Enameling, Forming, Chasing & Repoussé in Chiang Mai, Thailand with Oops+

Thai craftspeople have perfected the art of enameling, silversmithing, and metalwork over numerous generations, and our program connects you with living masters while exploring the history and heritage of these culturally and religiously important practices.

Our program begins with a three-day enameling workshop at Sinpinta Studio in collaboration with Not Just a Thing. Here you will learn the fine work of Thai enameling techniques from the beginner to advanced levels: sifting and watercolor enamel, champlevé, and plique-à-jour. Our expert craftspeople/teachers, Taweesak Molsawat and Natthapol Sinprasert, are masters of the craft and will guide you through how and why enameling is central to Thai craft and contemporary practice.

We then move to a two-day workshop in Chiang Mai city’s Wualai neighborhood where we will learn metal raising with local silversmiths for which the area is famous. While raising our own traditional water vessels (salung), we will learn about the importance of metal forming to Thai Buddhist artistic and ceremonial life while staying close to Chiang Mai’s century-old walled city. We will then bring our hand-raised salung to the local Buddhist temple, Chiang Mai’s famous Wat Sri Suphan, also known as “The Silver Temple”. Wat Sri Suphan is decorated with intricately wrought metallic panels and is the center of chasing and repoussé work in Chiang Mai.

There we will engage in a three-day workshop learning this traditional craft to add ornament to our raised salung. Throughout this workshop, we will learn about the history of Buddhist craft in Thailand while engaging in the life of this vibrant Buddhist temple, eating local food, touring the surrounding neighborhood, and taking advantage of everything Chiang Mai has to offer.


Dates: The workshop will be held from the 4th until the 14th of January 2025.

The teachers are Taweesak Molsawat and Natthapol Sinprasert, both master silversmiths based in Chiang Mai.

Price:
Private Room:
EARLYBIRD: $5,560 USD (till October 30)
REGULAR: $5,760 USD

Shared Room (per person).
EARLYBIRD: $5,080 USD (till October 30)
REGULAR: $5,280 USD

This price includes all hotel accommodations, ground transportation, most meals, workshop fees and materials, and select excursions indicated in the full itinerary.

Participants will always stay in at least 3-star hotels with private ensuite bathrooms in each room with hot showers and complimentary bottled water. All rooms will be equipped with air-conditioning and daily turndown service.

Once in Chiang Mai we take care of all travel logistics to cover our itinerary. While Craft Abroad does not arrange international travel to nor from Chiang Mai, we are more than happy to talk with you about good flight times and our preferred airlines. Furthermore, we are happy to talk about ideas for how and where you might want to travel before and after our time together, just get in touch!

>> Detailed itinerary HERE