Make Native American Art Designs with Sandpaper

Sand comes in so many different colors nowadays, making it easy to design all sorts of Native American art pieces. Pick out the colors you want from a craft store, and while you're there, choose some Native American stencils, too. The stencils will help you make intricate designs that you may not otherwise be able to do freehand.

One other item you'll need is a wooden frame. The frame should be the type that doesn't have the glass included. It doesn't necessarily have to have a back, either. The art design can be large or small; just choose a frame that will be amply large enough to hold the design you have in mind.

Start by stapling or gluing the sandpaper piece to the back of the wooden frame. The sandpaper then becomes the frame backing and the canvas all at one time. Some people may find it easier, particularly if you're using stencils, to make the artwork on the sandpaper before attaching the sandpaper to the frame. Others think it's easier to attach the frame, since it's then somewhat of a guide for the centering of the art images.

What's great about the sandpaper is the color and texture it has. With canvas or other basics you would have to fill in every square inch of the artwork with colors and images, but with sandpaper, you can use it as the backdrop for designs like dream catchers, a wild horse, or a Native American spear.

Center the stencil then use glue as paint for your design. Squirt glue slowly out of the container to make the desired image, then immediately add colored sand to the area. Move on to another area of the design and repeat the same steps of glue then colored sand.

With stencils and sand you can make feathers, tepees, a creek, peace pipes, Native American symbols or even an entire village scene. To give the artwork even more dimension cut small pieces out of cardboard then affix them to the sandpaper before adding the glue and sand. For instance, if you would like the tepee to stand out more than the other images on the art piece, cut a tepee shape from cardboard and attach it to an area on the sandpaper. Now proceed with adding glue and sand to make the tepee come to life with drawings on the side of it, or even smoke coming out of the top. Use this technique, with various depths of cardboard, to make some items stand out, and others to stand out even more.

Sandpaper pictures are one-of-a-kind and will make a welcome addition to anyone's Native American collections. They make fabulous gifts, great pastime projects for kids, or just a way to unwind and create after a hard day's work. It's nearly impossible to mess up the picture, since you're following a stencil, yet the finished product will look store-bought. Purchase several frames that look alike and make an entire matched set or just get a couple of large frames and make a duo of Native American pictures for your home.