The studio/home of the artist couple Nia Fliam and Agus Ismoyo is the perfect balance of rustic and comfort, spiritual and academic, chaos and order. In the center of a maze of rooms, galleries and work space is a lush inner courtyard where 30 batik artists work every day. Together they make a family in the truest sense of the word.
The husband (Agus) is a descendent of royal court artisans and his wife (Nia) is an American who graduated with a degree in textile design from Pratt institute. Theirs is a story that almost has me convinced that Love does in fact exist. Nia's one year stint in Indonesia turned into a lifetime upon meeting Agus . Together, they have traveled the world creating and spreading their art, and in fact just returned from a one year Fulbright fellowship in America.
Almost everything they create is a collaboration and their love and trust of each other is shown through their art on a daily basis. Established in 1986, their batik studio (Brahma Tirta Sari) is where they explore traditional Javanese batik in contemporary ways. This will be my home for the next two months and I’m sure it will be one of most positive and inspiring forces in my life.
Here, EVERYTHING has a spirit, meaning and energy. The artwork must come from the "heart chakra" and I am asked to turn off my mind. (Not easy, let me tell you!)
I am trying my best to become a "vessel" for this creative energy. Among other things, I will be participating in rituals, talking Javanese dance lessons and going to temples to round out my spiritual attunement. This is all combined with the very academic knowledge of tradition and chemistry that Nia and Agus bring to their work.
Indonesia – what an amazing new world to explore!
1 comment:
You have some really fantastic pictures in that Picassa album. It looks like you are living in paradise. What is the burning effigy thing?
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