Falling Snow

Delicate snowflakes flutter to earth in deep, soft drifts. The exquisite mosaic adorns a mango wood vase, finished in lacquer. Working with ancestral techniques, Nantana Sompamitre crafts the beautiful piece by hand. Once the wood is carved into the desired shape it is coated with lacquer. Once dried it is polished, and another coat is applied – up to twenty times – before as many six coats of pure lacquer are present. The final layer is polished with powdered fired clay. Next, eggshells are cleaned and cracked into small pieces. Sompamitre arranges them in the desired pattern on a fresh coat of lacquer. The piece is lacquered twice more and sanded in water until the eggshells appear.