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Jakarta Post

Ngakan N. Weda: Catching the wind with folding fans

Ngakan N

P.J. Leo (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Thu, July 29, 2010

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Ngakan N. Weda: Catching the wind  with folding fans

N

gakan N. Weda has been painting since he was in elementary school. At the age of 36, he is now an award-winning and successful businessman, selling artistic hand-painted folding fans.

JP/P.J. Leo

The Balinese artist, whose real name is Ngakan Nyoman Wedana, first started painting on folding fans in 1999 because the paper painting business was not going well.

“I noticed the folding fan business was promising then and I imagined the shape of Bali Island like a stretched fan, with my painting on the fan reflecting the Balinese daily life. So I decided to change my profession,” Weda said.

“I am still a painter but instead of painting on paper, I now do it on fans,” he said while serving visitors at his booth during an exhibition at the Jakarta Convention Center in Jakarta early this month.

Weda had around 200 fans on display that day, adorned with paintings depicting romantic scenes of traditional Balinese life. He comes from a village in Gianyar regency, famous for its many talented artists.

When Weda was in his third year of elementary school, he took up painting seriously. Since then, he has never asked for money from his parents because his beautiful paintings sold well. After completing junior high school, Weda continued his studies at the State Arts High School in Denpasar, to learn more about painting.

Upon graduating in 1994, Weda began working for a Japanese company in Gianyar producing silk kimonos that were marketed in Japan.

“I was asked to decide on colors and make designs with Japanese nuances on the kimonos,” Weda said.

After work or whenever he had a day off Weda would paint to express his artistic talent. In 1997 he decided to resign from the company to concentrate on painting, making it his full-time job and relying on it to earn a living. But slow business forced him to become more creative, which led him to take up painting on folding fans.      

Folding fans are more just a tool to cool or refresh oneself, since they also have artistic value. Folding fans are among the Balinese people’s favorite handicraft, and are used by traditional dancers not only from Bali, but also many parts of the world during their performances.

Weda’s decision to make folding fans his canvas was soon fruitful, and he began to receive orders from many people, including high-ranking government officials and celebrities.

“People who look at my fan paintings always ask why I paint sakura. This is my inspiration from my time working for a Japanese company, so I have combined the flower with Balinese trees in the forest,” he said.

“What is most important is that I also have Bali starlings in my painting. This species is endemic to Bali and was declared a symbol of the island in 1991,” said Weda, who also uses recycled paper for his fans.

In 2006, Weda took part in an exhibition organized by the National Handicraft Council involving 460 artisans from across Indonesia. His spectacular fans won an award and a trophy from the council, which later invited him to display his work at the Indonesian Embassy in Japan.

That same same year, Weda registered with the Justice and Human Rights Ministry, and received a patent certificate for his work in 2008.

When he started up his business, like many other Balinese craftsmen, Weda faced financial difficulties.

Because he could not afford to buy a machine to make fans, he bought them from the market and adorned them with his paintings. He also adorned the fan handles with handmade silver accessories with help from his wife, Desak Putu Rusmi Hari.

In 2008 Weda received assistance from the Trade Ministry handicrafts director, who gave him a set of
machines that would help him produce his own fans. Now Weda employs six workers who make fans, and 10 artists (who are his relatives), to paint them. His wife and two of his four children are also involved in the business.

Weda’s fans, which come in different sizes and are painted with a variety of motifs, are made from sandalwood and paper, which is mostly recycled. The fans sell for between Rp 70,000 (US$8) and
Rp 2 million. The most expensive pieces have paintings of famous people on them, including US President Barrack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama.

Weda can sell hundreds of fans every month, and sometimes receives orders to make fans for wedding gifts.

His work has also attracted many parties that have offered to help him develop his business. One of these is PT Garuda Indonesia, a state-owned company that has offered him a soft loan with 6 percent interest a year. The company has also helped promote his work within Indonesia as well as overseas.

From June 29 to July 4, Weda exhibited his fans in Turkey in conjunction with the visit of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, after he took part in the G20 summit in Canada.

Weda is also currently representing Indonesia in the Unesco Award of Excellence for Handicrafts, competing with other craftspeople across Asia.

The winners will receive certificates and will be invited to join the Trade Expo in Jakarta to display their products, in October.  

Earlier this year Weda won the Inacraft Best of the Best Award 2010 while last year Weda, along with 16 other craftspeople, received the Indonesia Good Design Selection award from President Yudhoyono, after winning a design contest organized by the Trade Ministry.  

“Winning awards doesn’t satisfy me. I will keep doing my best work with my design and the paintings on my fans,” Weda said.

 

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