I was doing a collaborative art show in which my art partner and I decided to make mosaics in different mediums than we usually do. I had the idea of working with sand and loved the outcome! This Krishna is based on a photograph by Jeffrey Boardley.

When I first had the idea of making a sand mosaic, I planned on using an image of the 14th Dalai Lama as a child on a mandala. Then I went to a photography exhibit by a high school friend. Once I saw his photograph of Krishna, I immediately asked him for permission to use his photograph instead. Thankfully, he agreed!

Here’s Jeffrey Boardley’s original photograph.

My sand Krishna is eight feet tall, so I put a grid over the original photograph to trace her onto the foam core fiberglass board I created it on.

I cut the foam core board in a stylized lotus shape, then applied construction paper to help keep the design on track and because the fiberglass board wasn’t an ideal surface for applying the sand.