Hand Crafted Cement Cat Statuette from Java 'Cat Meditation' Item ID: 2676667790

My name is Sarono. I was born in 1976, in Bantul, Yogyakarta. In my village the people are creative and productive, so there are many opportunities to learn and exchange ideas about skills or business development. Where I live is close to the art school, where many famous artists and people with an artistic spirit study. In my village there was also a terrible earthquake in 2006. However, our people survived and quickly recovered. At that time I participated in social activities that helped the community, so now many tourists from all over the world visit my village to meet the artists here.

I was born in a family that is not artistic, but since I was little they supported me to learn from my environment and with the best artists. I am very grateful to have supportive friends and parents. I am the second child of four siblings. Since I was little I never went to formal school. I learn from the lives of the people around me; how the artists share with each other. I have been pursuing art since 2000. I initially learned from friends in the sculptor community around Yogyakarta. Then I worked in an exporting company as a casual employee. I really love my job, because since childhood I grew up with fellow sculptors. I feel in this field I find satisfaction and happiness when I see people enjoying my work.

In my spare time I really like to keep birds; sometimes my pet bird is my fatigue reliever. Many people around me consider me a humorous and helpful person. I am married, and for me, my wife is a source of inspiration and passion for my life. She really understands my situation and shortcomings. When the family's finances are not good, she never gets angry. My wife owns a business making tempeh, a fermented soybean. I have been blessed with 2 sons, Raditya and Rasya, 17 and 10 years old respectively. My two children are my inspiration. I want them to be successful children; better and more established than me.

I've been through a lot of tough things in life; one of which was when I had to leave my wife and children to work far away. I did all that in order to support our lives. I feel lucky to be in my life right now. I try sincerely to give my best work. I get a lot of inspiration from people; and hopefully I can also be an inspiration for others in the future.

In my life, I stick to the phrase that the best work is the work that is done with sincerity. That's why I feel that my Family Abstract is my best work, because the touch of family is carried over to it. I work at a company that cares about the environment; even in the production process I use cement that has a green label certificate from Singapore. I see how humans and technology can work together to produce works so that they can contribute to nature and prosperity.

Most of my works relate to Javanese culture and the life of the ancient Hindu-Buddhist society. Recently, I had the opportunity to make art at an art event at the Indonesian Art Institute in Yogyakarta. I am very happy to be able to contribute to the event. Through Novica I hope to share happiness through my work. Hopefully Novica will benefit other artists in my hometown. I hope that this can help my family's economy, at least enough to pay for my children's school fees until they finish, so that they can become good and successful people in the future.