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| Sunday, 16 January 2005 |
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Carving a niche for herself by Surekha Galagoda
Carving on wood is mens territory but born to a family of traditional carvers it was not so for B.K. Shiromi Lanka Alwis who can carve anything on wood be it a picture or a statue. She belongs to the eighth generation of master carvers from the Suriarachchi family. Shiromi Lanka Alwis was born to a family of five girls and one boy. The parents Mr and Mrs W.M. Suriarachchi have been carving together for the last 30 years. Her mother is very competent in carving and has developed her own style under the guidance of her husband. " As soon as I could understand how to handle the tools I began carving on left over pieces of wood as the atmosphere at home was built around carvers and carving." Once she completed her studies she took to wood carving like a duck to water and there has been no turning back since then. She had the opportunity to train 70 craftsmen in wood carving when the Polonnaruwa Crafts Council invited her to teach carving at their centre. She has developed into a world renowned sculptor and was a recipient of the Sri Lanka Presidential award for traditional arts in 1989.
The award provided the funds to establish a school in Polonnaruwa. This school trains about 20 students per year on traditional arts and they are encouraged to develop their own style of expression. I got married in 2000 and my husband Upul Priyantha Alwis is a graduate in fine arts from the University of Peradeniya. He helps me immensely by giving his ideas and the technical input as well as the guidance to carry out my work. " I used to bring my carvings for exhibitions and sales all the way from Polonnaruwa to Colombo and meeting Mrs Swarna Obeysekera then Chairperson of National Design Centre turned a new chapter in my life.
She wanted to promote the traditional arts and crafts and even arranged to have an exhibition at the Crescat Boulevard lobby. As the space for the exhibition was given free I was able to collect some money and get a shop on rent at the Crescat Boulevard shopping mall. I now get a good income from my shop Dilini carvers and the sales are good. She has her workshop at Kaduwela and has employed four girls. "I would like to improve my sales and also export my products. At the moment people purchase my products and export them but I have not still got an opportunity to export directly." At present I have got the shop on rent but I would like to have my own showroom at a permanent place. This is a dream I have and we are striving hard to achieve that," she added. " If I get more orders I can provide employment to more people,"she noted. Ms Alwis is a mother of a daughter and can be reached on 2414511. |
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