Sand man turns Braden River courtyard into his castle

He might be a teacher and a 27-year-old adult, but Casey Fabianski still loves playing in the sand.

The first-year commercial art and business instructor at Braden River High School is pretty good at it, too. 

“I like fairytale, fantastical castles with whimsical stairways, magical hallways, balconies and porches,”  Fabianski said. “I try to encompass things that bring out the 5-year-old inside of everyone. If it brings a smile, then I did my job.”

To celebrate Braden River High School’s homecoming last week, Fabiansk

i constructed a 12-foot tall, 6-foot wide sandcastle in the school's courtyard. It has a pirate intricately carved into the front.

Fabianski spent 40 hours building the castle and that meant hauling in 12 tons of sand with a tractor he borrowed from the agriculture department. After 20 trips to a barn at the school, then back to the courtyard, Fabianki began his work.

The project was funded by the Student Government Association.

“I told them I’d donate the time to do it, if they’d allow me to do it," Fabianski said. "It's just sand and water. No magic.”

Students on campus might disagree.

"It's pretty detailed," said Jacob Cochran, a junior at Braden River High School. "He put a lot of work into it, and always talked about it."

For some, Fabianski even exceeded their expectations. Students were very impressed. 

"He's really talented," said Kathryn Daniel, a freshman at Braden River High School. "It was a lot bigger than I expected it to be — it was really cool."

Fabianski, originally from the south suburbs of Chicago, took a family vacation to Florida in 2011 where he saw sand sculpting for the first time. 

"We went to Fort Meyers Beach and the 2011 American Sandsculpting Championships were taking place," Fabianski said. "We watched guys from all over the world compete, sculpting for three days straight. "

It prompted Fabianski, his twin brother, Adam and his brother, Andy, to enter an amateur competition, which they won.

Since then, he has competed alone in various other sand sculpting competitions, and has also taught sandscultping lessons in the Florida Panhandle. He also constructs sand castles for wedding proposals, and takes other requests as well.

Living in this area, he said sand sculpting is one of the most popular activities on Siesta Key. "It's extremely relaxing and fun, but a lot of hard work. But I love bringing smiles to the beach." 

Fabianski works his craft about once a month with Siesta Key being his go-to-destination. The white, powdery sand is the best for creating his masterpieces because it's consistent, without any shells or rock. He said the fine sand packs tightly.

As one could imagine, the execution of one of these massive sandcastles into something quite intricate takes a lot of time and concentration. However, Fabianski makes this tedious process fun by getting a little crafty with his sculpting tools. 

No matter where he builds his art, he knows it won't last long because the wind and heat destroy it.

"The moment you take the forms off, it's cool to see that it is strong," Fabianski said. "But the coolest part is when it's gone, and it goes back to the way it started, a beach. Then the next time I go back, I can make it into the newest, greatest piece of artwork."