Total classes: 4 Days Number of hour per class: 6 hours Time: 9am - 4pm Set of tools provided and used: 20 chisels Hammer Sandpaper Size of wood piece: 2D - 14 x 20 cm Small 3D - 4 x 10 x 8 cm Big 3D - 8 x 14 x 12 cm Day 1: Introduction 9am: We will meet you at the pickup location. Your facilitator will first give you some introduction on Luang Prabang: Luang Prabang is a 16,875 square kilometer city locating in Northern Laos. There are about 447,541 people consist of 12 districts and Luang Prabang is the capital of Luang Prabang province. Luang Prabang was selected to be a UNESCO world heritage site in 1995 because its unique and well preserved history, culture and architectures. There are about 35 temples in Luang Prabang town. Our recommendation for your visit to Luang Prabang would be KuangSi fall, PakOu Cave, elephant riding, watch sunset on top of mount Phou Si, watch alms giving in the morning on the main street and Ban Chan is also an interesting pottery village. Then You will be introduced to host Mr. Lon who is one of wood carver who got to studied with one of royal palace museum's wood carvers and became one of the rare woodcarving master in Laos now. 9:30 - 10am: Introduction to Wood carving/the history Wood carving was very popular in the 18 and 19 centuries especially at the royal palace and temples because our main religious is Buddhism. The king encouraged and pushed artisans to work towards wood work. Thousands of Buddha images were carved and kept inside temples and caves. Nowadays woodcarving is fading away because our young generation have different modern and trendy interests. The different types of carving: Buddha images, door flame decorators, temples, elephants, and bowls. At the break of our first class we will take you to Phanluang Temple to see wood statues. 10am - 12pm Tools introduction/types of wood/beginner lesson Introduce different types of wood like soft wood, hard wood their status now in Laos. Demonstrate on how to use each chisel. The small, medium, big and curve. You will practice different chisels to carve different types of wood. 10:20am - 12pm The 2D carving workshop For beginner students, we will do the basic first which is to carve a 2D wood piece. Host will draw an outline of a landscape of a wood broad. (You can draw if possible) Host will start to carve little bit first and then you continue under his instruction. 12pm - 1pm Lunch Break You can choose to have lunch at the Dyen Sabai restaurant which is beside the wood carving place or we can take a 15-minute walk to get Khao Soi (noodle soup). Visit PhanLuang temple, a 2-minute walk from our workshop. We will introduce you a day of a novice or monk: get up early at about 4am in the morning and go for alms collecting, breakfast and then to school, etc. Also we will walk through the temple to see the different buildings with woodcarving artworks. 1pm ? 3pm The 2D carving workshop (continue) Host will demonstrate how to apply the basic wood carving techniques You will follow him and continue to carve until finish, then host will check to see if you are carving correctly. Host will teach how to use the sandpaper to make it smoother. 3pm ? 4pm Homework Your host will give you a scrap wood to practice the more difficult parts first like the eyes and nose in the case of a face. Day 2: 9am-9:15am Homework correction ? Host will check the homework and give advice on the parts that need to be improved and what you did the best. 9:15-9:30am Learn how to work on a complicated-shape wood such as a curved layer or knot one. 9:30am.-12pm Carving a small 3D with help of host Explain the different between the 2D and 3D carving. Explain that 2D carving is easier because you work on just one side. But in 3D carving, you will have to work on eight sides which takes more time and requires more skills. Choose the options to work on 3D such as elephant, pig, gecko, horse or any other animals you likes, but first check with the host to see if it's possible. The most difficult one is Buddha because there are many details like face, fingers and feet. In one day, you can just finish the overall shape. Host will briefly explain each option, how much time it would take to finish. Basing on your preference and skills, host will advise what is the most suitable for you. Draw or paint an outline on wood Once you have decided on what to do, draw the outline of the animal on the wood. Then start to carve, firstly the shape, then move to the deeper parts such as legs, stomach (and trunk if it's an elephant). You can see a final product to figure out what they look like. 12-1pm Lunch Break You can choose to have lunch at the Dyen Sabai restaurant which is beside the wood carving place or we can walk for noodle soup. It's about 15 mins walk. 1pm-3pm Host will check what you have done and correct them, then give suggestions on what to do fix. You will then learn how to write letters or to put a mark on your work At the end, you will get to try carving a little bit on scrap wood 3to4pm Home work Your host will give you a scrap wood to practice the more difficult parts first like the eyes and nose in the case of a face. Day 3 9am-9:30am Homework correction ? Host will check and give advice on your homework. 9:30am-12pm Carve a Buddha statue Firstly, you will get introduction on Buddha statue carving, when it appears and why there are so many Buddha statues in Laos, as well as the importance and difficulty on carving the statues. ? There are 2 easy different styles that you can choose to do which is standing and sitting meditation ? Once you decide on what to do, host will divide the proportions of each part such as head, body, hands, fingers and legs. ? Under our host's guidance, you will learn to carve part by part throughout all the details. 12-1pm Lunch Break Lunch with host's family with local dishes and sticky rice. After lunch if you're interested in another traditional craft in Laos, we will visit a weaving family, a 5 minute walk from the workshop, where you will see the weaving process and get stories of Laos weaving history . 1pm-4pm Focus on the face, hands and feet. Host will carve one side of the face and you do the other side. Do the same for hands, fingers and feet The eyes are very important because it shows the emotion of the statue. You keep working on until it is finished. Finally, use sandpaper to make the surface smoother. Homework: Prepare for graduation day (last day). You will discuss with host ideas to carve on a big 3D wood piece and do necessary preparation so that on the next day you can work on your own as a master. Day 4 Graduation You will do a big 3D carving on your own First draw the outline on the wood and host will check You will carve on your own and only ask for help if necessary. *** What is included: - All equipment and wood - Drinking water - A lunch with your host on day 3 - Temple entrance fee on your day 1 *** Type of products you will take home: A 2D wood carving you carve on day 1 A small 3D you carve on Day 2 A big 3D you carve on Day 3 A big 3D you carve on day 4 You can buy a set of 4 chisels and a wooden hammer to take home if you wish to. Please inform us and we will inform the host to prepare it for you. Note: - Bring your own drinking water - Mosquito repellent