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Thailand; Love for Making Buddha Statues

Chaing Saen Buddha Statue — *Large Thai Brass Buddha with Jew, view his Thai Buddha statues here>*

I love meeting people with true passion. Passion for anything; painting, traveling, their children. Six years ago I was very fortunate to meet someone passionate about making Thai Buddha statues and his name is Jew.

In my first 4 years of traveling through Thailand I spent every waking hour of every day I was there looking for good honest people who make great Buddha statues for my budding business, Lotus Sculpture. Every year I was disappointed and had to settle for doing business with a factory who made quality, yet uninspired Buddha statues.

6 years ago while meandering through an amulet market in Bangkok I stumbled upon a great little shop full of beautiful Buddha statues that had both a sense of peace and radiated energy. They were not typical of the Buddhas sold anywhere else in the market. I was giddy from the start. Did I just find the people that I have been looking for the past 4 years? I stayed and enjoyed the day with the mother and wife of the owner who was away at the workshop. I made plans to come back the next day to meet the owner, Jew, and to go to see where he makes his Buddhas. When I met Jew I was outright ecstatic! He was young and passionate. In the hour and half drive to the outskirts of Bangkok to see his workshop I could feel that he was just as excited as I was. He was telling me about himself in his broken English and I was doing the same in my broken Thai. One thing I remember from our first meeting was that he was not trying to sell me anything. He was continually pointing out the Buddha statues that he loved and that he was proud of making. “No one else has this style. I am the only one making this Buddha.” he kept saying. And he was right. No one else has his quality and style in making Buddhas. Jew’s father started the workshop 25 years ago and Jew just took over the day to day operations of the workshop. He was very happy to have their first and only foreign customer!

“I just love making Buddhas.
I’d make Buddhas even if I made no money.”

Besides the beautiful proportions and style of the Buddha statues Jeuw is a master of patina. He can make any statue have the most beautiful antique patina. I noticed this immediately that the color of his Buddhas was so authentic and stunning to look at. Even in his smaller Buddhas there is care given to the color of the piece. For this reason many known “Antique” shops in Bangkok purchase his Buddha statues. They sell his newly made sculpture as antiques to foreign tourists. I have seen many shops selling antiques in Bangkok that are not antique at all.

*Enjoying dinner of the Khoa Praya river in Bangkok*

Six years later our relationship has grown immensely. Each year he shows me other styles he is making and Buddhas he had in mind for the future. Each night after our business is done we go out to a dinner on the Khoa Praya river in Bangkok and just talk Buddhas and life. One thing he reinforced to me was the passion he carries with him about Buddhas. “I just love making Buddhas.” He told me to start on my personal collection of Thai Buddha statues which I have done. He told me that there is no one else in Thailand who makes Buddhas like him. The younger generation has no interest in making Buddha statues and he feels that when he gets older there will not be anyone else who will carry on with his passion for the sculptures. I do hope he is wrong.

Lotus Sculpture has been blessed to have such a good person with Love for his Art and Lord Buddha supplying us with all our Thai Buddha statues.

Click here to View the Thai Buddha Statues Jew Makes for Lotus Sculpture!

View All Kyle’s Stories from His Travels and Meet the Artists!

Meet Balan Marble Artist	Travel to Bali	Stone Artists South India
Bronze in South India Artists	Meet Wood Artists	Kolkata Fiber Artists

Shiva as Dhakshinamurti Quotes

Dhakshinamurti, Shiva as the south facing lord — Bronze Shiva as Dhakshinamurti, the south facing lord

“Salutations to Lord Dakshinamurti, the abode of all wisdom, teacher of the whole world, healing those who suffer from the disease of samsara.
Salutations to Lord Dakshinamurti, who is the meaning of “Om“, whose form is pure knowledge, who is taintless and utterly silent.”

“I extol Dakshinamurthy, the handsome youth who has transmitted the truth of Parabrahm by silent speech; who is surrounded by a host of venerable sages as disciples, all absorbed and established in meditation upon Brahman; who is the Supreme Teacher; who displays the sacred sign of fusion of the soul with the Absolute — the joining of forefinger and thumb — the paragon of bliss; who has a resplendent face replete with the rapture of the Self-Existent.”

“May this obeisance be directed to the Blessed Dakshinamurti to Him who takes the guise of the auspicious Guru, to Him whose eight-fold Form is this entire motionless and mobile cosmos, manifesting as earth, water, fire, air, ether, the sun, the moon and the soul; beyond whom, all-pervading and supreme, there exists nothing else for those who truly search!”

“Let us Praise Dakshinamurthy, the Supreme Father,
who is ‘having the Opening to Delight’,
who Delights in the Self alone,
who is the Embodiment of Delight,
who is with a Hand (with fingers closed in the fashion of) Sealing in
Brahman (as it were),
who is the pre-eminent among Spiritual Masters abiding surrounded,
by the foremost among spiritual disciples, who are Rishis resting in
Brahman,
who is a small boy,
who is of the Form of the Supreme Brahman, and
who denoted (the Supreme Brahman) by the Expounding that is Silence.”

“A young guru, imparting knowledge of Brahman through silence, surrounded by rishis who are firmly established in wisdom.
Teacher of teachers, whose gesture signifies wisdom, whose nature is fullness, smiling, reveling in himself, I worship that Lord Dakshinamurti.
Seated on the ground under the banyan tree, bestowing knowledge to all the rishis who have assembled near him…
teacher of the three worlds, destroyer of the miseries of birth and death, I bow to that Lord.”

Cruising for Ganeshas & Buddhas in Bali!

Bali….I was amazed that I got through India without getting sick. In my 10 years of 15 trips to India, I have managed to get a wide range of illnesses ranging from ordinary bugs to full-on, 105-degree temperatures. I dodged the bullet on this trip! I was amazed! I jumped on the plane to Bali and patted myself on the back. Well done Kyle!

“My favorite days in Bali are spent on my motor scooter visiting the markets and being invited into homes in village workshops”

After arriving in Bali I sat down to a nice dinner at a respectable restaurant then quietly went to sleep that night. I awoke at 5 am with an acrobat in my stomach. Yup, sick off the first meal I ate in Bali! That is what I get for counting my blessings to early! I spent the next day going through the lava stone workshops of my friend Christian, looking for quality Buddha statues that his family has been producing in Bali for the past 20 years. He consistently has the best quality Buddha carvings as well as the best coloring for the statues. His artists can produce any color or texture in the stone. Each year I have seen a consistent improvement in the statues.

On previous trips, I have always shied away from Bali style Ganesha statues. I was so used to the refined lifelike appearance of Ganesh in my travels through India, that the more crude Ganeshas of Bali did not seem attractive to me. However, this year I opened my eyes and really saw the Bali style Ganesh for the first time and I liked what I saw. There is a quote that I love about Ganesh; “If you take home a stone and worship it in full faith, over a course of time you are bound to see the image of Ganesh.” I truly saw Ganesh in the stone! His fat almost tribal qualities are a perfect variation to the Indian style Ganesh. As usual, I bought too many of them! I can never say no to a good statue! In roaming thru his workshop I was consistently fighting back the desire to sit down and go to sleep or just fall over. But I made it through the day…then on to Ubud, the cultural center of Bali to visit my Buddha woodcarvers!

Wayan with unfinished 6 foot Buddha statue — *Wayan with unfinished 6 foot wood Buddha statue*

My favorite days in Bali are spent on my rented motor scooter cruising through the markets, stores, and back village workshops in Ubud. I must go to 30-40 shops a day. It is not easy to find quality wood Buddhas in Bali. There are hundreds of shops selling wood Buddhas however, over the years I have only found a small handful of artists who actually carve with a true feeling for the work they are doing. Two artists that consistently make beautiful Buddhas are Mr. Sayub and Mr. Wayan. Wayan and his son carve my large standing Buddha statues on a blooming lotus base. This year he has carved two of them for me. One 8 feet tall and the other 6 feet tall. The detail and time taken on the flowing robes of the Buddha set his Buddha apart from other standing Buddhas!

wooden buddha statues in Bali — *Sayub with his son displaying his unique Buddha statues*

My other artist who I always look forward to seeing is Sayub. He makes small Buddha statues each usually with a very unique hand position. The thin fingers of each statue and minute detailing in the robes in my opinion crown him the current king of Balinese woodwork…at least for Buddha statues! I also managed to pick up some very large wood statues including a 7 foot Kwan yin, 8 foot meditating Buddha, and two other 7 foot standing Buddhas. After a couple of days of searching for Buddhas and cruising through rice fields on my scooter, it was time to return to the coast.

I noticed in the shops in Ubud that there was some new metal work in Bali and I was determined to find out where they were being made. The statues were of Hindu gods and goddesses in various forms.

The style was more similar in style to Cambodian Hindu and Buddhist statues with many arms and small weapons. I thus headed into Denpasar, the capital to check the markets. I knew I would not find the source here but I did find many shops that were selling the statues I was looking for.

After many questions to many dealers, I finally nailed down the source of the metal Hindu statues which I went to the following day. My search was rewarded and I choose some beautiful images. My favorite being a dancing Vishnu statue like no other I have seen before. The statue reminded me more of a Nataraja figure. I find it so fulfilling to start on a search for new sculpture mediums and designs and then achieve my goal. There is nothing like finding new artists!!!

By this time on my trip, I really needed a reward. I spent the past 23 days working, flying, scooting, exploring every day, and deserved a day off. I went to the quiet surf beach of Padang Padang and got a bungalow on the ocean and spent the next day surfing and enjoying the ocean and stillness. My body and mind appreciated the day of mental tranquility and relaxation! Here is a video I shot from my bungalow. Yes, it was paradise!

Then I was off to Bangkok, Thailand, and the last leg of my trip!

Click here to view the Wood Buddha Statues Made in Bali

View All Kyle’s Stories from His Travels and Meet the Artists!

Meet Jew, Thai Buddha Artist	Meet Balan, Indian Artist	Stone Artists South India
Bronze in South India Artists	Meet Wood Artists	Kolkata Fiber Artists

Exporting Buddha Statues from Thailand

Statues from Thailand of Lord Buddha — Thai Buddha Statues

As a Thai customs formality, Buddha sculptures are restricted to be exported from Thailand. The original law was established to protect Thailand’s ancient religious artifacts and antique Buddha images from being stolen and sold illegally. Until recently, this law was not actively enforced on newly made Buddha statues. Vendors could easily ship Thai Buddhas throughout the world.

“In November 2010, Lotus Sculpture experienced one of our containers filled with Buddha sculptures being confiscated en route to the USA by Thai customs officials.”

In November 2010, Lotus Sculpture experienced one of our containers filled with Buddha sculptures being confiscated en route to the USA by Thai customs officials. It was a complete loss with no way to get the confiscated sculptures back. The USA’s Patriot Act has paid for a large X-Ray machine to examine every container shipped from Bangkok to the US. When US or Thai officials scan a container and see outlines of Buddha statues they now confiscate the contents of the container. This may lead to an end of importing Thai Buddhist images altogether, which would be a tragedy to all involved; Buddhists who worship Lord Buddha; business who sell Buddha statues; and especially for the artists who rely on selling Buddhist art to earn a living.

How to Clean your South Indian Hindu Bronze Statue

“Because of the durability of the metal not much is needed to maintain a bronze sculpture.”

Bronze is an extremely durable metal made from a combination of 5 metals; copper, iron, tin, with minute additions of silver and gold. This combination is called Panchaloha bronze and is the basis for making the sacred Hindu temple statues of India and the world. Copper is the most prevalent metal in the alloy. Copper also gives the metal a softer composition that allows the bronze artisans to carve the details that are prevalent in each piece. All the South Indian bronze statues Lotus Sculpture carries are Panchaloham and thus suited for any home altar or community temple.

Before

Indian Bronze Statue with Verde Gris, green patina

Mahasaraswati South Indian Bronze Statue with verde gris patina

After

Indian Bronze Statues cleaned of Verde Gris with coconut oil

MahasaraswatiSouth Indian Bronze Statue cleaned with coconut oil.

Because of the durability of the metal not much is needed to maintain a bronze sculpture. Many of our customers purchase a bronze statue and perform daily puja and abhisheka consisting of bathing the Hindu deity in ghee, milk, coconut milk or other liquids. In this case nothing is needed to keep the statue clean as it will be bathed daily. If the sculpture is used for “darshan” or simply viewing the sculpture it is best to dust the statue as needed so no dirt collects in the details of the sculpture. For both polished golden bronzes and antique patina bronze statues if you would like the sculpture to shine use a cotton cloth with some coconut oil or other natural oil to wipe down the piece as needed.

Many of our bronze Hindu statues have been placed in outdoor temples. Bronze’s durability makes it perfect for cold winters and hot summers of any climate. We suggest you bathe the sculpture every couple of months so that dirt does not collect on the sculpture and then use a cotton cloth with some natural oil to give the statue a shine. Both indoors and outdoors a bronze statue can be left alone which, overtime, will give the bronze an antique patina.

On some bronze statues you can see small hints of lime green, verde-gris patina. Some people prize this color for its age others want to remove it. If you would like to remove the verde-gris use a tooth brush with some coconut oil or other natural oil and lightly go over the verde-gris. This should remove the unwanted patina from the sculpture.

“If you would like the piece to shine use a cotton cloth with some coconut oil or other natural oil to wipe down the bronze statue.”

If you have any questions concerning your bronze statue please email us at [email protected] or call us at 1(760) 994-4455.