professional

SAND ANIMATION ARTIST

Hello! I’m Charlene Lanzel… It's been more than 13 years since I launched my sand animation business, back in February 2011, and so much has happened since then.

I've created over 100 custom sand animations for corporate and private clients. I use a light box, sand, and my hands to create fluid emotional stories, synced to a unique musical soundscape. These sand animations are simultaneously projected large screen for live audiences to experience, or filmed in HD for your live or virtual event.

I've done animations for Cirque du Soleil, MTV News, Travel & Leisure, Doodle 4 Google, GE Healthcare, TBS Network and many more. I've performed at amazing venues, like Caesar's Colosseum in Las Vegas, The Fillmore in Philly, The Smithsonian in D.C. and Jazz at Lincoln Center in NYC. I've traveled to international locations, like Hong Kong, Amsterdam, Mexico City, Playa Del Carmen, Berlin, Montréal and all over the USA. I've performed at events featuring: Jordin Sparks, Brené Brown, Beau Lotto, Nili Brosch, John Mayer, Wynton Marsalis and The Roots. I’ve also synced my sand animations to the inspirational poetry of Theo Wilson, Denver Poet Laureate Bobby LeFebre and others.

It's been a very exciting journey and I'm really looking forward to sharing new things here. So... Stay Tuned! Thanks for visiting. I look forward to creating a custom sand animation just for you.

BASED IN LOS ANGELES, CA

Watch my sand art VIDEOS!

*In April 2022, I launched my very own ethical sand art clothing and product line, bringing my art to the fashion world. My original sand art designs are now being produced on high-end sustainable clothing and accessories. For more information, read this blog: WEAR SAND ART… then visit my Le Galeriste shop. You can find even more products designed with my sand art at Redbubble!

Birth of a Sand Artist

People often ask me how I got into making sand animations. It probably started for me in childhood, before I ever thought about a career in the arts...

I loved to watch PBS programs, particularly because of the artistic content. As a child, I loved all things art related. On Sesame Street, I saw an animation of two sand men throwing a sand ball back and forth on a light box. There was also a sand alphabet animated on Sesame Street. I was fascinated. In the summertime, on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River, I would draw images in the sand, and wipe them away, trying to mimic those animations. I closed my eyes and faced the sun... and wished I could draw in the sand forever.

Later, I enjoyed watching International Film Festival animations on PBS. Every year the winners in the short animation category were broadcast. I loved watching them over and over. I told my mother I wanted to be an artist when I grew up. I dreamt that I lived in New York. I started making flip book animations. 

Charlene Lanzel_childhood.jpg

I did become an artist when I grew up. I moved to New York City and found work creating window displays and also painting murals. I learned as I went along. Eventually, I landed jobs as a mural painter on big projects both nationally and internationally. I really enjoyed the work. I became very good at lettering and sign painting as well, which became useful skills later on.

While on a scaffolding, working on a large scale mural, I had an accident. I suffered from a head injury. A week later 9/11 happened. I needed something to ease my physical and emotional pain. I was out of commission for awhile healing, and feeling very vulnerable, so I started studying Buddhism. 

An artist friend of mine recommended a video to me that she had seen on something new called the internet. We had been talking about the Buddhist concept of impermanence and ephemeral art. It was a live animation by a Hungarian artist. He was creating sand animations on a light box, but as a live performance. An electric shock went through my body... I remembered how much I loved those animations from my childhood, and I had a flash vision of myself up there doing the performance. I had goosebumps. I watched it over and over.

As the internet grew in popularity, and YouTube came along, I saw a Ukrainian girl's sand animation performance getting passed around on Facebook. I started wondering if this art form was something for me to try.

Time passed, and the economy collapsed. Mural painters were out of work, due to advances in digital technology and the trend of minimalism. I needed something new to do. A co-worker mentioned sand animation and how desirable the art form was becoming. I decided in that moment to give it a try. I knew I had the skills necessary and I liked the idea of working with technology.

I spent a year researching, watching sand animation videos, and trying many different materials. I built my own sand table in my studio. It took me several months just to learn to move the sand. I also had to learn digital editing for music and film. It was a difficult process and I almost gave up. But, eventually, with a lot of practice and some patience, I created my first sand animation video and put it up on YouTube. A week later I was scouted to perform for the opening night after party for Cirque du Soleil's Zarkana show at Roseland in New York City.

The rest is history...