World-class bronze casting

Bronze casting artist Patchana Sangket from Lopburi is well known internationally, but few Thais know about her.

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Patchana Sangket, managing director of Rocla Fine Art Co Ltd, poses beside one of her most celebrated works of a voluptuous woman. PHOTOS BY WIPAWAN THAITHANAN AND PRADYA WUTTHITHUMRONG

Here is a long excerpt from a story in today’s Bangkok Post about world-famous artist few Thais know about. The full story, with many more photographs, can be found here: http://bit.ly/wpjlMG

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Artist in a mould all of her own

Nauvarat Suksamran

A bronze work depicting a sitting girl.

"Thai people's skills are comparable to those of western artisans or may even surpass them. Our works are delicate, ornate and most importantly, labour costs are far cheaper," says Patchana Sangket, a highly successful bronze casting artist from Lop Buri.

Patchana was so driven by her passion for bronze casting that she flew all the way to Italy to learn about the art.

She later came back home to set up her own foundry on a land plot covering 5 rai in Ban Kluay in Tha Wung district of Lop Buri.

She is now managing director of Rocla Fine Art Co Ltd, which is her family business.

She is in charge of the company's marketing plans and runs the foundry with about 30 employees. Her foundry always welcomes visitors who want to learn or train.

Her elder sister runs the administrative work of the foundry and receives visitors and is always on hand to share knowledge of the art of bronze casting, while her younger brother oversees the production process and supervises staff.

Patchana takes orders only from clients in foreign countries and she has accumulated a large group of faithful customers who are ready to pay for her high-quality bronze works.

Patchana said she saved up some money and coordinated with the Italian embassy to arrange a three-year visit to Italy to study the techniques of bronze moulding.

She worked as an apprentice to local artists and helped them arrange art exhibitions showcasing sculptures and statues cast in bronze.

This gave her a chance to get to know renowned artists and art-teaching academics from well-known universities who came together in Italy.

"The company's name was taken from the name of my Italian teacher who taught me all about bronze-casting techniques and the name of his wife," Patchana said.

Although the couple have passed away, Patchana still has a deep gratitude for what they did to contribute to her life, both artistically and personally.

‘‘Mr Bew’’, a bronze work portraying a successful Italian businessman. This item launched Patchana’s career.

She recalled her first commission called Mr Bew from an Italian businessman which involved 99 bronzes cast out of models created by a German artist.

She went on to cast bronze statues commissioned by many famous artists, teachers and students from the Royal College of Art in London, universities in Berlin, France, the United States, India and Sri Lanka.

She said it was not easy to gain recognition from international art experts. The works require meticulous attention to the smallest detail as those artists demand to examine the work process and the finished products themselves, she said.

"Dealing with customers who are artists requires patience as they are often very hard to please, sensitive and sometimes emotional. They are sometimes difficult to understand for ordinary people," Patchana said.

pose– to stay in a particular position in order to be photographed วางท่าถ่ายรูป
celebrated – famous for having good qualities ที่มีชื่อเสียง
voluptuous – attractive in a sexual way with large breasts and hips ยั่วยวน
excerpt – a part of a longer story, speech, song, text, etc. บทคัดย่อ
mould – a particular style showing the characteristics, attitudes or behaviour that are typical of somebody/something ลักษณะเฉพาะ
artisan – a person who does skilled work with his or her hands ช่างฝีมือ
surpass – to do or be better than somebody/something เหนือกว่า, เก่งกว่า, ดีกว่า
delicate – needing to be dealt with carefully ละเอียดอ่อน, ซับซ้อน
ornate – covered with a lot of decoration, especially when this involves very small or complicated designs หรูหรา,ฟุ่มเฟือย,ฉูดฉาด
bronze – a dark reddish-brown metal made by mixing copper and tin ทองสัมฤทธ์, ทองแดง
cast – to shape hot liquid metal, etc. by pouring it into a hollow container (called a mould) หล่อ
driven – determined to do something; motivated ซึ่งมีแรงบันดาลใจ, ซึ่งกระตุ้น
passion – a strong enthusiasm or interest ความชื่นชม หลงใหล
depict – to represent or show something in a picture or story พรรณนา, บรรยายให้เห็นภาพ
foundry – a factory where metal or glass is melted and made into different shapes or objects โรงหล่อ
plot – a piece of land used for a particular purpose ที่ดินแปลงเล็ก
administrative – involving the plan, organising and running of a business, an institution, etc   เกี่ยวกับการบริหาร
on hand – at a place and available for something; present ปรากฎอยู่
oversee – to watch or organise a job or an activity to make certain that it is being done correctly คุมงาน,ควบคุม
production process – the series of actions taken to produce a product ขั้นตอนการผลิต
supervise – to be in charge of an activity and to check that everything is being done correctly  ดูแล ควบคุม
staff – all the workers employed by a person or organisation considered as a group คณะผู้ทำงาน, คนงาน
client – a customer or someone who receives services ลูกค้า
accumulate – to get more and more of something over a period of time สั่งสมมานาน
faithful – staying with or supporting a particular person, organization or belief จงรักภักดี
coordinate – to organise the different parts of a job or plan so that the people involved work together effectively ประสานงานกัน
embassy – a group of officials who represent their government in a foreign country สถานทูต
technique – a method of doing something using a special skill that you have developed เทคนิค,  กลวิธี (เฉพาะด้าน)
mould – to give something a particular shape or form ปั้น
apprentice – a young person who works for an employer for a fixed period of time in order to learn the particular skills needed in their job  ผู้ฝึกงาน
exhibition – a public show where art or other interesting things are put so that people can go and look at them นิทรรศการ งานแสดง
showcase – to show the best qualities or parts of something  แสดง,ทำให้เห็นจุดเด่น
sculptures – solid objects that people make as works or art by shaping a substance such as stone, metal or wood รูปสลัก, รูปปั้น, รูปหล่อ  
statues – human or animal images that are made of stone, wood, metal, etc. รูปปั้น
renowned – famous and admired for a special skill or achievement  ที่มีชื่อเสียง
academic – someone who teaches at a college, or who studies as part of their job นักวิชาการ
pass away – to die จากไป (ตาย)
gratitude – a feeling of being grateful to someone because they have given you something or have done something for you ความรู้สึกขอบคุณ
contribute – to be a part of a group or an activity and help it to be successful สนับสนุน
recall – to remember จำได้ นึกทบทวน
commission – a formal request to somebody to design or make a piece of work such as a building or a painting  งานที่ได้รับมอบหมายไว้
recognition – public praise and reward for somebody's work or actions, the act of accepting that something exists, is true or is official การยอมรับ
meticulous – very careful and with great attention to every detail พิถีพิถันมาก
attention – the interest or thought that you give to something you are doing, listening to or watching ความสนใจ, ความตั้งใจ
detail – the small facts or features of something ส่วนเล็กๆ น้อยๆ, รายละเอียด, ส่วนย่อย
deal with – to take appropriate action in a particular situation or according to who you are talking to, managing, etc. รับมือ
patience – the ability to wait for a long time without becoming angry or upset  ความอดทน
sensitive – easily upset by the things people say or do รับความรู้สึกได้ง่าย
emotional – having strong feeling such as anger or love, or strong feelings in general  มีอารมณ์
ordinary – not unusual or different in any way ธรรมดา, ปกติ