And a Lamp Unto Our Path

(6/14/2010)

A Bali-based company Insens'o has combined several separate traditional artistic traditions of Bali – eggshell painting and batik - to create distinctive new lighting designs increasingly in demand by interior decorators.

To realize his artistic vision, Roberto Tenace of Insens'o searched high and low for an Ubud, Bali artist able to paint on lampshades in the sophisticated way they paints eggshells.

Eggshell painting, using duck, goose cassowary or ostrich eggs is an intricate and well-established art form in the arts community of Ubud. Local artisan generates traditional Balinese images incorporating flora and fauna motifs, landscapes, and figurative shapes.

These rich and colorful images and scenes drawn from daily Balinese life have found a new home as canvas lampshades from Insens'o.

Inspired by this foray into lampshades, Roberto's next lighting innovation resulted in batik lampshades.

Batik Lampshades

The tradition of batik dyeing is centuries-old in Indonesia, tracing its origins back to ancient India and the traders who brought the textile tradition first to Indonesia. Insens'o seeks to help promote and preserve batik through its use in modern interior design elements. Utilizing famous batik "Mega Mendung" motifs from Cirebon, West Java, Roberto has added yet another exotic touch to his growing and increasingly popular lampshade collection.

"We strive to maintain our position as the lighting design leader, with the sole philosophy of incorporating Indonesian art to preserve its rich culture," says Roberto Tenace, "Our local artisans and creations are continuously appealing to the growing world market for fine products."

As shown on balidiscovery.com, these lampshades testify to an artistic revolution in lighting taking place from its humble birthplace in Ubud Bali. The resulting one-of-a-kind lighting pieces start at Rp. 2.9 million (US$ 310).