Texas SandFest, the largest native sand sculpture competition in the country, is happening in Port Aransas this weekend.
Ilya Filimontsev is a professional sand sculptor from Russia, where he studied sculpture at the Moscow Academic Art Institute. But he’s is getting a U.S. history lesson at this year’s Texas SandFest.
Texas SandFest brings sculptors from around the world to Port Aransas for a patriotic sand art competition
“They are founders of America. These guys signed Declaration [of Independence],” Filimontsev said of his sculpture he’s been working on.
There are only about 500 professional sand sculptors in the entire world, and Filimontsev is one of them. He studied sculpting at the Moscow State Academic Art Institute of Surikov. He also sculpts materials like snow and ice. This week, he is lending his talents to the biggest native sand sculpting competition in the nation.
He is not the only sand savant on the shores of Port Aransas…