BINTANG WOOD CARVING CLASS — Attraction in Pulau Bali

I had a nice afternoon there having the carving lesson. It was very interesting to learn about different wood species used for carving. We selected one of the designs. These are traditional ornaments used for decorating houses, etc. There are several variants so you can make a candle handler, or small bowl, or just a decorative plate.

Then you start working, every step is explained and shown. How to use the tools to carve. The first small part is done by the master sculptor then you follow (try to follow as it is more difficult than it looks) to finish remaining parts. Then another step, a slightly different tool, another technique. In 3 hours we were able to finish our decorative plates. The master sculptor helps you to correct mistakes so the result looks decent.

The setup there is very basic as you are being taught a traditional way of working with wood (sitting on the floor, keeping the wood piece with your legs, working with chisels, hammer and knives). You can learn that way more about the culture and appreciate how the most complex sculptures are made with simple tools and a lot of skills.

I personally found it the most difficult to keep the working position. You must be flexible to do it the same way as the sculptor but there are workarounds.

There were just 2 people there so it was enough time for the sculptor to supervise our work and give instructions. We were given some fruits, small snacks and water.

I highly recommend...

Arranged for my family of 12 to have an experience with wood carving a few days back.

Location wise: they are a bit hard to locate. Do have their address and local phone number for your local transport to find the best place to drop you. There should be a number of wooden sign boards to lead you on a 50 metres walk to the place.

They are a family of woodcarvers and there will be a master woodcarver arranged for every two participants who signed up. We soon found out why this was important as we handled real tools where risk of sharps injuries are real. We also quickly realise how difficult wood carving is… so what we got was sketching the design, instructions on how to get there and a try… the masters then take over and help with getting some parts done before teaching us the next steps etc…

All of us were well cared for.. all, including the ten years old boy held his mallet and chisels, we all left with a simple piece of wood carving we had a part in making.. a small part.

Will definitely recommend this experience if you have 3 hours at hand for either a morning or an afternoon session. Contact them before hand to prevent...

The adults and kids (10yrs & 13yrs) all loved this experience. The workshop is down a village laneway that opens into a beautiful Bali house courtyard. So quiet except for chickens clucking in the background. We were given information about the wood, and then selected a project. It's such an intricate art form. We were shown through techniques as our projects developed, and had a try of all of them ourselves as we went. I wasn't very good 😊, the kids were better than me, but our guides were so patient and encouraging, and helped blend my mistakes into a remarkable finished item. Thank you so much for our time with you today. We all thought it was amazing watching the process and seeing just how proficient you are. A beautiful afternoon, and we all have a deeper appreciation for all the intricate carving around Bali. Highly recommend. UPDATE FOR PEOPLE FROM AUSTRALIA... We were a bit worried whether we'd be able to get our creations back into Australia due to customs. We declared them at customs and they checked them and said they were fine. We were able to bring them straight home. Hope that helps...