Mas Village for Wood Carving

That is a village specializing in woodcarving of any kind. Most of the prominent woodcarvers of Bali dwell in Mas Village, producing elaborate and fine woodcarving and this is where they teach the young generation to carve by imitating the master carvers.

This Artistic countryside owns the long history root. The result of wood carving art in this village owns the immeasurable and wide dimension like idol for the devoting (arca idol), representative dimension of everyday Balinese social society life (farmer, fisherman, worker, intellectual, merchant etc), the abstract dimension as existing of actor imagination which is listening carefully of reality, dynamics and life philosophy. The villagers are same as villagers at other tourism countryside in Bali that have also experienced the transformation from agrarian society to the crafting society. Even nowadays, it is continued to service society from commerce service until levying service of the souvenir for overseas and domestic tourist.

The Village of Mas is located very close to Ubud and is therefore of a similar landscape but Mas is not as developed in to the tourism market as Ubud and retains a traditional charm and feel. Mas is famous in Bali as being one of the main arts and crafts villages on the island. Where Ubud is the village of the painters, Mas is the village of the carvers where some of the most incredible woodcarvings are produced and have been produced for hundreds of years.

Carvings range from very small pieces that can be perfect gives up to larger ornaments and furniture and on to incredible elaborate pieces that can be as large as 25 square meters and even more such as murals ad great door arches that are traditionally reserved for temples and stately homes of the Balinese Royalty and wealthy.

The carving of Mas first began when the Royal Balinese families moved into Ubud and those who seeked work wit them tried to offer to sell them goods. The royals then only started to buy and do business with the very best carvers from Mas and the best painters of Ubud and soon all of the islands best craftsmen moved to their prospective villages creating subcultures orientated around there talents. The carvings themselves differ between representations of the Balinese people often as farmers and in situations that the average Balinese worker can relate to, to amazing decorative carvings for the rich and then also some legends, myths representations of aspects of the Balinese religions and the stories that they entail.

Today there is much to see and enjoy and many surrounding areas of interest in Mas and it can be worth staying to enjoy this area without the crowds on your doorstep. Whether you are an art lover or a couple looking to some time out, Mas will provide.

Mas is located in the same area as Ubud and therefore it can be included as part of a Ubud holiday and is a wonderful place to drop by at and look round the markets and take in the beauty and quiet that the village Mas entails. Mas is located at around and hour and a half’s drive from the international Airport and is easily accessible from the south of Bali using the By-pass road that leads through Sanur. Mas is located in the highlands and hill that lead up towards the mountains of the central of Bali and has some of the most amazing views of the island with many large and steep rice padi terraces and tropical woodlands that extend down towards the plains of the south, when looking north the huge impressive mountains are more prominent then anywhere else on the island, this scenery coupled with the incredible culture of the area and low tourist presence makes for an ideal location to take some time out and there are some amazing traditional bungalows that extend into the 5 star class to do this from.