For most people, going to work means sitting behind a desk and completing monotonous tasks as part of the daily grind. But for some, work looks a little different. It might mean sculpting towering creations from sand, walking high above the crowds or trading two legs for a shimmering tail. For these three Tampa Bay locals, they’ve found a way to turn their passions into careers—and make work feel like anything but work.
Such Great Heights
On any given day, Natasha Eriksen stands just 5 feet 2 inches tall. But when she clocks in for work, she towers at 7 feet 4 inches.
Born and raised in Florida, Eriksen has always been creative. A self-proclaimed “baby ballerina,” she gravitated toward dance and musical theater before eventually turning her attention to sports, studying sports media and communications in college. But after the pandemic brought her back home to Tampa, she found herself ready for a change.
Her older sister, a party starter, dancer and singer at Busch Gardens, encouraged Eriksen to look into entertainment opportunities at the theme park during Howl-O-Scream. Though she was initially terrified to return to the entertainment world after years away, she quickly found a welcoming community of passionate and creative individuals.
Her first role during the seasonal event was as a bungee performer, where she would leap out to scare unsuspecting guests. Across from her was a stilt walker, a specialty that instantly caught her attention.
“I think it was just the way I saw how elegant it looked and how different it was,” Eriksen says. “It wasn’t something that was your everyday job or everyday thing you see on the street.”
Though her position was temporary, many of her fellow performers were daytime entertainers who encouraged her to apply for future events. After booking a summer gig, Eriksen decided she wanted to learn to walk on stilts before her official training began. She found another performer who was happy to help, and the journey was, well, clumsy.
“I fell as soon as I started walking for the first time,” she says. “You’re up and then you’re on the ground.”
But her instructor helped her get back up — and kept encouraging her to try again. That became part of what Eriksen loved about stilt walking: the people around her.
“The passion, the elegance, just how much fun they were having made it motivating when they made it look easy — and it’s not easy. It definitely had its challenges. Bungee, stilts, everything has its own life and what have you, but there is nothing that’s impossible with that. I think there are challenges you have to go through; that’s part of the process.”
Within that process, Eriksen gained a whole new level of confidence and a renewed passion for the industry.
“I fell in love as soon as I started rehearsing,” she says.
Even the rehearsals felt like play. Line dancing, floor exercises and other seemingly silly activities helped her get comfortable in a world that initially felt completely foreign.
When she first started, Eriksen had to adopt a wide, almost cowboy-like stance to keep the stilts from hitting one another. She learned to look ahead rather than down at her feet, since watching each step could throw off her equilibrium. Falling was inevitable, so she also learned how to fall safely, protecting her head and minimizing the impact on her joints.
“It’s kind of like teaching a baby how to walk,” she says.
Eventually, her stride became more natural. Once she got the hang of it, she says there was something almost otherworldly about being above the crowd. At 7 feet 4 inches, she suddenly had a presence she had never experienced before.
Today, stilt walking has become something of a freelance career for Eriksen. She auditions for opportunities with theme parks and entertainment companies, and each event brings something new.
She doesn’t have a favorite costume or event. Instead, she loves the novelty of each one.
“My inner child is like, ‘This is amazing,’” she says. “I’m just playing dress-up.”
Her favorite memories have come during the holiday season, when families gather for Christmas events and children get the chance to see something magical.
“To see the sparkle in a little kid’s eye when they see some magical being in front of them, oh my gosh, it is so healing,” she says. “It is so amazing to be part of the magic and inspiring future generations.”
For Eriksen, that magic extends beyond costumes and performances. She has met children who tell her they aren’t confident or don’t believe in themselves, and she uses those moments to encourage them to believe in themselves and not let anything stand in their way.
And perhaps that’s what stilt walking has given Eriksen, too: confidence, community and permission to be a little silly.
“A lot of people are so focused on being the best in the room or having the best promotion or having the best title of something, and everything is so serious,” she says. “So to find a community of people that are like, ‘Hey, we’re going to be goofy and we’re going to be doing it together,’ it helps your confidence so much.”
Playing in the Sand
Originally from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Patrick Harsch moved to Florida in sixth grade. While visiting Treasure Island, he saw sand sculpting for the first time and was intrigued, though he didn’t yet understand it as an art form — much less a career.
After college, Harsch moved to the Tampa Bay area, where a neighbor who worked in sand sculpting part time introduced him to the idea of turning the craft into a business. Harsch already had experience working with other mediums, including ceramics, foam and fiberglass, but sand presented a different kind of challenge: He had to create his own medium.
The process starts with finding the right sand. It can’t be too coarse or too fine, Harsch says. The right combination of grains, along with the proper amount of water and careful compaction in layers, creates a surface strong enough to carve. From there, a block of sand can become nearly anything.
His first major audition, so to speak, was for a job with Disney. He eventually spent time working in the entertainment industry, carving foam and fiberglass for projects that could take up to a year to complete. But he missed the travel and camaraderie that came with sand sculpting and eventually returned to the craft full time.
Now, nearly three decades into his career, Harsch has traveled the world with his work, from China and Malaysia to Europe, Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean. He estimates he creates five or six sculptures a month, with the size of each piece determining how long it takes to complete. A 22-ton load of sand, for example, can produce a 360-degree sculpture that take two sculptors about two days to carve.
Though the process may seem simple from the outside, there is plenty of skill involved. Harsch typically begins with an idea for what he wants to create, but he has learned to adjust his designs based on the sand itself. Before committing to the details, he builds the blocks and gets a feel for the material.
Harsch has also learned that no two locations are necessarily the same. While almost any sand can be sculpted to some degree, the quality of the sand can affect the height and level of detail possible. He particularly enjoys working with the sand on Clearwater Beach.
One of his favorite projects is actually an event he has been involved with for more than a decade: the Pier 60 Sugar Sand Festival in Clearwater Beach, where he serves as sculpting director. The annual event brings sculptors from around the world to create large-scale works based on a new theme each year, along with a pro-amateur competition and educational workshops.
Even after nearly 30 years, he says there is always something new to learn. And because sand sculptures are temporary by nature, the work comes with its own built-in job security — eventually, every sculpture disappears.
Rain, however, can make that short shelf life even shorter. Outdoor sculptures are particularly vulnerable to the elements, and protecting them can become a project of its own.
“Any time you are outside carving and there is a threat of rain, there really is no way to make this stuff indestructible,” Harsch says.
In 2023, Harsch founded Tampa Bay Sandsculpting Co., allowing him to focus more of his work close to home after decades of traveling.
“We hear the comment that we are a bunch of kids playing in the sand. To a point, that’s true,” he says. “I found a way to never grow up.”
Mermaid Magic
Iona Paris wasn’t always the Seashell Queen. Born in Brooklyn and raised in Atlanta, the Air Force veteran chose to move to Tampa — almost at random — based on a passing mention of the area and a desire to be near the water.
“Somehow, Tampa ended up being exactly the place where everything in my life opened up — my creativity, my healing, my mermaid life and my seashell journey,” she recalls.
Growing up, Paris viewed art as her sister’s interest, while she thought she’d find a career as a scientist or inventor.
“I was always making something, experimenting, mixing things, building little ideas, but I didn’t recognize any of that as ‘art’ I just thought I was being curious,” she says.
After her first deployment in the military, Paris needed to find an outlet to heal, so she returned to her childhood creativity and found art as an escape. While scrolling through Pinterest, she came across a jeweled seashell crown.
“It was magical, unlike anything I’d ever encountered,” she says. “I wanted one immediately.”
The $500 price tag, however, led her to experiment with making her own. Now a Florida resident, she had access to plenty of beaches, and she turned her so-called laboratory into a seashell room, where she began designing more and more crowns.
“I’m always inspired by the culture around me — I love pretty things, sparkle, rhinestones and all things luxurious and feminine. Making seashells look opulent and girly just felt natural, like jewelry and ocean magic were meant to meet,” she says.
Each crown starts with an idea or theme, with each project taking on its own personality and drawing inspiration from the world and pop culture. Once the concept is forged, it’s time to hunt for the perfect shells to turn the vision into reality.
Over time, her experiment became so much more. Her seashell art has been featured in documentaries, shown on Netflix, displayed in galleries and museums, and even worn at New York Fashion Week and Miami Swim Week.
“Every opportunity still feels a bit surreal. It’s amazing to see how far something I started out of curiosity has carried me, and I still feel that same spark every time I sit down to create,” she says.
While making crowns launched her persona as the Seashell Queen, the endeavor led to something far beyond what she had imagined. Through a partnership with a peer support leader with the Wounded Warrior Project, Paris was asked in September 2023 to host a mermaid swim class for veterans. She viewed the opportunity as the perfect way to share something that had helped her mentally.
“I created Military Mermaids for other veterans who need anxiety relief, camaraderie and a gentle, fun way to reconnect with themselves. Only military veterans participate as mermaids during official events, but we welcome spouses, dependents and those connected to veterans during family-day swims,” she says.
Today, Military Mermaids is supported by Paint 22, a veteran arts organization that sponsors the program and donates mermaid tails so the organization can continue growing and supporting future mermaids. Through the program, veterans can participate in mermaid swim classes, seashell art sessions, jewelry-making workshops and seashell crown-making experiences, creating opportunities for connection and creative expression through art.
“One of our biggest and most meaningful traditions is the annual Military Mermaid Swim Class with the Wounded Warrior Project. It’s such a special event that brings everyone together in a joyful, healing way. We also partner with schools and local art events throughout the year, sharing creativity and community wherever we can.”
Through the annual event, Paris is able to connect with other veterans and hear their stories, whether it’s learning about a veteran who got a job as a mermaid after taking one of her classes or another who turned their mermaid persona into a catering business. Most meaningful of all is hearing from disabled veterans who say their injuries felt better after the class.
“It’s incredible to see how something so whimsical can spark healing, empowerment and joy,” she says.
For Paris, whose collection of mermaid outfits and tails numbers more than 20, becoming a mermaid is empowering. She is constantly evolving her vision, changing her looks and adding new details, and she attributes that freedom to stepping into a character who represents strength, beauty and transformation.
“It’s also freeing. It lets me play, let go, and reconnect with joy. It’s a reminder that healing doesn’t always have to be heavy.”
For those looking to support Military Mermaids and its efforts, donations through Paint 22 go toward providing mermaid tails, art supplies and safe spaces for veterans to heal and create.
“Even simple encouragement, like telling a veteran about our program or cheering on our events, makes a difference. Support doesn’t have to be big to be powerful,” she adds.
Since her very first crown, Paris has reiterated that everything she creates comes from a place of healing.
“My art is how I turn pain into beauty, and it’s how I remind myself and others that transformation is possible,” she says.
She also wants people to understand that mermaiding can be incredibly therapeutic and help with anxiety, depression, confidence, body awareness, gentle physical fitness and even emotional release.
“It gives adults permission to play again — and that alone can be healing. If someone sees my work or hears about Military Mermaids and feels inspired to start their own healing journey, then I’ve done exactly what I’m meant to do.”
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