I've just returned from beautiful Bali where I was lucky enough to study mask carving with master wood carvers. What an experience! Bali is a place that is primed for cultural interaction, and I'm happy to say that I was treated to a very unique version of that. I met some fellow artists and participated in a program run by the Dell'arte International School of Physical Theatre. This wonderful program places artists with local and highly skilled Balinese artists who invited us into their homes to teach us centuries - old skills. I joined artists/actors/teachers/designers and fellow mask makers from all over the world.
Bali is an enchanting place, filled with incense and offerings. It's also a highly ritualized place with an estimated 20 000 temples which are used almost daily. This culture of ritual is what drives the art of Bali, although you certainly can find enough finely carved tourist nik naks to fill a house with. Masks play an integral part of ritual in Bali and help tell the stories of Bali's living history.
Bali is an enchanting place, filled with incense and offerings. It's also a highly ritualized place with an estimated 20 000 temples which are used almost daily. This culture of ritual is what drives the art of Bali, although you certainly can find enough finely carved tourist nik naks to fill a house with. Masks play an integral part of ritual in Bali and help tell the stories of Bali's living history.
| ~ Here's a picture of a mask shop in Mas, a town near Ubud, which is famous for it's mask makers. We called this one the Indiana Jones shop, since it was cobwebbed, dusty and full floor to ceiling with masks. A mask makers dream!  Here I am pictured with some other mask carving students carving away in the home of our teacher, Nyoman Setiawan. Mask carving in Bali is done sitting on the ground and usually involves holding the wood between your feet while you use a mallet and a variety of chisels to make shapes in the wood. It ain't easy! Lots of mistakes were made, and most days at least a few of us had some nicks from the super sharp chisels. It took a while for me to get a handle on the subtractive process of wood carving, which is very different from my usual additive method of sculpting and building up. Here's the mask I was carving in a late stage of the process, right before I put the eyebrows and moustache on, and below you can see the finished product along with the other masks from my fellow students. 
~ We also had the chance to do some mask work, and here I am pictured with another student playing around in some Bondres (clown) masks. |
Here I am performing the dance of the Prime minister
during our final recital. We had daily dance classes where
we learned a simplified version of a portion of the Topeng, a dance normally performed during ceremonies. These dances are highly detailed and technical. A small look made with the mask brings it to life and makes it pop! "Small, small!" our teacher would say as we learned how the smallest movement can say much.
My time in Bali was absolutely incredible and I am already craftily planning my return. Some of my top experiences were attending private ceremonies to see mask dances performed for their true function, riding around on a scooter like the Balinese and eating endless amounts of fried rice.
A month in Bali is barely enough time to scratch the surface of a place with a culture that is highly coded and very complex. I couldn't ask for a better place to learn new skills (the palm trees helped). It can take a lifetime to truly master Balinese mask carving, but I'm in no real rush. As the Balinese say "Pelan, Pelan" - slowly, slowly.
The view from my corner of the mask making room.
Our dance teacher Gustu, performing in a duo at a new moon ceremony.
The ubiquitous tiered rice paddie.
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Me with Nyoman, my mask carving teacher. He was always laughing.
A statue of Tualen, a clown servant from Balinese dramas, overgrown with moss and guarding the entrance to a temple. One of my favourite characters.
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