SNOW and ice will soon be upon us but Jamie Wardley is already feeling the chill.

The ice and sand sculptor's latest project - creating a three and a half meter ice Christmas tree in Manchester - involved working with a number of charities who were distributing the gifts they invited people to bring and wrap under the tree for the homeless.

"It's a three-pronged thing. Homeless people feel more included in society when they get a gift and the general public feel they are supporting them," explains Jamie, who hopes, ultimately, that it will also prompt politicians to take notice of the plight of the homeless on the streets.

Drawing attention to important issues is something Jamie is able to do to great effect through his talent. One of the most memorable projects he recalls was the sand drawing he, along with his co-director Andy Moss, created for Peace Day 2013.

Fallen demonstrated what 9,000 would look like who lost their lives in one day during conflict.

"In the D-Day landings 9,000 died and we wanted to show the loss of life in a single day so we drew 9,000 people," says Jamie.

The drawing representing all those who lost their lives, German forces, Allies and civilians on a beach near France would pave the way for Jamie's latest project to commemorate the 100th anniversary since the end of the First World War.

Jamie explains they were contacted in early September by 14-18 NOW for the project 'Pages of the Sea' involving film director, Danny Boyle, who he had the opportunity to meet a couple of times.

The aim was to create sand art portraits of service people drawn into the sand between tides across the country on November 11 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War.

Jamie recalls he and his family were on holiday at the time of the call. Recognising it was going to be one of the most complicated and ambitious projects they had been involved with, and with only seven weeks to complete it, they set to work training 27 teams to create the images in different locations across the country. Jamie was part of the 28th team creating their portrait of Wilfred Owen on the beach in Folkstone.

The images were chosen by Danny Boyle and the 14-18 NOW team as a representation of people in the UK as well as local connections.

Jamie recalls meeting the team for a test run at this emotive location where, he explains, hundreds of thousands would have departed for war, some never to return.

Working with tides, and nature, proved a complex operation. Jamie explains how they worked through the night on the designs - the aim being for the portraits to be visible on November 11 before the tide washed the faces away.

The majority of the drawings were 30 meters in length - Jamie's team's portrait of Wilfred Owen - was the largest at 60 meters.

"It was driving rain, dark and with 30 to 40 mile an hour winds and we were trying to do a sand drawing," recalls Jamie.

As soon as they'd mapped out the outline the rain washed it away but perseverance pays as Jamie recalls. "We managed to find the image again and draw it but it rained and rained. We had to rake in the same image three times. By about 8am it was wonderful - thousands of people were on the beach looking over this picture."

For Jamie and the team the hard work had finally paid off and everyone - including the main broadcasters - were on hand to capture the moment.

"There was a minute's silence and as that occurred the sea was washing over the face and washing it away," recalls Jamie.

"Being part of that was a beautiful thing. It was a very moving moment and we were all very proud as well as being exhausted."

It is also one of the highlights of a very busy few years for Jamie since setting up his business, aptly christened 'Sand in Your Eye.'

"It was a brain storming thought - I do sand sculpting - and it is something you remember but we also do ice carving and pumpkins," says Jamie, referring to the carvings he did in October for the Halloween Festival in Hebden Bridge where he lives with his wife, Claire, and three-year-old daughter Florence.

Sand art and ice carving is the perfect profession for Jamie, who loves being outdoors.

Growing up on Woodside council estate, Bradford, he enjoyed the woodland in Judy Woods and fondly recalls trips with the Gingerbread project to the Yorkshire Dales.

Interestingly, Jamie studied environmental protection for his degree - not art - although he recalls enjoying the subject and theatre at school.

"I had environmental sympathies," he explains.

Climbing and pot-holing in the Yorkshire Dales were among his favourite pursuits and led to Jamie's longing to be in nature.

"Woodside, where I grew up, had beautiful woodland, Judy Woods, so being in nature is really important to me," he says.

It was while holidaying in Norway that Jamie was introduced to sand art.

Jamie recalls he started chatting to the artist and was invited to have a go at sand sculpting. "He thought I had a flair for it and said if I wanted to go to Norway he had a studio in Oslo."

"In the room was a lot of sand, a bed and a fridge," says Jamie, who spent two weeks learning his art.

He continued with his university studies and was able to return the favour when the sand sculptor who taught him asked if he could return the favour - helping him out on a project he was working on in the UK.

Around that time sand sculpture festivals were emerging which led Jamie to travel, gaining a greater audience for his work.

"I turned up in Portugal and firstly this guy showed me 100 tonnes of sand - I hadn't done anything bigger than a three tonne sculpture before. He said 'is this ok?' I thought I could go home now but I plodded on and got going."

Jamie credits opportunities such as that with helping him to progress with what is now a business as well as a profession.

"It is taking opportunities," says Jamie.

Ice sculpting was another opportunity he seized on after being introduced to it through sand sculpting. He spent four weeks ice carving at a festival in Belgium.

Sand and ice present differing mediums . Jamie explains sand can be warm and create good shadows whereas ice is transparent but strong and can be striking. "We are always learning; we are always doing new things and it keep things fresh and exciting and that is the great thing. We never really stand still but sometimes it is nice to stand still and have a rest," says Jamie.

Visit sandinyoureye.co.uk.