A mala for Avalokiteshva, after a week of detailed preparation, now ready to spray

Jewellery in the making - sprayed

A beautiful tiara being prepared for the Deity’s head

Sanding toolkit - sandpaper 180 and 240 + a SUPERFINE sponge

Artists create their own tool boxes so they have everything they need to work on the statues

Improvised sanding tool

Nothing is unreachable with this tool

A 3D print of Heruka’s hand, smaller than a fingernail and less than 1mm thick. Careful handling needed to sand it!

Minute beads on Heruka’s hand. This work needs a lot of skill, patience and eyes like an eagle!

A 3D print of the four faces of Heruka. It takes around 100 hours of skilled work to make the statue ready for spraying!

A kind reminder

A holy mala in the hand of Avalokiteshvara

Sacred objects to fill statues

Holy sindhura powder for filling

Bolts help to seal the mold

Inside the mold the polyurethane reaches every corner

Everything in the studio is very well organised

Attention to detail on Buddha's hands

The different colored paints have exotic names!

The colors for each statue are preselected, but the artist painting it chooses the shades

Everywhere vigilance and caution is needed

An elephant, part of a Buddha's throne

Pure gold is used on the holy statues for all the Kadampa shrines around the world

Auspicious symbols organised

Clear instructions from the shipping department

For most of us an incomprehensible language, but not for the casting crew!

Where the statues take shape

Small fill -> Gold + Sand - language only understood in the Art Studio

Even the tiniest holes are detected and filled

The final stage of finishing - making the surface extremely smooth with a SUPERFINE sponge

On the minds of everyone in the Studio