Arts & Culture

Sand Painting: A Native American Tradition

Thanksgiving, as the name suggests, is a time of celebration and gratitude.  It is a traditional holiday that was founded after the American Native Americans helped provide for the Pilgrims.  American Indian culture is rich and fascinating.  With multiple tribes, and each with different customs, their culture is littered with beauty and ingenuity.  The Navajo tribe, specifically, created an unusual art form we still have today: sand painting.

Sand painting was originally used as a way to heal the sick.  The Navajo believed that the images created through sand were heavily connected to the gods and they would perform ceremonies under the belief that the ill would be healed.  They would carefully choose the items, places, or people they wanted to recreate in their painting.  They would request aid from the gods through chanting.  The ill person would sit or lay on the finished image to absorb its healing power.  Despite sand painting originally being used as a way of survival, some authentic Native American sand art has been saved and framed.  When creating the images, sandstone, pollen, flowers, charcoal, and other resources were colored and sprinkled carefully over top of smooth sand.  

Sand art, however, has more than just one style and has been adapted into other forms over the years.  For example, Julian Richardson uses a rake to create large-scale abstract patterns on sandy beaches.  However, because his work is completed in nature, his art washes away rather quickly.  But before his finished masterpiece disappears, those lucky enough to view it witness a special moment as art and the natural world are combined.   

Julian Richardson’s sand art

Readers may also be familiar with an act on America’s Got Talent: Champions—Kseniya Simonova won Ukraine’s Got Talent and then traveled to AGT: Champions and BGT: Champions, blowing the audiences away with her sand art.   She received a golden buzzer and even made it to the finals on both shows.  She used sand to tell stories and paint beautiful images.  Her fingers being her only tools, her hands would sprinkle the sand onto her canvas.  

Sand art by Kseniya Simonova

While sand art has changed in many ways since the Native Americans utilized it for healing purposes, its original roots still shine through.  True to their culture, the American Native Americans created this art using resources from the natural world around them, using the simplest of things to create something seen as highly impactful.  And this Thanksgiving season it is important that we remember to be grateful for the little things.  And perhaps, if time is available, you can find items around you to create meaningful art yourself. 

 

Works Cited: 

Britannica, Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Sand Painting.” Britannica, www.britannica.com/art/sand-painting.

“Navajo Sand Paintings.” Navajo Code, 27 May 2015, navajocodetalkers.org/navajo-sand-paintings/

“Navajo Sandpaintings.” Navajo People, navajopeople.org/navajo-sand-painting.htm 

Lam, Adrian. “Sand Artist’s Incredible Creations Only Last for Hours.” Inside Hook, 14 Oct. 2016, www.insidehook.com/article/art/sand-artists-incredible-creations-only-last-for-hours

 

Photo Credits: 

www.artsology.com/blog/2020/11/native-american-navajo-sand-paintings/ 

guity-novin.blogspot.com/2014/04/chapter-78-navajo-indians-sand-painting.html 

https://designwrld.com/sand-drawings-julian-richardson/ 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qprrayQKlec 

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