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When James de Rave of Kedaung approached me to work on an Indonesian motif dinnerware set, I accepted the challenge with great enthusiasm and immediately thought of the Wayangs. The Wayangs are traditional Indonesian puppets, which combine popular art and entertainment with social and political commentary. I chose the Wayangs as I have been painting the characters of Pandawa Lima, the Panakawans, Hanuman, Gatot Kaca, Srikandi, Bimasena and many others since I first visited Indonesia in 1983.
At that time, I spent six weeks in the country and was wondering what I could paint that would reflect Indonesian culture and tradition. I did not have to wonder very long, as on my third day I was invited to a Wayang shadow puppets performance. I was immediately enchanted and was particularly attracted to the leather puppets with their elaborate painted costumes, the simple theater props and the stories from the Ramayana. This started a love for the Wayangs which has continued to this day. Since that time, I have made over 150 Wayang paintings in all different sizes, almost all of them with oil on canvas.
Although I worked on ceramic dinnerware when I lived in Washington, D.C., a number of friends have been asking me to do a complete dinnerware set. I must admit it has been a challenge to work in a medium that is so different from my oil and canvas. However, it was well worth the effort, as now it is very nice to drink my coffee in the morning and see Semar’s face.
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