26.
Woodcarvings
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| Roof Line of the Houses Is Often Decorated |
When one walks about in Bali, like we did,
looking at all the houses, statues, monuments etc. you will see a multitude of
representations of gods, of symbols, of decorations and adornments. There seems
to be an inherent feel for form, function and art within the population.
Whether that is in their genes I don’t know, but there is a feel for
proportion, a feel for looking at something and then bringing out the hidden
‘art’ within. It seems everything is decorated, painted, carved or adorned.
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| Wood Carver |
I like statues, I like carvings, I like how an
artist can ‘see’ something in a piece of wood and then bring it out, make it
visual for the rest of the people to see. Some folks sculpt from stone; I am
more partial to wood carvings. I could not take a stone statue with me anyhow;
that would be too cumbersome and heavy, so I thought a wood carving would be
best. I had the idea of getting a Shiva in India already, to buy a Shiva
statue, but somehow it did not work out.
So on our next tour with Agung, I asked him to
take us to a wood carving shop. The idea was to find ‘Shiva’ in Sandalwood. Wow,
did he ever find a place! Dewa Malen in the town of Mas, was the name of the
shop and while the
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| This is His Carving |
prices are a bit higher at Dewa Malen, the art of carving
exotic woods is practiced as a family tradition in this shop, the art of
woodcarving is passed on from generation to generation with children of 10
years learning to carve. The shop carved in many woods: mahogany, eucalyptus,
ebony and even crocodile wood (terminalia elliptica). They also told me
they had true ebony wood, but with the shoe polish trick I have seen so many
times, it is hard to believe they really carve in ebony. And of course, they
carve in sandalwood.
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| Sanding the Carving |
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| All the Workers Are From the Same Family |
Sandalwood is mainly used to make scented oils; the oils are in the dark part of the wood. But I wanted to have as much of a clear, light wood as possible. I did not want 'stains' if at all possible on
the carving. So it was a difficult job to find a clean, clear statue.
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| Inside the Shop Was - WOW! |
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| Eucalyptus Carving - All Natural Colours |
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| Ebony From Borneo Carving |
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| Mahogany From Java Carving |
The
carving I bought was all done by hand and is unfinished. No oils or polishes
are applied to the statue, it is carved, sanded and that is it. The detail and
the form are exquisite and the proportions just right.
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| Hans' Sandalwood Shiva |
Naturally one has to ‘fight’ to get a good
price, but I am sure I got a good deal, when I look at it my way. The wood I
picked is rare; rare due to the fact that they have to find a piece of clear
wood, without dark markings. Then it takes a carver about 2 or 3 weeks to carve
the stature. The shop has to make a profit, too, right? I am happy with what I bought, I paid 5 million
rupiahs. ($350 US) for all the work they did. Yes, of course I had to sit, drink
some tea and bargain but that is the way things are done in Bali. I would be
looked at as a fool had I paid the asking price of 12 million rupiahs.
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| Carol's Sandalwood Ganesha |
Now, Carol did much better when she bought a
small Ganesha, she paid 800,000 rupiahs ($55) for her statue. But she did not
buy at the Dewa Malen shop, I found the Ganesha for her in a shop next to Uma
Sari and the man there needed money…. And yes, one of the tusks of Ganesha has lost
a tiny bit of the tip (in transit?), but…who will notice it? I like both statues… and they sit here next
to me, watching me type!
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| Huge, Intricate Carving From One Block of Wood |
I loved these
wood carving shops, it was huge place at Dewa Malen and I watched the carvers
sit and chat with each other while working. Or in another corner the whole
family processed each carving, making them shinier, and adding oils or creams
or pastes to the wood, make them more appealing. I was surprised to learn that a
shoe polish and gasoline mixture makes a good finish… who knew! They told me
it’s not a trick; the shoe polish preserves the wood well and the gasoline
kills any termites.
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| Fisherman Carving |
In Europe carvers use bees wax to make the
product shiny, in Bali they have other tricks, I guess.
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| Two Rearing Horses Out of a Set of Four |
I like my Shiva, in the raw, carved just from
wood… it was a good memento to have of Bali. This statue grows in my
liking… do YOU like it ?
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| Hans' Shiva at the Dewa Malen Centre |
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