It's sunny, and the traffic is high around the Canggu area. People gather with the sun and start to feel the summer season coming to them. Mrs. Fahrani, with her bike, enjoyed the ride and the winds from Denpasar to Canggu beach to have little conversations with us. We drink coconut water and have a little slow walk to feel the ocean water touching our feet. It was a pleasant and restful feeling at that time.
Can you tell a few stories that only a few people know about PAWAKA, your Sun Eyewear brand?
PAWAKA was launched officially in February 2015. My journey to move to berlin in 2015 is because of the brand too, and it's already been eight years. In the beginning, it was just my previous partner who handled everything inside PAWAKA and me. But now the team is getting more extensive and more systematic. The name was Cast Eyewear before I changed it to PAWAKA.
PAWAKA is my middle name. I got the name from my Grandfather, who got it from his military World War II journey and adopted it as our family name. I'm the third generation of Pawaka, and my son Matahari is the fourth generation. Pawaka in Sanskrit means fire. It's our signature as a brand. All the Sun eyewear designs have five lines representing the fire and spirituality sides.
What is your sound healing journey toward singing bowl?
It came through me in a dream. One night I slept and had this dream. I started playing with the singing bowl. It's direct communication from my sacred spiritual journey of mine. And I did my research found a suitable bowl for me. In the beginning, my closest friends came to my house and said, "Play it in front of us," and I started playing with them. And have the bravery to perform in front of people just three years later. Take some practice. I also take a meditation school to more profound my sense of the spiritual form of the journey.
What is the most memorable Singing bowl performance that you have had so far?
Last December, we did a performance in Julia Stoschek in Berlin. The studio Labour team and I do a collaboration there. The idea was to get people/ audiences a tour into the journey of a sound. We occupied all the 3rd floors and had 15 people perform with us to fill the space, different rooms, and different arrangements. Combination of good harmonious of people and senses.
You're a creative person. In other words, you're a model, actress, performer, and designer. Do you find a different side of yours in each of the creative processes?
Of course. I felt the different sides of me. It's just like a diamond. The diamond has different sides. Like creativity, we just need to make each part sharper.
It's pretty important to do more than one thing in your life. It's more fulfilling.
And it's also a balance of emotions that come from different creative approaches.
So for me, I like to be this person that does different things. Just follow my intuition. If I feel I've done too much on one side, I will move to the other side and explore them.
Because you like to explore different creative sides of yours, how do you become selective about it?
I'm aware I'm privileged, and because of that awareness, I try to be honest with myself. I can choose what kind of creative project I want that aligns with my life direction.
One of the ways is through meditation. Meditations help me. Like when I need to make big decisions, "Should I stay in this place" or "Should I take this project." Meditations make me more relieved, and I have a clear mind to be calmer while making decisions. I do 10-20 minutes of meditation every morning and become one of my favorite routines.
What are the most comfortable titles you want someone to describe you as?
I always open interestingly to hear what everyone perceives me as.
I'm nobody and everybody at the same time. But now, because I have Mata, so the most obvious that I'm a Mother, and I love it. But if we put it in general, I'm a creator. Artist at heart.
How do you see Social Media influencing our life these days? Especially for the young generations?
This is because I'm not the type of creative that not put so much of my work into social media. I'm pretty lucky. I don't need to know what is happening and get influenced from there. But for most people, the challenge is our focus. Social media is a tricky place, you can get access from many different sources, but at the same time, you focus and get tested by it.
Young generations have so many incredible talents and ideas because they have massive access to information. But back again, the challenge was the focus. Finish what you started and be presented with whatever you are doing. It's crucial.
May we know the story behind of "Matahari Biru" name?
He told me the name he wanted in my dream. Mata comes to me in spirit forms many times in my dream. So I had a few options for name at that time and two days before he was born. He told me that Matahari Biru is the name he wanted and he would be born in 2 kg weights, and it's precisely what he came for in 2 kg, so tiny and warm. At that moment, there are a lot of connections with Mata.
What is Bali for you?
Bali always has my heart. It's a special place for me. I don't think I can replace Bali with something else. I gave birth here. My friends and community are here. It's inspired me in different ways in its own way. I want to make more art because there are a lot of resources here, actually. I have a personal project idea that I do really want to do here. We will see. Take a gentle step and flow with the gravity of the process here.
Recommend us some places in Bali?
Bokashi in Berawa it's near my place. I repeatedly go there. The food is good and comfortable. If you talk about the beach, I like Nyang Nyang beach in Uluwatu. I also like to go around Ubud and Tabanan sometimes.
written by Tiarama
photos by Narya Abhimata Studio