Back in 2014, Manuel found himself with no job, nowhere to live, and spending his days by the beach pondering his next move in life. With the gentle ocean waves calming his mind in the background, he one day started playing around with the rocks on the beach. What started as therapeutic rock-balancing, however, soon turned into a beautiful art form. People walking by would stop to admire the rock sculptures and, over time, his following started to grow. With appreciation of his art came motivation to create more – his first job arrived in the form of an Instagram message; yet, nowadays, he finds himself being contracted by hotels in Hollywood and private collectors to create magnificent custom pieces. His rock-balancing catapulted him to art fame overnight, at one point having four TV appearances within a week alone, and 60 million views when his sculptures were posted to the Ventura Facebook page. His Christmas project of 2016, a Nativity scene built from rocks (a one-month display), saw over 500 visitors coming to see the structure daily, with admirers traveling from as far as San Francisco to view his art.

His permanent pieces are all initially created by balancing alone, with nothing holding the rock pieces together apart from the balancing and structural forces that be. Once Manuel, or the customer, is satisfied with the final sculpture, he then proceeds to drill holes through the pieces and threads a sturdy metal rod through each rock, setting the pieces in place.

 

Manuel’s story is a true story of art, passion and perseverance, and we are happy to have him as part of the Hollywood Sculpture Garden.

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Website: www.facebook.com/TheRockArtist