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Sand art takes him around globe

 
Rich Varano’s company created a sculpture of Pope Francis as part of a religious-themed scene this year in Jesolo, Venice.
Rich Varano’s company created a sculpture of Pope Francis as part of a religious-themed scene this year in Jesolo, Venice.
Published Jan. 24, 2016

EDGEWATER — Rich Varano remembers his "old-school" Italian father placing him in the sand when he was 6 years old and sculpting figures around him.

"He was like an artist in denial," Varano said about his late father. "He would dig holes that us three little ones would sit in. I remember at that time being so impressed with how big you could make something so fast."

Varano, 58, was born in New York but grew up the middle child of six kids in New Smyrna Beach where his father first introduced him to the art of sand sculpture.

Now, Varano owns and manages Varano Sand Sculpture LLC, which has led him to every continent except Antarctica in his 31 years in the sand art business.

Sitting in his Edgewater home, surrounded by wood sculptures that he occasionally carves for enjoyment, Varano said he never studied art in school, and as a teenager, he would just sculpt on the beach for nickels and dimes or to pick up girls.

"My father always thought art was a little feminine," Varano said. "I quickly realized from an early age that I like this and I want to do it, but I just can't tell anyone. "

After a series of jobs in hospitality burned him out in his 20s, Varano caught his lucky break when a friend of a friend helped him land a job at SeaWorld in Orlando creating sand sculptures for the popular theme park. He gained enough clients through SeaWorld to help him start his own side business, and after about 10 years of juggling both jobs, Varano quit SeaWorld to pursue his own larger ventures. Varano's first big project was in 1992 in the cities of Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood and Delray Beach when the Sun-Sentinel newspaper asked him to construct a 12-foot exhibit commemorating the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' voyage to America.

Fast forward 25 years and Varano now has "a couple dozen" core artists he hires for bigger projects. He sculpts only the projects he wants, and he mostly manages the artists he hires. Varano, who's won many awards and medals, has never been big on competitions, either.

"The business has been good to me," he said. "But I'm a creative person. It's the process of making it."

Varano recently returned from Jesolo in Italy's Venice province, where has been creating sand sculptures for 18 years.

As a "semi-retired" artist now, Varano said he hopes in the near future to start a sand sculpting event or festival in New Smyrna Beach to bring it back home to where his love for art all started. Varano said he doesn't think he will ever "fully retire."

"As an artist, it is innate," he said. "You create. It is something you have to do."