I love process art.  I love it in the way that some people love puppies or stamps or something like that.  I really love it.  I watch kids as they create and I feel like all is right in the world.  Is that weird?  Maybe so but who cares.  My name is Meri Cherry and I love process art. Anyway, creating sand art is really fun because it can be a multi level sensory process that kids can explore over and over in all kinds of ways.  Check it out.

Materials

chalk, white sand, glue, squeeze bottles (which I use for all kinds of things – glue, paint, sand, mustard) paper or canvas (here’s a link to the black canvas like in the video)

Step 1

Place a handful of white sand on a tray. Rub a chalk stick all over the sand and the pigment from the chalk will begin to rub off on the sand.  The more you rub the chalk, the more vibrant your sand will be.  It was fun to watch the sand change colors before our eyes.  If you have the round chalk, roll it back and forth over the sand.  If you have the squared kind you rub it around and around in the sand.  You can also use salt for this part instead of sand if you want.  Flax and Twine has a beautiful tutorial that explains the process.

Step 2.

Pour the colored sand into a squeeze bottle.  If you have a funnel, it makes things way easier.

Step 3.

Create your sand art.  You can do this step a few different ways. You can first color your canvas directly with chalk to make it really colorful or you can just go ahead and start squeezing glue out in different sections.  Squeeze some glue and then squeeze some sand on top.  Knock the excess sand onto the table or tray.  If you do it over a tray you can reuse any sand that didn’t stick.  The sand is fun to move around with a paint brush or your finger when you’re done creating.  Great relaxing sensory experience for kids.

We actually worked on these over two weeks.  The first time we tried it doing a pencil design on the canvas first.  I think that would work better for older kids.  These kids needed more freedom to just explore the sand on the glue.  It was very satisfying to squeeze the glue and then watch the sand easily stick on top.  Once these 3 and 4 year olds learned the glue/sand technique, they were in the zone!

You can try sand art on all kinds of paper or maybe try a black canvas like in the video.  Sand art would work great on a frame or a bird house.  We’re excited to keep experimenting with it.  For more process art ideas try Salt Painting Collage or Mixed Media Collage for kids.  Thanks for reading along everyone! xo Meri