting event can be."
The signature event of the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce, the festival features professional sand sculpting, sand sculpting demos and lessons, an amateur competition and a professional speed-sculpting competition known as Quick Sand.
It is a major tourism and economic boost during the island's shoulder season, said the Chamber's Nancy-jo Manney, while for the fifth year in a row, the major portion of the proceeds also goes to Ringling College.
"We are very happy that, in spite of the hurricane, we are attracting a significant audience," Manney said on Sunday, noting that numbers were "excellent" over the weekend.
