HOUSE ART - UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL

I have a sister who, despite being converted American, is a Filipino by heart and an Indonesian by art. She and hubby live in a house where paintings, sculptures, crafts and fabrics are predominantly Indonesian you will be hard-pressed to imagine nobody there is from Indonesia. In fact if you get to meet her at her house for the first time, your initial natural reaction is probably see if her eyes will go sharp and her eyeballs to wickedly move from corner to corner like a Balinese dancer totally zoned-in in her culture.

But there is no difficulty in understanding my sister's and brother-in-law's affection for Indonesian Art: they are very intricate, elaborate, and speak highly and mightily of their niche in this Westernized earth. And in a strong parallel to their poetry which tends to purify the language of the tribe, Indonesian art is basically, understandably, a beautiful expression of tribal art.

It is for this reason (or something we may call as artistic osmosis, for hanging out in their abode way too often) that I came to appreciate Indonesian art as well, and one of pieces I acquired and got to treasure most in my own humble personal collection is an Indonesian-inspired painting of a mask where the medium and all trimmings are indigenously Javanese. Painted by an artist who goes by the name Suryono, this particular piece (one of a pair) was done with a technnique that is not quite simple in its process of fulfillment: with a brush known as tjanting, melted beeswax is handdrawn onto cotton fabric to create the design - the wax acting as resistant to stop the dye from penetrating the covered areas. Brittle paraffin wax is then used to create the cracked effect, and bees wax is used for solid colors or white ares. After each application of wax, dye is carefully applied by immersion or by sponge application. At the end of the process, all the wax is boiled out leaving the finished painting in all its range of color and detail.

And so, when you get to visit me, this (and its pair) are the first you will probably lay your eyes on.

Or I must say, the first who will lay eyes on you.