Welcome to the first “Penang Personalities”, an article in which, from time to time, we will be highlighting a member of the Penang expat community. This month it’s Femke Ligthart, a Dutch sculptor who has called Penang home for the past 10 years. We visited Femke at her studio, which can be found in Lebuh Lembah Permai 1, and were taken on a journey through the creation of one of her sensual sculptures, from passion and inspiration to exhibition. Femke had experienced many forms of art before deciding that creating bronze sculptures was where her direction lay. The knowledge gained from painting, ceramics and carving are certainly put to good use! We were intrigued by the process of taking the idea of a woman’s form and creating an interpretation in bronze. The final bronze you see is not carved but cast and is brought to life through carving a clay figure from which the mould is created. The whole process has many stages and a personal visit to Femke’s studio is recommended to learn more first hand (or visit her website: www.femke.com.my) A mother of four, Femke originally thought that her home abroad would be somewhere other than Penang but her first impression of Malaysia was “excellent and getting better”. As Femke says, “the sun is always shining, so you can’t be grumpy!”

In November 2010, Femke was invited to participate in the St. Nicholas Home’s Open Air Sculpture Gallery which gives the visually impaired the opportunity to touch, feel and interact with various pieces of art. There are no “Do Not Touch” signs to be found!

Source February 2011
This article has been edited for Expatgomalaysia.com
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