My Cart: 0 item(s)
Pictures of Our Artisans
I have had a deep love for Asia and its people since my first trip to meditate in a Northern Thailand monastery when I was 18 years old. When I started Lotus Sculpture in 2000 that connection with Asia has blossomed into pure love! I have known many of our artisans since my very first buying trip in 2000 when the new adventure of Lotus Sculpture just started. Together, the relationships I have with my artisans has grown through the years and they are now like my second family. I take great pride in knowing personally almost all the artisans who make the statues sold in Lotus Sculpture. I invite you to join me on my journey through the remote villages where each statue is made and to meet the artisans who create the sculptures that enrich your homes, temples and lives with grace.
Indonesian Stone
Watch our artist hand carve both Buddhist and Hindu sculptures from solid blocks of stone using a hammer and chisel!
Nyoto is a new artist that we are working with. He is 38 years old and has been carving for 18 years and with us for only 2 years. We saw his raw potential as a carver with a skill set that just needed to be refined. I look forward to his future with us!
Nyoto is 38 years old and is married with one daughter. This is his workshop with various boulders laying about waiting to be carved into statues.
An artist carving a 3 foot tall custom ordered Krishna for one of our customers.
I just loved this picture of Nyoto's family latching onto their father. So cute!
At the home of the artist with his daughter and niece. In Java it is tradition to give a guest food when a guest comes to visit your home. The meatball soup his wife made was great!
A group shot with me and all the stone workers at our largest workshop that employs 16 artisans.
One of the younger artisans works on the details of a Devi Tara sculpture carving the fine details of her headdress.
A Foo Dog is beginning to emerge from the stone!
An artist carves the rough cut features of a small Ganesh statue from green lava stone.
Yanto is the most senior artists and is regarded as a local master. He carves all our Nandi statues which are stunning for their realistic portrayal. I love the guy and his work speaks for itself.
Yanot is 51 and single, which is the subject of his fellow artists teasing him for not being married. Here he is carving the rough cut features of his next sculpture soon to be a medium sized Nandi.
Yanto has a remarkable amount of power with each one of his swings. It is wonderful to watch a master at the height of his craft!
A Buddha sculpture in the rough cut stage. Seeing this makes you appreciate that these statues are hand made from solid pieces of stone.
The artist is bracing for any stone shrapnel to fly into his face. Remarkably some artists do not wear eye protection.
Most artists wear something to cover their eyes and head to prevent stone chips from hurting them. When walking around the workshop there are stone chips flying everywhere!
This picture shows the immensity of the sculpture and allows you to envision the countless hammer strokes it takes to realize a sculpture of this size.
This young apprentice is one of the few artists of the next generation who is choosing to become a carver. With so many young people choosing to work in the many factories in the area there is a shortage of artist which is a real threat to this art form.
A young worker is taking off big pieces of stone to form the flat base using a sledge hammer and metal chisels. I tried as well and it is hard work cutting this dense stone!
This is the manager of the artist and is responsible for paying them and making sure they come to work. He wanted to show to me that he can still carve a great statue like everyone else!
I enjoyed a nice little chat with this artist as he took a break from finishing up the shape of the Buddha sculpture in front of him.
This artist is the best face artist in the area and is responsible for about half of the faces of the stone statues sold at Lotus Sculpture.
You can see the intensity and concentration he puts in his work. It's as if he were mirroring his own image on the statue in front of him.
A typical scene at the workshop with multiple statues in various stages of the carving process
This artist is making the rough cut of a Buddha statue. I am amazed how they swing their hammer with a cigarette hanging out of their mouth.
This artist specializes in carving the seashell shaped curls of the Buddha's hair. He can spend days at a time on the swirls of the Buddha's hair.