Jamie Wardley was born and raised in the Woodside area of Bradford, West Yorkshire. He attended Buttershaw Upper School before studying Environmental Protection at Bournemouth University, graduating in 2003, initially planning a career as an environmental scientist and outdoor pursuits instructor.

While travelling in Norway around 1998–2000, Wardley encountered sand sculptor Daneel Foyer, who invited him to try the craft; he later returned to Norway to train intensively at Foyer’s studio for around a year. He went on to tour European sand festivals and later trained in ice sculpture after visiting a Swedish ice hotel, eventually competing at ice-sculpting events in Finland and Canada.

In 2005 he founded Sand In Your Eye, an arts company now based in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, producing sand and ice sculptures, land art, sand drawings, and pumpkin carving for festivals, corporate clients, and major events such as the Tour de Yorkshire.

His most internationally recognised work is The Fallen 9000 (2013), created with fellow artist Andy Moss on the Normandy beaches for International Peace Day, using stencils and rakes to depict 9,000 human silhouettes commemorating those who died on D-Day.

Wardley continues to lead Sand In Your Eye’s team of sculptors and, as of August 2026, serves as a judge on BBC Two‘s new sand-sculpting competition Race Against the Tide, filmed at West Sands Beach, St Andrews, alongside fellow judge Sadie Clayton and host Iain Stirling.