A Dance as Beautiful as the Rhythm of the Tides and Music of the Stars….

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

Once Ganesha was walking along a forest path. Lost in his reveries and delight at the beautiful day, he forgot to look at the path ahead of him. Turning a corner, he bumped into Brahma, who was on his way to the river. The bump quite knocked out the wind out of Brahma. He glared at Ganesha and said in anger: "Son of Parvati, I. I.... -" But the curse he was about to pronounce upon this impudent youngster with an elephant head died before it was born - forGanesha, seeing that Brahma was angry, had begun to dance. At first his big belly shook and his feet thudded noisily. The flowering creepers swung away in alarm, and hordes of chattering black-faced monkeys scurried up to the very tops of the trees, their small babies clinging to their underbellies.

But as Ganesha concentrated, his fat body took on an elegance all its own, and his dance was as beautiful as the rhythm of the tides and the music of the stars. Brahma's frown, trying hard to stay on his face, melted away, and he broke into a smile. "Truly you are a son of Shiva, Ganesha," said Brahma. "Like the strokes of a pen that end each verse of a poem, Shiva's dance ends each cycle of creation. But your dance - your dance has in it the laughter of creation itself, the joy of the universe." Finally Ganesha stamped and whittled, did a final whirl, and ended with his feet planted squarely on the ground. He faced Brahma, laughing, and held his right hand, palm facing out, in the gesture of blessing called the abhaya mudra. Brahma bowed down to Ganesha in respect. "You who are young, yet have such exquisite dancing in your soul, I bow to you. I was about to curse for interrupting my thoughts, but now I bless you instead, O Ganesha. You will be known by people as the Master of the Dance.All who perform this art in town and in city, in temple and in court, must first invoke your blessing. May it be so, as long as the earth shall live." In the classical Indian dance style called Bharatanatyam, Ganesha's gesture of blessing, the abhaya mudra, means "be not afraid." Even today, every Bharatanatyam performance begins with a special brief dance that recalls Ganesha's grace and seeks his blessings.

Free Shipping. Delivered by to all international destinations within 3 to 5 days, fully insured.

Sculpting Serenity: Unveiling the Art of Crafting Wood Statues

Wood has been a preferred material for sculptures and statues since ancient times. It is easy to work with than most metals and stones and therefore requires less effort to shape it into any desired shape or form. The texture of the wood gives an element of realism to the sculpture. The selection of an appropriate wood type is necessary for carving. Woods that are too resinous or coniferous are not considered good for carving as their fiber is very soft and thus lacks strength. On the other hand, wood such as Mahogany, Oakwood, Walnut wood, Weet cherry wood, etc., are preferred by sculptors because their fiber is harder. A wood sculptor uses various tools such as a pointed chisel in one hand and a mallet in another to bring the wood to the desired measurement and to make intricate details on it. A carving knife is used to cut and smooth the wood. Other tools such as the gouge, V-tool, and coping saw also serve as important tools in wood carving. Although the wood carving technique is not as complex and tough as stone carving or metal sculpting, nonetheless, a wood carver requires a high level of skills and expertise to create a stunning sculpture.

1. Selecting the right wood

The process of wood carving begins with selecting a chunk of wood that is required according to the type and shape of the statue to be created by the sculptor. Both hardwoods and softwoods are used for making artistic pieces, however, hardwoods are preferred more than softer woods because of their durability and longevity. But if heavy detailing is to be done on the statue, wood with fine grain would be needed as it would be difficult to work with hardwood.

2. Shaping the wood

Once the wood type is selected, the wood carver begins the general shaping process using gouges of various sizes. A gouge is a tool having a curved cutting edge which is useful in removing large unwanted portions of wood easily without splitting the wood. The sculptor always carves the wood across the grain of the wood and not against it.

3. Adding detailing

When a refined shape of the statue is obtained, it is time for making details on the statue using different tools. This is achieved by using tools such as a veiner to make and a V-tool to create decorative and sharp cuts.

4. Surface finishing

Once finer details have been added, the sculptor is ready to smoothen the surface and give it a perfect finish. Tools such as rasps and rifflers are used to get a smooth surface. The finer polishing is obtained by rubbing the surface with sandpaper. If a textured surface is required, this step is skipped. Finally, to protect the statue from excessive dirt accumulation, the sculptor applies natural oils such as walnut or linseed oil all over it. This also brings a natural sheen to the statue.