Global Education
Artist Immersion with Anom and Dayu
The last week of our stay in Indonesia was an artist immersion at the home of mask guru Anom Nonick and his wife, the lovely and hospitable Dayu. If you want to check them out, you can learn about the magic of Anom and his family in this recent National Geographic article, Bali's elaborate masks offer a connection to the gods.
Our experience with Anom and Dayu was intensely personal; they welcomed us into the home that has been Anom's family compound for 8 generations, no less than 500 years. We toured the compound then entered the studio where Anom displays all kinds of masks from the traditional styles pertinent to Balinese ceremonies, to more contemporary designs you might find on present day mimes or Halloween costumes. We had all already chosen whether we would work on a mask or a shadow puppet and Anom gave us the tools and materials to start. There were many apprentice artisans there to help us learn to carve and sculpt. While half of our group sat cross-legged on the tile porch floor to start the crafting work, the other half of us went to the front area of the compound to learn how to play the gamelan, a balinese orchestra made up of xylophone-like instruments along with gongs and bells. Playing the gamelan is harder than it looks - and louder than we ever could have imagined! Our music teachers had only basic English but they guided us through the steps of knowing which notes to play with the little hammers on one hand while we used the other hand to silence the notes once we had played them. We are a clever group of Groton students but this took all the concentration we could manage!
Our mornings at Anom and Dayu's place were mostly the same each day. Half the morning was spent learning and practicing gamelan (some of us were subtly demoted to the back of the orchestra while others of us were advanced!) while the other half was working to finish our masks and puppets. The artisans there did much of the work with and for us... and we soon realized that the carving work was meant to be a collaboration- there was no way we could accomplish the elaborate mask designs without lots of help! That said, it was a ton of fun to work with the wood and the hides - we got better at the craft as each day passed. We kept the jokes and music coming through the process, but we also allowed ourselves to find the meditative aspect of these art forms that comes with a sense of patience, endurance and inner peace. Working along side Balinese artists who spoke little to no English never bothered us, we found a way to communicate and share the joys of making art together. Many of us did not really consider ourselves artists before this part of the trip, but there was a true sense of passing on a piece of Balinese heritage in these arts lessons and we all welcomed that with gratitude.
Once the morning work was done, we were treated to a delicious lunch of many dishes all made in the kitchen by Dayu and her relatives. The women labored all morning to offer us satay and curried tempeh, corn fritters and gado gado. We wolfed down the delicious food that Dayu proudly placed before us, reminding us that spice is what cools us off on these intensely humid days. Of course not all of us can tolerate the spicy food of Indonesia and we got a bit nervous when Dayu announced that each day she would be turning up the spice. She started at what she called "zero" spice- though to Bridget, Aria and Laurie, that was about where our tolerance ended! By the end of the week we were bringing along some snacks of our own so that the level 4 spicy lunch would not be our only sustenance! Dayu chatted with us while we ate and sipped the refreshing lemonade that she made for us. We petted her cats and dogs and baby bunnies and learned more about how the Balinese prepare for the holiday of Nyepi- the new year. The hour of lunch was tranquil. Some of us chatted with Anom and listened as he shared the details of Balinese rituals and artistic traditions, some of us read our books in the shade of the beautiful frangipani tree. This stopping of time felt unusual and a bit uncomfortable to many of us at first, but it soon became the highlight of our day. We so rarely have the time to just be and not worry about where we need to be next; this felt like a secret luxury.
Our afternoons were spent a few blocks away at the local banjar pavilion- an open public space situated next to the community temple. It is like a small multipurpose room with no walls and is populated daily by local boys who come together to play soccer, plan festivals and, in the weeks leading up to Nyepi, build the neighborhood's ougah ougah, or demon effigy. Our time with Anom and Dayu included collaboration on their community's ougah ougah. Each afternoon we drove there in our vans and then followed the direction of a few locals so that we could help finish the ougah ougah. We wove bamboo strips to make the surfaces of the legs, then used a kind of paper mache to seal them. We then painted them and cut out the ornamentations for decoration of the demon's waist, wrists and ankles. Finally, we helped to build the bamboo base and attached our demon to the base for carrying in the Nyepi parade. This work was very laid back and enjoyable. We took lots of breaks to play with the local kids and sit in the shade of the banjar playing cards and trading stories. Balinese life moves at a slow pace but somehow is never boring. We were all starting to relax into the lull of Balinese lifestyle.
On one of the evenings of our arts program we returned to the compound for dinner and a private dance performance. When we arrived we were shocked to find an entire gamelan orchestra already playing for us. Many of our music teachers were in the orchestra and we waved to them while we watched them perfect the moves we clumsily had stumbled over that very morning. Balinese gamelan players are a funny bunch, it would appear that the playing of music takes no concentration at all, and yet we know that there is so much that is happening in their heads and hands to keep the music moving together. The music was the prelude and accompaniment to the masked dance performance presented just for our group. Anom was incredible! The performance was full of artistry and humor and personal flair. We were honored to be celebrated in this way by our hosts. It felt as if our presence was a gift and this was their way of saying thank you. But it was we who were the most indebted.
By the end of the week we had carved and painted our masks and puppets and finished the ougah ougah. We had also learned so much. Before we departed, many of us made purchases from Anom's studio, picking out masks and puppets and hanging animal sculptures to bring home to our families and friends. Anom signed each piece for us and we thanked him with hugs and warm wishes and promises to return in the future. None of us will forget our time in Anom and Dayu or the embrace of their home. They are friends for life and if or when some of us return, we know that a trip to the island of Bali will never be complete without a warm hug and bite to eat with Anom and Dayu.
Back
Our mornings at Anom and Dayu's place were mostly the same each day. Half the morning was spent learning and practicing gamelan (some of us were subtly demoted to the back of the orchestra while others of us were advanced!) while the other half was working to finish our masks and puppets. The artisans there did much of the work with and for us... and we soon realized that the carving work was meant to be a collaboration- there was no way we could accomplish the elaborate mask designs without lots of help! That said, it was a ton of fun to work with the wood and the hides - we got better at the craft as each day passed. We kept the jokes and music coming through the process, but we also allowed ourselves to find the meditative aspect of these art forms that comes with a sense of patience, endurance and inner peace. Working along side Balinese artists who spoke little to no English never bothered us, we found a way to communicate and share the joys of making art together. Many of us did not really consider ourselves artists before this part of the trip, but there was a true sense of passing on a piece of Balinese heritage in these arts lessons and we all welcomed that with gratitude.
Once the morning work was done, we were treated to a delicious lunch of many dishes all made in the kitchen by Dayu and her relatives. The women labored all morning to offer us satay and curried tempeh, corn fritters and gado gado. We wolfed down the delicious food that Dayu proudly placed before us, reminding us that spice is what cools us off on these intensely humid days. Of course not all of us can tolerate the spicy food of Indonesia and we got a bit nervous when Dayu announced that each day she would be turning up the spice. She started at what she called "zero" spice- though to Bridget, Aria and Laurie, that was about where our tolerance ended! By the end of the week we were bringing along some snacks of our own so that the level 4 spicy lunch would not be our only sustenance! Dayu chatted with us while we ate and sipped the refreshing lemonade that she made for us. We petted her cats and dogs and baby bunnies and learned more about how the Balinese prepare for the holiday of Nyepi- the new year. The hour of lunch was tranquil. Some of us chatted with Anom and listened as he shared the details of Balinese rituals and artistic traditions, some of us read our books in the shade of the beautiful frangipani tree. This stopping of time felt unusual and a bit uncomfortable to many of us at first, but it soon became the highlight of our day. We so rarely have the time to just be and not worry about where we need to be next; this felt like a secret luxury.
Our afternoons were spent a few blocks away at the local banjar pavilion- an open public space situated next to the community temple. It is like a small multipurpose room with no walls and is populated daily by local boys who come together to play soccer, plan festivals and, in the weeks leading up to Nyepi, build the neighborhood's ougah ougah, or demon effigy. Our time with Anom and Dayu included collaboration on their community's ougah ougah. Each afternoon we drove there in our vans and then followed the direction of a few locals so that we could help finish the ougah ougah. We wove bamboo strips to make the surfaces of the legs, then used a kind of paper mache to seal them. We then painted them and cut out the ornamentations for decoration of the demon's waist, wrists and ankles. Finally, we helped to build the bamboo base and attached our demon to the base for carrying in the Nyepi parade. This work was very laid back and enjoyable. We took lots of breaks to play with the local kids and sit in the shade of the banjar playing cards and trading stories. Balinese life moves at a slow pace but somehow is never boring. We were all starting to relax into the lull of Balinese lifestyle.
On one of the evenings of our arts program we returned to the compound for dinner and a private dance performance. When we arrived we were shocked to find an entire gamelan orchestra already playing for us. Many of our music teachers were in the orchestra and we waved to them while we watched them perfect the moves we clumsily had stumbled over that very morning. Balinese gamelan players are a funny bunch, it would appear that the playing of music takes no concentration at all, and yet we know that there is so much that is happening in their heads and hands to keep the music moving together. The music was the prelude and accompaniment to the masked dance performance presented just for our group. Anom was incredible! The performance was full of artistry and humor and personal flair. We were honored to be celebrated in this way by our hosts. It felt as if our presence was a gift and this was their way of saying thank you. But it was we who were the most indebted.
By the end of the week we had carved and painted our masks and puppets and finished the ougah ougah. We had also learned so much. Before we departed, many of us made purchases from Anom's studio, picking out masks and puppets and hanging animal sculptures to bring home to our families and friends. Anom signed each piece for us and we thanked him with hugs and warm wishes and promises to return in the future. None of us will forget our time in Anom and Dayu or the embrace of their home. They are friends for life and if or when some of us return, we know that a trip to the island of Bali will never be complete without a warm hug and bite to eat with Anom and Dayu.
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