In Kathmandu, and specifically at Swayambhu (or, the Monkey Temple), there were a couple of people creating designs on flat pieces of stone. Their designs varied from dragons, to Chinese zodiac calendars (year of the ox, rat, rabbit, etc.), to smiling suns.
I purchased one of a smiling sun, from the young woman doing carving.
One of our stops on our last day in Nepal was at a carpet weaving co-op. The artisans are Tibetan refugees, and the proceeds of sales support the artists themselves.
I was surprised and impressed with just how fast their hands go on these looms, and I cannot fathom how it works to make these intricate patterns ...
Carved painted wooden masks were abundant ...
As were marionette-type puppets ...
In Patan's Durbar Square, Hannah and I had the chance to peruse tables of Nepalese crafts and antiques (and buy gifts for ourselves and for others), while Tim took advantage of more great photo opportunities.
Pashminas. This photo is from a shop in a village outside of Kathmandu. Within Kathmandu, pashmina stores were larger and stocked with a wide variety of colors and patterns and qualities.
Various items, many of which are antique (or at least had some age to them). This vendor was located at the Monkey Temple.
And there were several schools and vendors selling Thangka (or Thanka) paintings. They are exquisitely detailed. If you google Thangka paintings (worth a quick look), and go for the "images" link, you'll see a terrific representation of a variety of the art. They involve rich colors, actual gold paint, and images have different meanings.
The site http://www.buddhanet.net/thangkas.htm has some detail about the paintings (what, how, why), including the following: "Thangkas are intended to serve as a record of, and guide for contemplative experience."
Well, the blog website is not cooperating with adding more photos at this time, so I'll stop here about crafts :-)
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