Artist Bio: Chiang Mai Silk Cooperative
Wednesday, August 1st, 2007
Chiang Mai is home to the handicraft center in northern Thailand. Traditionally, silk worms are raised or collected to provide the artists with the delicate threads used to make their beautiful silk products. The thread itself comes from the cocoon of the worm, which is boiled and pulled out of the water carefully to be dried and spun on thread spindles. Chiang Mai is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand. Even before foreign influence was brought with tourism, Chiang Mai served as a trade port for paper products, wood carvings, and other traditionally made handicrafts. Now the city, which is more modern than most places in northern Thailand, is very popular with travelers. The unique local culture creates an atmosphere that is creative and curious and makes up the “handicraft center” of Thailand.
All around Thailand, a variety of brooms can be seen, ranging from beach brooms that rake to floor brooms that sweep. All created with natural grasses and sticks found locally, these broom artists can be found making these brooms all over Thailand: on sidewalks, in parks, and in their homes and villages.
Bamboo is a very important natural resource to Thai culture. It provides food, shelter, tools, and materials to create an array of handicrafts and household goods. Bamboo is similar to grass, and harvesting it causes little to no devastation to the environment. Mr. Soontorn and Mrs. Praphaisri Utranan, along with family, skillfully strip the bamboo wood to create thin but strong strips that can be wound and pressed together to create bowls, lamps, tables, and other unique products. The pieces are then painted and dried in the sun to add strength and durability. Just outside of Chiang Mai city, a large number of artisans with different unique skills reside. For many years, this historical city has been a trading center for arts and other goods. Now, although the city itself has changed dramatically, the local people still keep their traditions alive through crafts by creating for those interested locally and internationally. 
Adahm Mokdah is an artist that lives in the southwestern islands of Thailand. There he is accompanied by many other local Thais that are referred to as “chao leh” or “sea gypsies”. These unique and simple people live day to day making their living however they can, whether it be through fishing, crafting, or other various jobs created for the tourist industry. Adahm creates all of his necklaces with a special waxed hemp and all natural stones and shells. These necklaces have a unique look and last longer than most necklaces made of any other kind of rope or string. The waxed hemp is very durable and is mostly unaffected by moisture, which makes the necklace outlast most wear and tear. 
Chiang Mai, Thailand is a wonderful center of arts, culture, and history. Silk making has long been a tradition that the Thai people hold. In many areas around Chiang Mai, tourists and travelers are given the opportunity to see how a silk shirt, skirt, or scarf is made: from the silk worm to the loom, the Thai people love to share how this wonderful textile is created.
Thailand is a creative center composed of a culture that is not only artistic and friendly, but superstitious as well. My trip to the old capital of Thailand, Ayutthaya, was my first real glimpse of a history of the people who lived there. Ayutthaya is a short train ride from Bangkok, and is a fairly large city itself. The old charred ruins remain there from when the Burmese came in the 1700’s and burned the city down, and Ayutthaya remains a big tourist attraction today to Thai and foreigners alike. After visiting a couple wats, or temples, and playing with the elephants that provide a good income for the people that live there, I found a small shop on a not-so-busy street, run by a family known for making hanging fish ornaments out of palm leaves.
Koh Yao Noi is a large island that lies in the Andaman Sea on the west side of Thailand. The Sea harbors beautiful limestone cliffs that seem to carry a spirit that climbs to the heavens. The views are truly breathtaking and travelers from around the world come to share the beauty of the surrounding islands and beaches. Thailand welcomes these tourists and travelers, for the income provides the country with opportunities to build, grow, and upgrade current systems. Although Koh Yao Noi lives between Phuket and Krabi, two major tourist hubs, it still remains relatively undeveloped and traditional.
It was a hot and humid day in May when three friends and I decided to take a motorbike trip into the mountains of northern Thailand in search of some small villages and the arts and crafts they create. Only a larger dirt bike type could be used on this trip because the narrow roads were hardly roads and slick with red muddy clay. About 15 minutes of pavement driving out of the town of Pai, we were at a natural hot spring and a dirt road-path that ran past and far back into the forested mountains. After a quick break and some rehydration, we headed in. 
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