By Deanne Revel
More than 300 students competed in the Sands Arts Festival at North Beach, Tybee Island April 30. Students competed for a total of $3,000 in prize money in five categories: sand castle contest, sand sculpture contest, sand relief contest, wind sculpture contest and Gray’s Reef best underwater creature presented by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation.
Entries could only contain sand and natural elements found on the beach such as shells, pebbles, driftwood and seaweed. The only binding agent permitted was water.
Gail Krueger, a judge representing Gray’s Reef, said she was looking for realism, whimsy and creativity.
“I’m looking for the spirit of it,” Krueger said. “People inspired by the ocean environment.”
The following is a complete list of winners in each category:
Sand Sculpture
- First place: “Hermit Crab Soft Coral,” Kanesnut Juthamaneesirikul, undecided, Bangkok, Thailand; Siwachat Sing-To, animation, Pakchong, Thailand; Chonlawat Puangsombut, architecture, Takhli, Thailand
- Second place: “Dragon,” Shan Lin, industrial design, Fuzhou, China; Dave Kin, visual effects, Singapore
- Third place: “French Shrimp,” Corrina Goutos, metals and jewelry, Altamont, N.Y.
Sand Castle
- First place: “Atlantis,” Joshua Buckner, graphic design, Rose Hill, N.C.
- Second place: “Helm’s Deep,” Megan Worthington, sound design, Greenwood, S.C.; Chelsea Musselman, interior design, Hurlburt Field, Fla.; Ryan Barstow, film and television, Kent, Wash.
- Third place: “Notre Dame Cathedral,” Stefan Kulski, painting, Orlean, Va.; Nicole Perrin, metals and jewelry, Atlanta, Ga.
Sand Relief
- First place: “Troubled Water,” Sarah Craig, animation, Lansdale, Pa.; Almendra Ferndandez-Maldonado, production design, Quito, Ecuador; Wallis Tosi, fashion marketing and management, Memphis, Tenn.; Olivia Accardo, film and television, Lake Hopatcong, N.J.
- Second place: “Hippo with Reed,” Alec Jankowski, advertising, Monona, Wis.; Jessica Boyer, interior design, Longwood, Fla.; Steven Genova, visual effects, Chester, Va.; Jimmy Zimmerman, advertising, Libertyville, Ill.
- Third place: “Chinese Boy with Fish and Water Lilies,” Xiaolai Zheng, animation, Beijing, China; Yang Liu, painting, Shenyang, China; Yilu Zhang, illustration, Tianjin, China; Lian Liu, visual effects, Fuzhou City, China
Wind Sculpture
- First place: “Spinning Ladle,” Johnny Jaroslawski, furniture, Dothan, Ala.
- Second place: “Medal Creature,” Matthew Cooper, industrial design, Rockton, Ill.
- Third place: “The Dogwood Tree,” Naomi Fox, fashion, Suffern, N.Y.; Joseph Willet, furniture design, Glen Cove, N.Y.; Abigail Evans, fashion, Goshen, Ind.; Makala Milliken, fashion, Mishawaka, Ind.
Gray’s Reef Underwater Sea Creature Contest
- First place: “Turtle-y Love,” Tran Do, motion media design, Keller, Texas; Sofia Petersen, broadcast design, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Whitney Taylor, interactive design and game development, Wooster, Ohio; Jose Landron, animation, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Second place: “Octopus with Guitar,” Katy McGinley, animation, Falls Church, Va.; Michael Walker, animation, Waxhaw, N.C.; Felicity Good, art history, Hummelstown, Pa.; Josh Chavez, animation, Hampton, Va.
- Third place: “French Shrimp,” Corrina Goutos, metals and jewelry, Altamont, N.Y.