Peter Papamanolis’ sand sculptures captivated Australians in this year’s national competition on the Gold Coast, drawing a lot of media attention.

The Brisbane jeweller creates intricate pieces out of precious stones and metals, yet sand-sculpting is his genuine passion.

The sandpit has become his self-discovered method of relaxation, therapeutic in many ways.

Entering the 2013 Annual Sand Sculpting Championships as a wild card, Peter has spent approximately eight years developing his craft, now working alongside the world’s finest sand sculptors.

Carving his way though exquisite renditions of castles, mythical and fictional creatures, at first for the amusement of children and passers by, Peter found a different way to vent his creative talent.

“I began creating very small sand sculptures on the beach mainly for the amusement of my then small children,” Peter tells Neos Kosmos.

It wasn’t until 2012 that he was asked to create a sand sculpture in the Garden Terrace at the Marriott Hotel on the Gold Coast for the Council of Educational Facility Planners International Conference, with the theme ‘Shape Shaping and Re-Shaping’.

Since then, Peter has been sculpting his way up. The artist was first invited to participate in the second Australian Sand Sculpting Championship at Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast, as the wild card entrant, creating a 12-tonne monstrosity called Cheez from scratch.

“In February 2014 I was invited back as the Queensland entrant in the competition, where I created Fo-Fum, the giant from Jack and the beanstalk,” he goes on.
“The following month I created a fifteen-tonne sculpture at the Greek Paniyiri Festival in Brisbane called Hippocrates, the father of medicine, as well as the Trojan horse for the Greek festivals on Bribie Island and the Gold coast.”

In 2015 Papamanolis again represented Queensland at the Gold Coast competition, creating Mike and Sully from the Disney movie Monsters Inc, but what had everyone smitten was a Christmas sand sculpture in the foyer of the Greek Community Centre based on the Byzantine style icon of the nativity of Christ.

The amateur sand sculptor was brought up in a Greek-speaking household, one of nine children. His childhood years and faith in God have been an endless source of inspiration.

“I am blessed to have had a family that filled my life with love and stability,” Peter reflects.

Peter’s father, Yianni, left his home in St Isidoros, Rhodes, to set up a new home in Australia for his family. Sadly, while he was working hard to make the transition possible, his wife died, leaving him alone with six children. He eventually asked a young 21-year-old girl called Despina, who had lost her mother at the age of 12, to marry him. They had three more children.

“I am one of those three,” he proudly says. Peter grew up dreaming of creating a family of his own, carrying the same values his parents passed down to him and his brothers.
“My childhood was filled with lots of visiting, family, weddings, gatherings, church and dances. My friends were my cousins who lived nearby, and getting together with them in the holidays was like being on a grand adventure.”

Peter’s journey of creativity has been equally adventurous. Even though he was inspired to draw from an early age, by seeing his older brothers’ artworks, he did not envision himself as an artist.

He opted to leave school in year ten to pursue a trade, to become a carpenter, but the cabinet making job he found did not last.

“Eventually I was apprenticed to Mackays Jewellers, from 1976 to 1979, and was taught the fine art of jewellery making.I have been hand-making jewellery ever since and it has been my bread and butter for almost 40 years,” he says.
“I’ve had very little formal training in art apart from a short course at college in jewellery design drawing, and another short course in Byzantine iconography.”

Over those many years, however, Peter has made thousands of pieces of jewellery ranging from diamond cluster engagement rings to simple wedding bands and everything in between for a lot of people from different walks of life. He has his own workshop, Highgate Jewellery, where he has been making bespoke jewellery for the past 30 years.

“I come up with an original idea; sometimes it’s an existing design but with a twist that makes it a little more unique for the wearer,” he explains.
“I have even had couples come in to be a part of the physical process of hand making their own wedding bands.”

Peter’s dream is to be able to work only on commissioned jewellery and one day publish a children’s book with his name as the illustrator. In the meantime, he’ll keep building sculptures in the sand.

“I have organised sand sculpting workshops for children’s camps and various organisations, including The Bribie Island Retreat and Recreation Centre, Anglicare, Pocket-Sized Projects, the Starlight Foundation and St Ita’s Primary School Brisbane.
“Carving sand on the beach, under the shade of an umbrella, is one of the most therapeutic and relaxing pastimes I have discovered.”