New statues, New foundry, New friends

Spring is fully here,  we’re into May and the full moon is upon us.  It’s been a while since posting a few words in our blog.  The truth is I much prefer the play of the clay to the play of words, but play is play, and I do enjoy writing from time to time.  We do have several things to share.  A lot has happened in the last year here at Masa Rasa Studios.   New statues, new foundry, new friends . . . and a new swami.
 
To the NEWS . . . !



BABARAJ

•  It’s May, and yes, we have a May Sale going on!  For the entire month, we’re featuring our Babaraj statue in honor of Baba Muktananda’s 109th birthday, which is celebrated both on the lunar date, the full moon on May 10th, and the solar date on the 15th.  Anyone who buys a Babaraj statue may purchase any other statue in our collection at 50% off, now or within the year.  This particular statue is made at our Florida foundry, and takes about 6 to 8 weeks to complete. 

You can view more images of Babaraj here.

•  We have a new foundry partner, Artworks Foundry in Berkeley, California.  They have accepted the task of casting several of the statues in our collection.  Our original foundry, Bronzart of Sarasota, Florida, handles all the others.  So now we have a foundry on both the east coast and the west coast which helps expedite production.  The professionals at Artworks do wonderful work, ranging from small pieces, such as ours, to monumental sculpture.  A notable piece that you may have recently seen is the beautiful bronze statue of baseball icon Jackie Robinson erected at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, created by Oakland sculptor Branly Cadet.  Artworks also does bronze work for the Metropolitan Museum Of  Art in New York City, including some reproductions of Michaelangelo’s work.  We are very happy and honored to work with them to produce our editions of bronze sculpture.  If you want to know more about Artworks’ amazing abilities and process, you can see their work at www.artworksfoundry.com

SAI BABA OF SHIRDI
    
•  Last time I wrote a blog post, we were about to pour a bronze proof of our Sai Baba murti.   This piece had a journey to get completed.  The original blew apart in the kiln, so it became a special challenge to get that jigsaw puzzle back together.  Nothing like a little epoxy and loving care to set things right.  

After the resurrection of the original, we took a mold and went straight to bronze.  Pictured above and below is the first proof as produced by Artworks Foundry.  After a digital 3D scanning of the original, and then having it reduced in size to 3.5”H, we are in the process of producing this murti in a smaller in bronze compared with the 12” original. 

Next year is Sai Baba’s 100th Mahasamadhi anniversary, and there is a massive celebration planned in Shirdi.  You can view more images of Shirdi Sai Baba on the Masa Rasa website here.

DIGITAL MINIATURIZATION

•  We have made smaller versions of four of our statues, and as I mentioned, Sai Baba is being added to this collection in the very near future.  This process begins by having the original statue scanned with a state of the art 3D scanner, and then printed in a 3D printer.  These statues have been reduced form the 9”-12”H full size bronze to a 3.5”H. 2’ and 1” bronze.  The smallest sizes we are able to offer in solid gold.  The detail that is retained is truly amazing.  

We’ve assembled these small bronzes on a marble display platter for some of our distributors.  All of these statues are available individually on the Masa Rasa Studios website.

SRI YANTRA

•  We also finished producing our version of Sri Yantra, the ancient Hindu symbol of the cosmos used in ritual worship, a revered and sacred mystical diagram of the inner and outer Universe.  Sri Yantra loosely translates as ‘revered and sacred diagram.’  It is composed of nine interlocking triangles ( I think Pythagorus had one of these in his school) symbolizing the interplay of God, or the Divine Masculine (Shiva), and the Goddess, the Divine Feminine (Shakti).  We  offer Sri Yantra in four sizes, (not pictured is the 1” size) and with optional gold plating.  Sri Yantra - Wifi for the spirit, aesthetics for the soul, bronze resonance for the mind.  

https://masarasa.com/collections/sculptures/products/sri-yantra

MAHAN  -  The Great One

•  Our latest offering is a murti of Bhagavan Nityaananda entitled ‘Mahan’, which means ‘Great One.’  This piece is much larger than our previous murtis at 15”H, and perhaps three times the volume.  We have not yet cast this in bronze because, well, it’s very expensive, and we’re hoping the first couple of sales will help finance that process.  To that end we are offering 30% discount off the $5450 retail price tag to the first three buyers.

Mahan is most likely our final sculpture in honor of Bhagavan Nityananda, with the exception of creating life size enlargements, which we hope to do.  Fortunately, enlargements are something the people at Artworks are experts at.  Our edition of this piece will be limited to twelve bronzes.  

LEO DALE

• We want to bring your attention to the artistic work of Leo Dale and his wonderful music.  This last year he has produced several videos of sacred chants and instrumentals, performing all instruments and vocals, as well as the video work.  One of these videos, Om Namo Bhagavate Nityanandaya, has our Young Nityananda murti as the main visual, beautifully lit and recorded by Leo. Forty minutes of meditation that you can listen to here.   Please enjoy . . . 

SWAMI GANESHANANDA

• Finally, one of the biggest changes in this past year is that Ganapati is now an ordained monk !!! . . . a swami in the Saraswati order.   Yes, Ganapati is now Swami Ganeshananda, a yogi of many talents, having taken the vows of sanyas in Ganeshpuri earlier this year.  He now has less hair and a new orange wardrobe.  As a result of many trips to Ganeshpuri, Swamiji, or Swami G, is in the process of establishing an online store for imports from India.  Incense, malas, shawls, oils, asanas,  and all the fine accouterments of meditation ambiance, which will be linked to Masa Rasa Studios.  We’ll have the website information available later this month.  He also is exploring the possibility of building a temple for meditation and gathering in the Bay Area, dedicated to Bhagavan Nityananda and Swami Muktananda . . . open to all.  A fine place to install enlargements of Mahan and Babaraj.  Swami G is a great cook, maybe chai and dosas will be on the menu!


•  That’s the latest from Masa Rasa Studios.  Feel free to write us with any comments or suggestions you may have.  You can  find us on FaceBook at   https://www.facebook.com/masarasastudios/

We want to say an especially warm “thank you” to all of you who have purchased our work over the last couple of years.  When people send emails expressing the joy and gratitude they feel at having received their murti and what that means to them . . . well, it’s music to our ears.  It’s why we do as we do.

Thanks,

Jim
Artist in residence at Masa Rasa Studios