{"id":403597,"date":"2026-03-25T19:39:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T19:39:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/403597\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T19:39:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T19:39:13","slug":"l-a-artist-turns-colorful-sand-into-whimsical-art-and-sunae-kits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/403597\/","title":{"rendered":"L.A. artist turns colorful sand into whimsical art (and sunae kits)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The artist who goes only by the mononym Naoshi is a master at spinning tiny grains of sand into something grand.<\/p>\n

She specializes in sunae, the Japanese art of making images out of colored sand. In her tidy Alhambra home studio, she meticulously assembles out-of-this-world tableaux in saturated, punchy hues.<\/p>\n

Naoshi\u2019s pieces usually center around a chic ingenue sporting food-focused fashion \u2014 think bonnets made of bonbons and boba tea skirts. One of her earliest characters, Ice Cream Girl, is a go-getter with a scoop for a head, inspired by a character she drew as a child. Another of her stars is a fierce fast-food warrior clad in a cheeseburger skirt, wielding ketchup and mustard laser guns and flanked by a squad of fighters who happen to be anthropomorphic pizza and hot dogs.<\/p>\n

\"Japanese <\/p>\n

(Etienne Laurent \/ For The Times) <\/p>\n

\"Japanese <\/p>\n

(Etienne Laurent \/ For The Times) <\/p>\n

\"Japanese <\/p>\n

(Etienne Laurent \/ For The Times) <\/p>\n

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In this series, we highlight independent makers and artists, from glassblowers to fiber artists, who are creating original products in and around Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

But not all of the artist\u2019s works have a gourmet bent \u2014 she also creates celestial goddesses and nature-inspired divas, and made a series devoted to the Major Arcana of tarot<\/a>. Her \u201cIt\u201d girls often keep company with a coterie of tiny monkeys, kittens or creatures with confections for heads. Their vibrant, jam-packed settings depict anything from an oceanic rave to a rainbow-hued big top performance to a joyride through the cosmos. And no matter the motif, she always makes sure her subjects are \u201cplayful, sweet and dreamy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was a child, I had the experience of making sunae using a kit,\u201d she recalled during a recent interview. \u201cThat memory stayed with me very strongly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harnessing that nostalgia, she started creating and selling small DIY sunae kits of her own design in 2004.<\/p>\n

\"Colorful <\/p>\n

Food-focused characters dominate Naoshi\u2019s work, including picture books and sand art kits.<\/p>\n

\u201cI began making [them] with the hope that they could become a fun and memorable experience for someone else as well,\u201d she said of the kits, which range from easy to challenging, accommodating budding artists of any age and skill set.<\/p>\n

But whipping up one of her full-scale smorgasbords of sprinkled donuts, popcorn and nigiri for a gallery display isn\u2019t mere child\u2019s play. The technique involves attaching an original sketch to an adhesive backing, cutting it out, strategically sprinkling sand on the desired areas, then removing any misplaced grains one by one. Each piece takes her anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.<\/p>\n

Originally from Japan (Yokohama by way of Iwate), Naoshi first visited Southern California in 2010, when she participated in a Sanrio anniversary exhibition in Santa Monica<\/a>. There, she displayed her work and held a sand art workshop.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was such a really inspiring experience, I began to feel that I wanted to challenge myself as an artist in Los Angeles,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s always so sunny and the food is so good! In Japan, a lot of people wear black and white, but in L.A. everything\u2019s so colorful. I get inspiration all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since taking the leap to living in the L.A. area in 2014, she has exhibited her work at Gallery Nucleus, Corey Helford Gallery and La Luz de Jesus Gallery, to name a few. She has also conducted workshops and sold merchandise \u2014 from art prints to T-shirts to washi tape \u2014 at such spots as Leanna Lin\u2019s Wonderland, Popkiller and Pygmy Hippo Shoppe.<\/p>\n

\"Jars \"Jars <\/p>\n

Jars of colorful sand and sweet artwork fills Naoshi\u2019s studio. <\/p>\n

Establishing herself in a new country was not without its challenges. \u201cThe culture is totally different,\u201d she explained. \u201cI felt stress every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Early obstacles included overcoming the language barrier, as well as learning how to navigate the city\u2019s vastness, how to open a bank account, and where to find markets and restaurants where she could buy her favorite Japanese delicacies.<\/p>\n

\u201cI eventually started to enjoy the act of challenging myself,\u201d she said of her transition phase. These days, she high-fives herself for successfully filing business taxes on her own and she has become a regular at Katsu-Jin<\/a>, a Tonkatsu spot in South Pasadena.<\/p>\n

Last year, Naoshi released \u201cThe ABC of Sunae,\u201d<\/a> a mini-encyclopedia of sorts that traces the global origins of sand art in its various forms, including the ceremonial sand paintings of the Navajo in the American Southwest and the spiritual sand mandalas of Tibetan Buddhists. She also takes readers behind the scenes of her approach to the craft, showing off her preferred tools and providing step-by-step photos of the process.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest challenge of working with sand is that there\u2019s no room for mistakes,\u201d she said while sitting at a worktable stocked with dozens of small sand-filled glass jars, all arranged by color. \u201cOnce the sand sticks, it\u2019s almost impossible to make corrections. So if there\u2019s even a small part I\u2019m not satisfied with, I have to start over from the very first step.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

The intricate nature of sunae means that if Naoshi makes a mistake, she has to start all over.<\/p>\n

A stark white workspace filled with natural light, her trusty craft knife, a steady hand and a keen pair of eyes are all essential for keeping her girls\u2019 cheeks rosy and for making their backdrops sparkle. And she maintains sanity by working to a soundtrack of her favorite Japanese pop songs and the bouncing beats of Basement Jaxx.<\/p>\n

\u201cSand may be the opposite of an efficient or convenient material,\u201d she said, \u201cbut its soft texture and the time I spend deeply focusing on the process feels almost meditative to me.\u201d<\/p>\n