The Bali Series

In the fall of 1997, Dancing Frog Designs set up a kite painting studio in Bali, Indonesia. For the first series of painted kites, we choose the artists of Bali to interpret our frog designs. Kites and frogs, particularly flying frogs, are an integral part of Balinese culture.

Would you like to see more of the kites we made in Bali?

Here are pictures from our studio in Bali and the artists with whom we worked

Our painting staff in Bali

Painters working on our designs

Each kite is hand painted with non-toxic dyes using a traditional Batik process. No two kites are exactly alike. (Painting ripstop requires 3 coats of dye and cooking the kites to set the dye. In the 90+ degree heat of the tropics it was no small fete.) We worked with talented painters and encouraged them to exercise their individual creativity. Blending cultures through art was an incredible experience.

Each day at the studio I'd see my frog designs transformed with designs from Bali. Truly a metamorphosis for me, letting go of my art and welcoming something completely different and wonderful.

Jennifer Snyder and Bob Harris (Dancing Frog Designs) now live in a small town in Hawaii on the Island of Hawaii. Jennifer, a frog spirit, creates the designs that adorn our kites and Bob designs the kites. Frogs are among the most sensitive creatures on the planet. They are magical shape shifters, first living in water, then breathing air on land. Because of this mystical transformation, frogs have long been part of the mythology of indigenous peoples around the planet. We believe many childhood activities shape how we live as adults. Kite flying helps children learn about the earth and the wind, while teaching them skills such as hand to eye coordination, patience, and the joy of flying.

Love your kite, fly it high and may flying frogs adorn the skies.