 Born into an artistic family in New York, Sands’ early exposure to art was an integral part of her childhood.
Her formal education began at age 13 in her high school art room. There she learned the fundamentals of art and design, drawing, painting and printmaking. Professional recognition came early; at 16 she won an honorable mention in Seventeen Magazine's National Illustration contest; three years later she went on to win 1st prize.
Sands attended Rhode Island School of Design, (RISD), studying with Dale Chihuly and Wan Kaneko, among others. Throughout her four years at art school she freelanced on the side as a graphic designer and illustrator, continuing her career in Boston after graduation. At the same time she studied modern dance, intending to perform with modern dance companies.
In early 1980, before her dance auditions, she took a trip to India.
“There everything changed….
I painted, I danced, and I played flute. It had always been very clear to me that these were three different expressions of one creative source. I wanted to find the source."
Sands stayed in India, living in a spiritual community for the next thirteen years.
She worked as a graphic designer and illustrator for the community, for Rebel Press, (Germany) and CBS India.
Additionally she continued her independent projects; writing and illustrating two children’s books, (published in 1988), and designing large coffee table books for Master’s Press.
In 1991 Sands moved to California, incorporating her experience of meditation into her day-to-day life and work. A chance trip to San Gimignano, Italy, that summer rekindled her first love ~ painting. She dusted off her brushes and recommenced, overwhelmed by the incandescent light and color of Tuscany.
This led to several working / painting visits to San Gimignano, culminating in a move and the jump to full time painting in 1994. There she painted, (watercolors), and sold her work for the next eleven years.
In late 2005, Sands moved back to the US, to Sedona, Arizona,
In March 2006 she teamed up with Jim Laws, and created a mural for a landscaping makeover competition for HGTV's Landscaper's Challenge. Jim’s team won, the show (and the mural) aired in December 2007, and continues to be aired periodically, as one of the Landscaping Challenge favorites.
Sands invented a new technique in acrylic to create the mural, (she calls it watercolor translated; watercolor effects in a permanent medium – acrylic, on a large scale).
In June 2007 she recieved the City of Sedona Professional Artists Grant to further develop this new technique, painting large dyptich and tryptich murals on wood panels.
In April 2009 she received a Marilyn Sunderman Grant to expand her knowlege of watercolor, studying with one of the all-time great masters of watercolor, Alvaro Castegnet.
In January 2009, Sands recommenced graphic design, (at the request of a friend who knew her design work and wanted her to design his catalog). Her design company, Indigo Disegno, (www.indigodisegno.com), is attracting attention and plaudits. The ‘Zazu’ band was so pleased with the digipak cover she designed, (her most recent CD cover), that they have entered it in the 2010 Grammy’s in both the music and artwork category.
Sands continues to paint, teach and design. Her paintings and lithographs appear in numerous collections, galleries and shops in Europe, America, and around the world. Her work was featured in 'International Artist', June 2001 issue, and is slated to appear again sometime in the future. She has designed the Creative Foundations Series, a set of four intensive workshops designed to give beginners a solid base in art, which she also leads, as well as Drawing Without Fear (a workshop to teach beginners how to draw in just five days), Watercolor Without Fear, (a five day watercolor workshop), and Tuscany From the Inside, (a 10 day painting workshop in Tuscany, Italy… her old stomping ground).
Exhibitions
Sedona Arts Center Members Exhibit, 2009
Sedona Arts Center Faculty Exhibit, 2006, 2007, 2008
Sedona Visual Artists Coalition Annual Show, 2007
Sedona Arts Center Miniature Exhibition, 2007
The Sedona Art Collection, Sedona, 2006
Galleria Della Rocca, San Gimignano, 1994 - 2006
Il Pozzo, Cortona, Italy 2002 -2006
Studio D’Arte Della Rocca, San
Gimignano, Italy, 1998,1999, 2003
Cantina Divino, Frankfurt, Germany, 2002
La Bottega, www.umberto.com, 2001 - 2006
The Katonah Museum, Katonah NY, 1999
Artists Market, Norwalk, Conn 1998
Tuscan Square, NY, NY 1997
Woods Gerry Gallery, Providence RI, 1978
Carr House Gallery, Providence RI, 1977
Westchester Gallery, Chappaqua, NY, 1972
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