Katie Jo Suddaby is an American Baptist pastor and artist committed to peace and justice. The art form that she practices, Tibetan Buddhist Sand Art, is a perfect expression of that commitment. It takes hours, days or even weeks to create one sand mandala, placing a few small grains of colored sand at a time on a round glass table, knowing full well that her creation is not meant to be, nor can it be, permanent. At its conclusion, the sand is simply swept away (collected to be returned to nature), and the table becomes a clean slate, a new canvas, ready at the right time to host a new creation.
She was first inspired by this art form from Tibetan lama Drupon Thinley Ningpo at an interfaith festival. The art form embodies the practice of letting go. Suddaby developed her own techniques through the use of oil funnels and cake decorating tips. The process of creating this art is meant to be a meditative practice, an embodiment of the peace we seek.
“The Unholy Escort” is a prophetic mediation about current United States practices of detaining immigrants and refugees coming across the U.S. southern border. Suddaby helps us see the holy woman of God in the detained sojourner that we would otherwise fail to recognize.
In “Anne” Suddaby bring the young heroine martyr Anne Frank, whom we love in hindsight, and challenges us with the vision of where she would be found today.
Here is a time-lapse video about the weeklong creation and destruction of a Tibetan Buddhist Sand Mandala.
To see more of Katie Jo’s work, watch videos about the sand art creation, or to buy a print copy of her work, please visit her website: https://www.sandbykatiejo.com
To shop for prints of her art, click here.