‘B’ Street Pier
1140 North Harbor Drive
San Diego, CA 92101

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Michela Ciappini

Sculpting Since: 2003
Location: Italy

Michela’s artistic ambition was simple.  She wanted to draw.  And so she did, studying at the Art Institute in Italy.  But it was during a scenery course that she discovered a new direction for her creativity.  She worked as a set designer on several productions, creating background paintings and sculptures.

Then, in 2003, while at the beach near her home, she began carving sand as a way to visualize her ideas for stage sets.  “I used sand sculpting as a way to train myself as an artist,” Michela said.  Soon Michela was hooked on the beauty of the medium.

And now art lovers throughout the world are hooked on the beauty that Michela creates in sand, as she carves incredible variations of the human form. “There are so many different styles of composition,” she said. “It’s amazing what you can do with only sand and water.” Amazing, indeed.

Notable Achievements:

  • First place doubles with Joris Kivits, 2012 Neptune Festival, Virginia Beach
  • Third place solo, 2012 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge, San Diego

Website: http://www.michelaciappini.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michela.ciappini

USSSC + DAE is cancelled.

It was our great honor to have produced this iconic event for 8 years.  USA Today had named it to the ‘Top 10 in the Nation’ and American Express called it ‘one of the top 20 seaside festivals in the world’.

Hundreds of millions of media impressions were registered worldwide and over 40,000 attended the festivities each year on the downtown San Diego embarcadero. 

We thank the Master Sand Artists from Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas who created magnificent sculptures from nothing more than sand and water, as well as the artists who work in other media, the entertainers, food providers, sponsors, media, staff, suppliers, volunteers and the Port of San Diego who made the event possible.

Should a title sponsor or new production company wish to bring it back to benefit local non-profits and the Southern California community at large, we will endeavor to help advise as long as we are able. 

For now, enjoy the website from years past.*

Thank you once more.

Joyce and Gordon Summer, Executive Producers

on behalf of Bruce, Tricia, Steve and the entire USSSC team.

This Website sculpted one grain at a time by Web Services Management.