Sanu Raj Bajracharya, a master sculptor, has dedicated more than sixty years to his art from his workshop in Patan. He learned this sacred craft from his guru when he was a young boy. He describes that to sculpt a deity, he must first embody its spirit, whether that be by achieving inner calm for a Buddha or raw power for a wrathful deity. His process is profoundly spiritual.

He candidly discusses the difficulty of maintaining this soulful, meticulous work in a fast-paced commercial environment in the video. His story offers a rare glimpse into this profound connection and the life of a true master artisan. We invite you to watch the video to fully appreciate the soul behind his art of making handmade Buddhist sculptures.

Lost-wax casting is a process in which wax is used to create the original model of a sculpture and is then removed before the metal is cast. The wax is therefore “lost,” giving the technique its name. The method allows an artist to reproduce extremely fine details that would be difficult to achieve by simply carving a finished metal block.