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Aquascape Artist of the Year

A water feature becomes the focal point of your yard, whether you add a pond, waterfall, or fountain. You’re hiring the best when you choose a Certified Aquascape Contractor (CAC). A CAC receives ongoing training in the best practices of water feature installation, maintenance, and service. Each year, one CAC is awarded Artist of the Year for their excellence in artistry and dedication to creating natural-looking, low-maintenance ponds, waterfalls, and fountains. Artists of the Year, listed below, are chosen by their peers and subject matter experts at Aquascape, Inc. Get ready to love your backyard and hire a Certified Aquascape Contractor today!

Hire the Best

2024 Artist of the Year
TranquilityScapes

Rob and Kevin Fuentes had always dreamed of owning a business together, but life initially took them down separate paths. Rob pursued a career as a nurse, while Kevin studied engineering. Everything changed when Rob discovered Greg Wittstock, The Pond Guy, on YouTube. Captivated by Greg’s vlogs, Rob purchased an Aquascape pond kit and enlisted Kevin’s help to install it. Realizing the potential of a water feature business, the brothers attended Pondemonium® in 2019 and returned home inspired to launch their own company, TranquilityScapes. While their journey began with enthusiasm, the onset of COVID-19 delayed their plans. It wasn’t until August 2020 that their business truly began to take off.

Along with selling their own water features, Rob and Kevin Fuentes collaborated with Certified Aquascape Contractors on various projects to refine their technical expertise and artistic building skills. Their lifelong love of nature—fueled by childhood hikes to waterfalls—remained a guiding passion. Rob eventually left his nursing career, and Kevin turned down an engineering job after graduating, fully committing to their shared dream.

Some might have called them crazy, but their hard work and dedication paid off. In just four years, their efforts were recognized with Aquascape’s prestigious Artist of the Year award. Today, Rob and Kevin remain focused on growing TranquilityScapes, continuously improving their craft and expanding their business. Their vision is to build a thriving team and bring the beauty of water features to even more clients.

TranquilityScapes

Past Artists of the Year

Sean Frost

2023 – Sean Frost
Nature Scapes

Sean was introduced to Aquascape when he worked at a pet store that sold preformed ponds. He installed a few of these ponds for customers, but as fate would have it, Sean opened an Aquascape catalog that landed in the store’s mailbox. In 2003, Sean was challenged with creating a waterfall on a vertical cliff and turned to Aquascape for help. Sean installed a pond at the top of the cliff, with the waterfall cascading over the cliff into a larger pond. The project was so impressive that it was featured in Yankee Magazine. Sean then partnered with Certified Aquascape Contractors in his area for additional work and learned new skills on the jobs. His peers noticed his talent and started calling on Sean as a consultant and mentor. Sean finds inspiration right outside his door where he enjoys an amazing view of the Wild Meadow Brook and the never-ending beautify of waterfalls and streams that run through New Hampshire.

Ralph Biezad

2022 – Ralph Biezad
Pondscapes AZ

Ralph’s water feature journey began when his wife’s grandmother showed him a Home and Garden magazine article about fountain installation. He started showing and selling fountain creations at the weekly craft fair in his neighborhood. After marrying his wife Alison, Ralph headed a landscape division at his friend’s company. After realizing Ralph’s passion for water features, the company sent him to an Aquascape seminar. It was during the 2009 downturn in the economy that Ralph and Alison launched their own business, Pondscapes AZ. Ralph draws upon the beauty of the Arizona vistas to craft low-profile work that invites birds, lizards, and various insects to refresh themselves in the water. His favorite part of his water feature career is seeing the emotional connection that his clients have with his creations.

Diego Asturias and Dan Peterson

2021 – Diego Asturias and Dan Peterson
Fontana Ponds & Water Features

Two friends on separate journeys in the landscape industry joined forces as business partners in 2014. One thing stood out to them as they started installing ponds, waterfalls, and fountains. Water feature customers were much happier than general landscape customers. By 2020, they changed the name of their company to Fontana Ponds & Water Features. One of their favorite installations is a 50-foot-long waterfall that meanders from one side of the property to the other. Another favorite project incorporates a fun zipline across the length of a 35’ x 40’ recreational pond that’s six feet deep. What Diego and Dan love best about crafting water features is turning on the waterfalls and watching the emotion on their clients’ faces.

Tim Wood

2020 – Tim Wood
Aquatic Edge

Tim’s lifelong work with water and fish started in his youth as an avid boy scout in western Pennsylvania. It continued into his secondary education years when he pursued Hocking College’s Natural Resource Program with an emphasis in Fisheries Management. Upon graduation he secured a job with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries managing gamefish populations in public lakes. Tim eventually returned to Pennsylvania and in 2010, he tied all his favorite pastimes into one mission with his newly founded company, Aquatic Edge. He was doing what he loved working with landscapes and water resource management. Shortly thereafter he attended an Aquascape pond tour in the Chicago area and started pursuing his passion for creating natural-looking water features. Tim’s mission is to get people to enjoy nature at home, no matter how big or small their space might be.

Patrick Handley

2019 – Patrick Handley
Waterscapes Australia

As a horticulturalist with a background in permaculture, Patrick constructs his water features based on a keen observation of natural systems. He looks at the surrounding environment to coax an idea from the landscape. In addition, Patrick considers how the owner will enjoy and interact with the water feature. Careful consideration is given to the edge treatments and plants are strategically placed to soften, blend, and highlight the rocks. Patrick attended his first Aquascape pond building event in 2003 while living in Canada. He returned to Australia in 2007 and founded his company, Waterscapes Australia. In addition to being awarded Artist of the Year in 2019, Patrick was also recognized as Conservationist of the Year by Aquascape in 2021.

Dan Harp

2018 – Dan Harp
Mark the Pond Guy

Growing up on five acres in the Washington forest and mountains helped shape Dan into the pond artist he is today. In addition to the visual beauty of water features, Dan tunes into the various sounds that can be created when manipulating water on its journey. Rock placement, along with twists and turns of a stream or waterfall, alter the sound of running water depending on where you’re standing. Fishing trips and hikes in the woods still shape Dan’s water creations today. He incorporates moss, ferns, and fallen logs into his water feature designs.

Weston Zimmerman

2017- Weston Zimmerman
Tussey Landscaping

Destiny entered Weston’s life when his mother asked him to build a pond in their backyard when he was just six years old. Four years later, he went to work at his uncle’s landscaping business. At 16 years of age, Weston took a job at Tussey Landscaping where it became obvious that Weston’s passion was working with water, and he became the go-to guy for pond, waterfall, and fountain installation. His signature mark when crafting water features involves the dramatic journey he forces water to take, by forcing it to pool up in areas and then overflow in new directions. The less manmade his water features appear; the prouder Weston feels about his artistic creations.

Alan Decker

2016 – Alan Decker
Decker’s Pondscapes

Alan’s childhood years exploring the rivers of the Adirondack and Catskill mountains provided life-long inspiration for what would become his passion and career in life. When Alan received his first Aquascape catalog in 1999, he was running a landscape nursery with greenhouses and hardscaping services. Looking to set his business apart in a competitive field, he instinctively knew that water features were his calling. Alan enjoys creating deeper streams with pooling areas when designing ponds and waterfalls, and he always incorporates interactive areas using bridges or patios. He continues to find ideas from nature and takes his team to Lake Placed every year for renewed inspiration. Alan doesn’t have a favorite project, because his favorite is the next pond or waterfall that he’s going to create.

Joey Genovese

2015 – Joey Genovese
Genoscape, Inc.

Growing up in Canada, Joey was surrounded by water. The country has the longest shoreline in the world and is home to more lakes than all countries combined! Joey started his landscaping business in 2003 and became a Certified Aquascape Contractor six years later. His design approach to water features incorporates an eclectic Japanese style of organic curves found in nature paired with straight lines of a patio or other hardscaping. Joey says every new water feature he installs is like a child being born, and he loves it when his customers become the proud parents of his creations.

Jaak Harju

2014 – Jaak Harju
Atlantis Water Gardens

Before sculpting ponds and waterfalls with rock, Jaak was busy working on landscape projects in the 1990s. His first water feature was repairing a plastic tub pond for a customer, and he did everything wrong. Determined to learn the right way to install water features, Jaak bought an Aquascape pond kit and installed it in his mom’s yard. He then promoted water features at a local home show, sold three projects, and his confidence was set for a new career. Eventually he transitioned his business to the installation of water features only. Jaak is a perfectionist and it’s not uncommon for him to place a rock several times before he feels it’s in the exact right spot. Jaak is a firm believer that artistry comes from within, and his water feature handiwork is a continual expression of nature and the world around him.

John Adams

2013 – John Adams
Modern Design Aquascaping, Inc.

John’s dad was an avid fisherman, and his mother was a passionate gardener. Growing up in Michigan, John spent time outdoors playing water sports and catching turtles. After his family’s move to Tennessee, John’s adult journey led him toward landscaping and ultimately, pond building. His first water feature was a 100-foot-long waterfall that ran from his mom’s front porch down the sloping yard to an adjacent lake. He eventually attended a pond seminar in Nashville and decided to focus his business solely on water features, taking his inspiration from the nearby Smoky Mountains. In addition to being an Aquascape Artist of the Year, John was recognized with the “Most Naturalistic Water Feature” award from Pond Trade magazine.

Chris Siewing

2012 – Chris Siewing
Nature’s Re-Creations

Chris received his first Aquascape catalog in 2002 and was curious about the opportunity to install water features professionally. He attended a Build-a-Pond Day and shortly after, went to Pondemonium®, Aquascape’s largest training event. On the way home from Pondemonium, Chris confessed to his wife that he was selling his landscape business and going into water feature installation full time. He claimed he found his life’s calling. His childhood days as an Eagle scout served him well in establishing an early bond with Mother Nature and designing water features came easily to him. Chris’ favorite project is his own recreational pond where he spends most of his free time swimming with the koi and enjoying time with friends and family.