Two female artists use a light box, some sand and powerful music to tell beautiful and tragic stories.

There’s something truly amazing that happens when you watch someone pick up a handful of sand and then turn it into a story with lifelike artistic images. You feel happy knowing that the artist is using an all-natural material like sand (which means that you won’t be subjected to toxic paint fumes) and you also feel blown away by what you’re seeing come to life on the screen. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I’d say that the pictures created with sand animation are worth an infinite amount of words.

Sand animation is pretty much what it sounds like: artists take handfuls of sand, and with the aid of an overhead projector and some light, they draw images, lines and figures in the sand to create a story. But these aren’t your average stick figures. The images look real, and with the accompanying music that plays while the artist draws, they even look like they’re going to jump out of the screen. Here are two very talented artists that are well-versed in the art of sand animation. Watch how they create their works of art. You’ll be blown away, too!

Kseniya Simonova

At 24 years of age Kseniya Simonova became the winner of Ukraine’s Got Talent (the same thing as America’s Got Talent). She enthralled the audience away with her sand animation, which depicted Germany’s invasion of the Ukraine during WWII.

Here’s a picture of Kseniya creating sand animation images.

And here are a few of her sand images:

Here’s Kseniya in action, depicting the invasion of the Ukraine during WWII:

Ilana Yahav

Ilana Yahav is a sand animation artist from Israel. Her website, Sand Fantasy, says this about her work: “A video camera is positioned over the glass table upon which Ilana creates her sand magic. The image is instantaneously projected onto a big screen for the audience to see. Specially chosen music, enhancing the mood, accompanies the entire process!” And what a beautiful process it is.

Here’s a picture of Ilana creating her art.

And here are a few pictures of her sand art.

Here’s a video showing Ilana in action as she creates “One Man’s Dream 2010.”

I think that both Kseniya and Ilana are super talented, and I hope that they continue to inspire others to create artistic pieces with natural materials and a whole lot of imagination.