Andres Amador is an inspiring artist. His captivating images in the sand are energizing and calming all at once. He and his associate Kelsi Anderson now offer public workshops through Elemental Arts. I have attended two workshops and now have my own rake. I now can create my own art in the sand. It is rather addictive to make mandalas on a low tide beach.The trick to creating the impermanent art pieces (low tide) is thinking about the whole while working on the parts. It’s also one of those rare exercises where you must, as Richard Rohr calls it, have a lightness of heart and a firmness of foot.
Doodling or coloring mandalas is one form of meditative art. This, however, requires large scale imagination. It requires you to just let your heart lead you and then start stepping into the art and sand. You can’t worry about your footprints, you just have to walk intentionally and start drawing with your rake. A little foot shuffle erases your mistakes but for the most part when working large scale you really don’t get to see the whole until you are finished.