Who says sand belongs just in a box? At Crossroads Community Church, the staff decided to think outside the box and present a new and unique feature to their Christmas service: sand art.
Sand art, or sand animation, is a type of live performance in which the artist creates a series of images using sand. The artist applies sand to a surface and then renders images by drawing lines and figures in the sand with their hands. The image displayed on the box is manipulated and morphed into the next image in the story. A sand artist often uses the aid of an overhead projector or lightbox.
Graphic design specialist Laura Thompson explained that the idea to feature sand art at the Christmas service was conceptualized during a brainstorming session. She was approached by Director of Creative Arts Lori Biddle, who asked if she would be interested in doing sand art during the church service.
“I saw a video of [sand art] a couple years ago on YouTube and ever since then I’ve thought, ‘I really want to do that someday,’ so immediately I was excited about it, although I’ve never done it before,” said Thompson.
Thompson stated that she had a rough idea of what images she wanted to create before the church service. She collaborated with Pastor Tim Armstrong who gave her his notes for the message, and with that she was able to storyboard some ideas.
During the weekend and Monday Christmas services, she created sand images on a custom-made lightbox. A projector hung above her and projected the images onto a screen for the whole congregation to see.
“It was cool to see how the Holy Spirit brought it all together,” Thompson said. “It was definitely a God thing the way everything lined up.”
She added. “I really enjoyed doing it, and I think it stood out uniquely to a lot of people. And it was really fun to collaborate with everyone and blend lots of styles and talents; it was cool to be a part of such creativity.”
“The thing I was most pleased about was that the he kids were so fascinated by it and that it helped hold their attention while the pastor spoke,” said Biddle. “It was really fun to watch the parents holding their children up in the air so they could see. I think it accomplished more than we had even hoped.”
While this is the first time to feature sand art at Crossroads, “We’re constantly searching for new ideas for our services and looking for new ways to communicate with the congregation and support what the pastor is teaching or what is going on in worship services,” said Biddle.
She added that the church has seen live painting during some of the services and Environmental Projection in the auditorium and outside the front of the church, in which a series of images are displayed by a projector.
Tonight marks the final night for the Christmas at Crossroads church service, which begins at 7 p.m. The church is located at 1188 Park Ave. West in Mansfield.
