The Vision: “The Studio by David Alan”

While creating something such as “The Studio” has been my dream since undergrad art student days, acquiring the skill and patience to sculpt in wood has been low on my priority list. What persisted over time are the gnawing hunger for, and the recurring vision of, things I wanted to make.  For decades I collected ideas and made drawings, hoping someday to find someone who could brings these ideas to life.  I imagined the ateliers of Brancusi or Miro and the studios of Rembrandt being an intense blending of vision, labor, and the drive to create.  I always wanted that blend of energies, and deeply value having it how!

Over the last several years, we developed our woodworking workshops in Bali, where we design and build furniture.  This is the fulfillment of another long-standing dream, to be able to design and build furniture without major financial and materials constraints.  The purpose of “The Studio” is to make extraordinary relief and free-standing sculpture, carved from wood and stone.  It took hundreds of conversations with many people over several years to find the best carvers for the studio.  We now have exceptional carvers working with perfect materials in a great workspace, with more inspiration than can be put to use.  The atmosphere in “The Studio” is both light and serious, and we are all proud of and excited by wheat we are doing.

This September, while I was in Bali preparing the debut of “The Studio by David Alan,” the rainy season began unexpectedly, three months early. Storms rolled in with rain pelting the corrugated tin roof, creating a sea of mud in the parking area.  In the background was always the incessant tick, tick, tick, sound of mallets and chisels transforming slabs of wood into stunning works of art.  Monk-like concentration mingles with teasing and laughter, as the carvers hew their way into gorgeous slabs of wood.  Tick, tick, tick, is my music, my heart’s song being sung.  This is the sound of inspiration and joy in action.  Hands, eyes, intelligence, and labor meld, satisfying and renewing the hunger for and love of creating beautiful, enduring works.