amazin walter's photostream  

Amazin' Walter, The Old Son of the Beach, himself... I'm an artist that lives on South Padre Island, off the coast of Texas and travels the world carving sand and taking photos,

While at home i offer private sand castle lessons as well as create art in a variety of medium... making balloon sculpture at Blackbeards' Restaurant on South Padre Island...
I love playing music with my friends... i have fun!

below you will find my "bio" as sent to sancsculpting events... remember... it's my side of the story....

WALTER MCDONALD

SAND: Walter McDonald, aka, Amazin' Walter, the "Old SOB* Himself",
has been dazzling beach visitors for more than 30 years at South Padre
Island with his soaring towers and impossible arches in his castles
made of sand.

In 1985 the South Padre Island Convention and Visitors Bureau noticed
his beach activities and invited him to perform his art of sand at a
convention at Corpus Christi, Texas. He became hooked on the Island
and stuck in the sand. He has participated in sand sculpting
competitions and displays in China, Japan, Belgium, Holland, Qatar,
Mexico, Canada, Nassau, Bermuda, Costa Rica and in many cities in the
United States. A large part of his income stems from commissions to
build "Will you marry me" castles, Wedding castles, Happy Birthday
Castles, and private sand castle lessons for tourists on South Padre
Island. Walter has taught lessons to thousands of people since 1978
when he first arrived at the Island. Corporate team building
exercises, promotional sculptures with company logos on them, in 1987
he was instrumental in organizing Sand Castle Days, which has become a
masters' competition on South Padre Island that just completed its
23rd edition with him at the helm.

He has won many medals, trophies and cash awards for his competition
sculptures from his very first masters competition in Virginia Beach
at the North American Sand Sculpting Championship (2nd place with a 5
person team including his partner and ex-wife sandyfeet) to 3rd place
in the solo category of that same competition in 2010. Competing in
the World Championship competition in British Colombia he won medals
in the solo division, the two person team division, and the large team
division. In his first excursion into solo masters competitions in
1992 he won 1st place in the American Sand Sculpting Competition in Ft
Myers Beach, Florida. The public loves his castles, awarding many of
them the coveted "People's Choice" award.

Walter enjoys working on large projects with his friends from around
the world. His first large project was "Atlantis" at Fiesta Island in
San Diego in 1997. Belgium for four summers with Sculpta Sand
Sculpture company with themes on Ancient Egypt (2001), South America
(2003), Renaissance Italy (2004), and Belgium History and Pop Culture
(2005), also a winter project in Belgium (2004) and one in Holland
(2004).

Amazin' was recently introduced at a competition as the most famous
and most popular sand sculptor to have at a competition. He humbly
replied, "aw shucks" and looked at the floor.

As Grand Poohbah of The Sons of the Beach he launched the Unlitter
Campaign in 1985. The Sons of the Beach pledge (I promise to have
fun!.. Help others have fun!... and Unlitter!... Unlitter is to
properly dispose of more garbage than you generate!) has been taken by
an incalculable number of people at festivals, fairs and even numerous
times on national television.

Amazin' Walter has been featured in hundreds of interviews from local,
regional, and national newspapers and magazines as well as radio and
television. With his daughter Christy McDonald they were a team on the
reality show "Sand Blasters" where 5 of the 8 entries are blown up
with dynamite and must start again with a new block of sand. With
partner SandyFeet he was featured in a "Best Buy" commercial. Oprah
commissioned the amazin' one for a sculpture in Nassau for O Magazine.
Amazin', sandyfeet, and Christy built a 12' tall sculpture for the
cover of Texas Monthly magazine. The South Padre Island Convention and
Visitors Bureau sent Amazin' to work with "Texas on Tour" in New York
City (Matt Long helped on this one) and sent Amazin' and Feets to the
Houston Art Car Parade, all to promote South Padre Island.

2010 has been an exciting year for Amazin' Walter, in February he
spent a week teaching sculpting with sand at the Austin Waldorf School
in Austin, Texas for the 7th year in a row. April found him working
for SandArtist.com in the sands of Arabia at the Qatar Marine Festival
where he sculpted architecture and marine creatures. Back to back
competitions in September the first being The World Championship of
Sand Sculpture in Federal Way, Washington and then across the country
to Virginia Beach for a 3rd place medal at the North American Sand
Sculpting Championship. October was spent at home working on South
Padre Island's very own Sand Castle Days where 23 "Masters of Sand"
presented their work . A few commissioned demonstrations, and a lot
of lessons adds up to an exciting year so far! November 8th takes him
to Ft Myers Beach Florida for the American Sand Sculpting
Championship: then to Siesta Key, Florida for the all new Crystal
Classic Sand Sculpting Competition.

PHOTOGRAPHY: As a young boy Walter discovered a fascination for
taking pictures. At age 12 he was given a darkroom to develop and
print his own pictures. In high school he was the school newspaper and
yearbook photographer. Walter's college major was photography and
after college he worked for a photographer, then freelanced for
several years before going to work at the Albuquerque Tribune for 2
years. Success there landed him a position as staff photographer for
the Dallas Times Herald. After leaving the newspaper for a commission
with the Museum of Albuquerque to photograph for a show called "Have
You Seen Albuquerque" he settled into a freelance routine that still
lands him an occasional magazine assignment. Some of them Sand
Sculpting events. see his photos at
www.flickr.com/photos/amazinwalter/ or at Walter McDonald on
Facebook.


PRECIOUS METALS, ANTLER, BONE, IVORY: Amazin' Walter has always had
a compulsion to "make stuff". For about 40 years he has made jewelry
out of prescious metals and semi-precious stones, beads and many other
materials. Since he started sculpting sand he became interested in
carving other media. Antler, bone and ivory are a few of the materials
he is currently working with in his studio. He also produces a line of
sand sculpting tools that are sold at sobshop.com . Many master
sculptors own and use tools he made.

MUSIC: Walter plays guitar, harmonica, ukulele, and drums; sings and
writes a lot of the songs he sings. He played in "The Corduroy Cowboy
Company" an outlaw band for a couple of years in Dallas in the 70's.
Their music has been inducted into the Texas Music Hall of Fame. Three
years ago SandyFeet introduced him to the joy of the ukulele and they
perform with an informal group that calls themselves the Saturn Street
Strummers.


ENTERTAINMENT: Being the "class clown" in school seems to have
followed Amazin' Walter into life itself. Don't be surprised if you
find him dressed as a clown or even a pirate with a bag full of tricks
fooling people into thinking they're havin' the time of their life! Or
maybe riding one of his unusual bicycles in a parade! Or juggling, or
making balloon animals, or who knows?

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE: To have Fun! ... Help others have Fun! ... and
UNLITTER!!!


FOOT NOTES: *SOB... Son of the Beach






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