Matt Long
Since 2001, Matt Long has created innumerable sand sculptures around the world for every type of event imaginable. From small but impressive table-top sand sculptures at trade shows to sculptures well over a hundred tons. They are always suited to the client, well thought out, and skillfully designed.
Matt has placed in four World Championship Competitions and was a cast member for the two-season run of the Travel Channel Show Sand Masters. He has created sand sculptures as far away as Thailand and New Zealand to Times Square and Rockefeller Plaza. Matt has also designed and patented Can You Dig It Sand Tools that are used by participants in all his team building events. www.sandsculptor.com
Brian Wigelsworth
Brian Wigelsworth has been an artist his whole life, long before he went to art school. He began his art career by drawing portraits of his Junior High teachers while ignoring the lesson being taught. The principles undoubtedly became his biggest critics and fans. Growing up in California if the surf wasn’t up, his sand creations were. After getting his degrees in Illustration and Graphic Design he immediately opened his own studio in downtown Minneapolis. He loved learning any new art form or technique, working in pen and ink, oils, acrylics, watercolor, airbrush and even stained glass. When he moved to Siesta Key he would enter the amateur sand sculpting event every year until someone told him he was too good and needed to move up. “I didn’t know there was a move up!” He found himself at the Fort Myers American Championships competing in the Pro-am division, where he placed first and the organizers invited him back to the Masters the next year. He then found himself low man on the totem pole, dwarfed by the incredible master talent that attended that event.
It wasn’t long before he realized his home Siesta Key sand deserved its own Master event. After 2 years of touting the possibilities to the Siesta Chamber of Commerce, they worked together to create the Siesta Key Crystal Classic Master Sand Sculpting Festival. After starting his professional sand company, SandVenture Crew, he coordinated the sand competition for ten years and with the help of the Chamber grew it into the largest event on Siesta Key. Two years ago, passing the reigns to his business partner, Andy Daily, with the desire to compete in this wonderful event. After placing 2nd in doubles last year, he’s back to play in this incredibly gorgeous white sand again!!
