Today marked the last day of our bronze sculpture workshop at the Village Des Arts. The process of making a bronze sculpture is really quite fascinating. First, the artist makes a model out of hot beeswax, sculpting it as it cools and melting additional pieces on (it's like playing with clay that doesn't dry out your hands). Next, additional pieces of wax are added to the model to allow the bronze to flow through in the pouring phase. Then the model is dipped in a mixture of quick-dry plaster and sifted dirt, and a mold is formed around each piece. After these are dry (about 30 minutes), they are placed in the fire overnight so the wax can drip out. The next day, the bronze is prepared. Essentially, the artists had set up a blast furnace in which they melted down scrap faucets, knobs, and anything bronze they could get their hands on. The fire burned green, and watching the molten metal being poured into the molds was one of the cooler things I've seen since coming here.
Our pieces aren't quite ready yet, as the imperfections and extraneous pieces need to be ground off, but we'll have them back after we return from Kedougou. I made an attaya glass, a bracelet ($10 says I never wear it) and a Kora player that I'm pretty proud of.
We also got our clothes back from the tailor, and I'm about as happy with the results as I could possibly be. A custom-tailored shirt for $12? Yes, indeed. Pictures to come later. Maybe in the form of a Picasa web album. I don't know.
We leave bright and early tomorrow for Kedougou, and I'm super excited to do some hiking, see some waterfalls and have another awesome village experience. I got placed with Elizabeth in the village of Etchwar, which sits atop a mountain. The people living there are of the Badik ethnic minority, and they're Christian animists, which should be really interesting to see. I've been told to expect a lot of palm wine.
Also, as I've been told that Kedougou and the surrounding regions are incredibly hot, I decided to shave off my beard. It's so much cooler already.
I get back to the Dakar area on the 7th, and I won't be posting again until then.
And that post was really disorganized, and written very haphazardly.
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