A few days ago we visited Ubud in Bali. It’s a super creative place, loads of artists, craftspeople and performances. I was in Heaven. The temples were full of beautiful sculpted stone statues and the streets full of paintings, carvings, glass sculpture and Indonesian textiles.

We spent a whole day wandering around the art market, artists’ shops and studios and I had a hard time keeping my money in my purse! We’re travelling on a tight budget so we can’t afford to splash out on loads of souvenirs, but I was determined we’d take something from here. As you know, I’ve got a real thing for masks and this place was brimming with them. Stupidly, I forgot to take a photo of the three (yes three) we bought before we posted them home, I’ll show you when I get back. We bought one beautifully carved organic style, pale wood mask from the artist in his workshop, similar to these. I always feel really guilty haggling for this kind of stuff, because as an artist myself, I know how much heart and soul, time and effort goes into your work. But here it’s the done thing and if I want to be able to take this stuff home, I need to buy it cheaply.

The other two were a darker, heavier wood. One beautiful, intricately carved mask of Sita (as in Rama and Sita) like this one and another of the monkey god, Hanuman like this one. I love how dramatic he is!

Like I said, I had a hard time keeping my money in my purse. I could’ve bought so much more, everything was so beautiful, but it was all so inspiring and a real privilege to see the artists at work.

Wooden carvings, sculpture and masks.

Hanuman at Ubud Palace.

Stone carvings at Ubud Palace.

Hanuman statue.

Wood carvers at work.

Ladies in the background were on sanding duty.

Rama and Sita.

Inside the wood carvers' shop.

Glass sculpture by the side of the road.