You Won’t Believe The Incredible Animal Portraits This Artist Makes Using Seashells Found On The Beach

We decided to reach out to the artist and ask her about her gorgeous creations. Her works are so detailed that you may find yourself wondering how long it takes to make one of such mosaics. Anna explains, bigger works usually take around 3 days to a week, and maybe even more at times. “I know the mosaics look simple when you see the finished work, however finding the right shell piece to fit into space can be very difficult. When I first started to do these mosaics at the beach, I could finish them in 5-6 hours from collecting shells to finished sculpture, but my work has since evolved and become more elaborate and dimensional, so now I have to be more precise and careful while putting it together.” Anna also told that she’s working from home now, rather than at the beach.

We were also really curious about how the entire process looked. The artist also talked about that and shared what challenges she has to face while working with rather unusual materials. “Sand by nature doesn’t hold shape so first, you need to compact the sand with water so it’s good enough to endure the long mosaic process,”. She also said that some sculptors prefer to use a special kind of sand that sticks easily, but she herself prefers to use only raw materials such as beach sand and water. “The hardest part is making sure the sand is wet enough to be compact but not too wet or dry it will fall apart. And just like making a puzzle, finding the right shell piece for the right space takes time, and sometimes I have to collect more to find the perfect one. Since only the moist sand is holding the shells in place, some areas that are vertical sand wall may take a couple of tries to get the shells to stay in place and it can fall apart with the slightest touch. So you need to keep a steady hand and be really patient all the time.”

Creating art using all-natural materials can be very interesting and hard at the same time. We’re sure you’re wondering where to start or what comes first. Should you come up with an idea first or should you just start collecting the materials? Anna usually starts collecting seashells of different shapes and colors first to match the idea she has in mind. When that’s completed, she models the shape of the animal using sand: “This is my favorite part of the process as sand is such a fun material to work with. I can say that it’s very forgiving and you can shape sand easily without using any tools. However, the sculpture isn’t completed without the seashells. I think of the whole thing as putting a puzzle together, every place has its place and they all have to fit perfectly to create the effect I want to have. It’s kind of similar to making jewelry, which is another thing I really enjoy. Last but not least, you need to make them permanent, which I’m fine tuning the process at the moment.”

So what happens to these beautiful sculptures after they’re finished? Anna’s first sculptures were disassembled since they were ephemeral, however now, since her art is permanent, it’s possible to see all of them in her home garage, where she spends most of her time working on these sculptures. She added, “I still have a long way to go before I finally manage to make the bigger sculptures permanent, so hopefully very soon, they will find a place on an art gallery wall or a collector’s home.”

We need to say Anna and her amazing project on animal sculptures from seashells have a lot of potential. As you can also see, creating something so fascinating and effortless-looking requires a lot of effort and patience. Anna says, “As an artist, it’s my main duty to keep pushing the boundaries. It’s been only one year since I started to work with sand, but I feel a genuine connection to this medium I have never felt with anything else before. There’s nothing more empowering than creating using only my bare hands and seeing my ideas come to life.”

We also asked her about her future plans and whether she has new ideas related to her recent project. Based on her answer, we can say we can expect many great things from her, and this was only the beginning: “I actually have a lot of ideas and directions I want to try with sand. I want to use this sand technique and adapt it to my jewelry work and make some experimental pieces. Moreover, my purpose is to lift the sand off the flat surface so it won’t be just a bas relief but a 3-dimensional sculpture. I think my work in 6 months will be quite different from what it is today, and I’m very excited about that.” We can’t wait for all the amazing things she will create for us, either!