Konnichiwa! I’m Elena, part of the International Etsy Team focused on the Japanese Etsy community. I am based in Tokyo and I love being able to support artists in Japan looking to connect with Etsy’s global audience. I’m very excited to announce that the artwork for December’s Twitter Artist Series was created by the Japanese Sunae artist, Naoko Kikuchi, who goes by the name of Naoshi.
Naoshi has been drawing with shimmering colored sand since 2004 and has participated in a wide variety of art projects and exhibitions in the U.S., Italy, France, Switzerland, and Korea. Cleaning her sand-covered floor is one of her daily routines.
Be sure to check out Naoshi’s Etsy shop or her website, which is packed with vibrant and unique sand painted work.
What is “Sunae” and what are some of its unique characteristics?
Sunae (pronounced suna’é) is a Japanese word meaning “sand painting.” The artist begins by drawing a design onto a special sticker sheet. Following this, colors are applied one at a time by cutting out and peeling off sections of the illustration and covering them with colored sand. It can be difficult, as there is no way to re-do or touch up a mistake, but the happy sense of satisfaction at seeing the finished piece is well worth the pressure! Shiny, colored sand is truly beautiful and I’d like everyone to see the original pieces, not just the digital images.
How did you begin working with Sunae?
I came across a shop selling a Sunae starter kit and recalled making sand art as a child. When I first tried my hand at Sunae it was so much fun: feeling the texture of the sand and seeing the finished piece made me ecstatic. With the thought of, “I’ll make an even better one next!” always in my head I continued to create, and before I knew it seven years had passed and I had become “the Sunae person.”
Tell us a bit about the design you made for Etsy’s Twitter Artist Series.
I keep my sand in small bottles. They’re cute, but if just one tips over the rest tumble like bowling pins and I’ve got sand everywhere! I took my inspiration for this piece from this not-infrequent event.