Infinity Sand Sculpture By Carl Jara

Impressed by the photo, Jara said he looked up the International Association of Sand Castle Builders and started making his own sculptures. "That summer I did my first sand sculpture in my driveway," Jara said. "I don't know what it was or if it was any good; probably wasn't." After high school Jara went to college to study graphic design at the Myers School of Art. It was there that Jara realized he neither liked nor was good at graphic design. Jara's art teacher told him to keep working on sandcastles. "My BA Fine Arts exhibit was a 15 foot sand sculpture, it was like a familial self portrait," Jara said "Then I walked to where I was working and quit my job." After college Jara started making sand sculpting a career. According to Jara he got mixed support from friends and family although his dad was very supportive of his goal and his mom eventually came around to the idea. "Well from the moment I graduated from college and quit my job waiting tables, I was going to make sand work," Jara said. "And it worked. I can't describe the long standing procedure of making a business work, but it worked." In addition to his work as a sand sculptor which has brought him around world, Jara has a position building and setting up exhibits at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
Jara says that one his favorite competitions is the one at Hampton Beach. "I have been competing at the Hampton Beach event every year they had an event," Jara said. "Greg Grady (the founder of the Hampton Beach Sand Sculpting Competition) called me up, said 'hey we have this competition, think you'd really like it.' As far as I know I'm the only one aside from Grady to do it every year." Jara says that there's great energy and people at Hampton, and good sculpting sand to boot. Even if it's raining he can still expect the beach to be lined with people looking at the sculptors at work. "It was cool, that contest, those people are my family, my home away from home; I would be very depressed if I didn't get to go back to Hampton Beach for a contest," Jara said.