Occupational Outlook Quarterly • Summer 2005

42

Once upon a time, there was a builder of castles. 

But he didn’t use sticks or stones to make his 

castles. He built them out of sand.

It might seem like a fairytale, but sculpting sand has 

been Damon Farmer’s job for nearly 30 years. Damon is 

a professional sand sculptor. His job involves turning tiny 

grains of sand into large-scale works of art. “It’s interesting to see that there’s a benefit to following your love and 

having it become something you can make money at,” 

says Damon. “When I first started out, I didn’t realize this 

was something other people did. I liked sculpting out of 

sand, and so I did it.” 

Although Damon currently builds fewer castles 

than he did when he was starting out, his work retains 

a fairytale feel. With a sand sculpture of Jack and the 

Beanstalk, for example, he won the 1996 World Championship in British Columbia, Canada—and later recreated 

the sculpture for the Castelli di Mare (Castles of the Sea) 

competition in Jesolo, Italy. Invitational events like these 

are all-expenses-paid trips that give Damon the chance to 

travel around the world.

No matter where it is done, though, sand sculpting 

involves more than just having fun in the sun. Creating 

these sculptures, which can be as high as 20 to 30 feet, 

requires some special techniques and a lot of hard work. 

“It’s a physically demanding job,” says Damon. 

Many sand sculptors begin a sculpture by shoveling sand 

into a wooden or plastic frame that’s about 2 feet high. 

Then, they carry numerous 5-gallon buckets of water to 

mix with the sand. As soon as the sand is evenly saturated, it is pounded into the frame with a hand tamper (a 

tool for packing sand) or a gas-operated machine called a 

jumping jack. 

After the initial layer of sand is compacted, a smaller 

frame is put on top of the first. More water is added, and 

again, the mixture is pounded until compact. This process 

is repeated until the structure reaches its desired height. 

“It ends up looking like a wedding cake,” Damon says of 

the multitiered structure.

Next, the frame is removed from the top tier, and 

Damon—standing on a 6-inch-wide ledge—begins to 

sculpt, working from the top down. “It’s all deductive,” 

he says. “You’re taking away to reveal the form.” 

Damon might work from a sketch, but he doesn’t 

do much measuring. Sculpting, he says, is an easier art 

form than a two-dimensional one, such as painting, which 

requires creating the illusion of depth. “An artistic eye 

helps,” he says, “but to some degree, anyone with a desire 

to sculpt can do it.” 

There are no formal training requirements for becoming a sand sculptor, but Damon says that practice is one 

of the best ways to prepare for the occupation. While developing his abilities, Damon says, he used only a shovel 

and a butter knife instead of working with frames or special tools. “My first sand sculpture looked like something 

any kid would make on a beach,” he says. 

You’re a what?

By Elka Jones

Elka Jones is a contributing editor to the OOQ, (202) 691-5719.

Occupational Outlook Quarterly • Summer 2005

42

Sand Sculptor
43

Summer 2005 • Occupational Outlook Quarterly

Damon has a degree in art. But, he says, “there’s 

hardly any kind of education that wouldn’t come in 

handy.” Sand sculptors use mathematics, for example, 

to convert square yards into tons when calculating the 

volume of sand that they need. They also use math when 

ordering plywood, such as 2-by-4s, to make the frames. 

Computer and Internet skills also are an asset for 

sand sculptors. Damon created his own Web site, which 

he uses to inform people all over the world about sand 

sculpting and about his work. 

Communication skills are important, too. “You’re 

dealing with people a lot,” says Damon, “sending people 

sketches, negotiating prices, and communicating with 

spectators.” Spectators like to interact with sculptors, 

which often makes the process of creating a sculpture as 

important as the finished product. Sand sculpting is a performance art, Damon says, so “anytime a sand sculpture 

is being built, people enjoy watching it.” 

The ability of sand sculptors to draw a crowd is 

one of the reasons why the work is profitable. Cities 

sponsor sand-sculpting events as promotional or tourist 

attractions, and companies sponsor them for advertising 

purposes. Commissioned sculptures may be built either 

indoors or outdoors, adding variation to the work.

It wasn’t until the 1990s that Damon got his first 

paid job. Now, he estimates that he’s one of hundreds 

of people who sculpt sand on a regular basis. The U.S. 

Bureau of Labor Statistics does not collect data on sand 

sculptors.

Damon accepts two types of sand-sculpting jobs: 

Those for which he is solely responsible and those for 

which he’s a subcontractor to a company that hires 

several sand sculptors. The first type of job, says Damon, 

requires him to do everything, from talking with clients 

to ordering materials, arranging lodging, and hiring other 

sand sculptors, if necessary. But as a subcontractor, Damon doesn’t have to worry about logistics; he just shows 

up and sculpts. 

The extra work involved in an independent job can 

be worthwhile, however. Damon estimates that sand 

sculptors working on independent jobs earn about $500 

daily—about twice as much as they can make subcontracting. 

But sand sculptors don’t work every day. In fact, 

Damon says that many people, including himself, do 

sand sculpting part time while also working in another 

occupation. In addition to the income he earns from sand 

sculpting, Damon makes money by painting and by doing 

computer animations.

Sporadic earnings are not the only reason why few 

people choose sand sculpting as their primary source of 

income, though. The occupation’s exhaustive travel requirements are another reason. “People tend to burn out if 

they do this full-time,” says Damon. For example, Damon 

lives in landlocked Versailles, Kentucky—so nearly all 

of his jobs are elsewhere. He says that it’s draining to be 

away from home and to travel all the time. 

To complete a project, sand sculptors might work 

8 or more hours a day for up to 14 days straight. Sand 

sculpting is done just about anywhere that can accommodate a delivery of sand. The ample supply of sand at 

beaches makes them an obvious location choice for many 

projects and competitions. 

Beaches also have an ample supply of water, a key 

ingredient in creating any sand sculpture. Grains of sand 

in a sculpture are held together by the surface tension of 

water droplets. Compacting the wet sand makes the bond 

between the water droplets stronger, helping the final 

sculpture to last longer—sometimes for a month or more. 

While they are working, whether inside or out, at a 

paid display or in a competition, sand sculptors and their 

creations draw a lot of public admiration. “It’s satisfying, 

as an artist, to have your work appreciated,” says Damon.

This gratification also helps Damon not to be bothered by the fact that each of his creations is short lived. 

“It’s like a song,” he says. “It’s there for people to enjoy, 

and then it’s over.” 

Damon Farmer still sculpts castles out of sand (right). But these days,

 Jack and the Beanstalk (background, left page) is a more likely subject.

Photos courtesy of Damon Farmer