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This interview is my attempt to understand, Praiva Raiva, a Thai sculptor who humbly said that he was not so popular. What I see in him is
his determination in work and contentment with his life at present. For a while, I observed his writing and work explanations on social media websites and felt that his thinking
and decision-making are different from the way he hung out and traveled with a group of big bikers to many places in Thailand. This seems to be continuous leisure activity after
his routine work. Years ago I tried to make an appointment with him for an interview when he traveled to Chiang Mai, but that interview was postponed due to unsuitable time and
chance. This time I was more fortunate. This year, 2016, is supposed to be the golden year of his work.
JY: Please tell me about your work as a sculptor.
PR: Initially, I never wanted to be a sculptor. When I was young, I wanted to learn drawing so I went to study at Chang Sin
College but I quit college before I finished. When I was 19 years old I moved out of my house and went to live on a mountain in
the Umphang District, Tak Province, many times for several years. Back then I was curious what the hill tribe people
dreamed about when there was no electricity. They told me that they dreamed about wild animals, trees and the natural surroundings around them. In the past I wanted to be
independent in my work but I started my first career with an advertising and product design company. Since then I never
asked for money from my family because I can support myself financially but many people thought I was still supported by my
family and had high personal spending because they saw me hang out with my friends who own expensive big bikes. It might be a part of my life that  I prefer and am totally satisfied with.
Everything cannot be obtained easily in my view. It was not so realistic to purchase a Haley Davidson by yourself when you were just 20 years old. It took me
over 20 years to save up the money and when I was around 40-years old I finally bought it.
I also want to say that my work as a sculptor began at the middle stage of my life. This is an important point of view I
want to tell the youth who had seen me and my team. Nothing is simple to get especially the expensive collectibles. We have to
learn what we need and how to preserve it like treasures.
JY: I would like to know about your sculptures. You told me about your dream and you went to stay in the forest. What are
the features of the bronze sculptures you made.
PR: Talk about my first piece of animal sculpture which is the bull. On that day, I had work in the same foundry with
Nonthivathn Chandhaphalin, the national artist in visual art, and Thongchai Srisukprasert. The foundry helped me to finish
my work. I think the beginning of that day made me create more works of art in my dream to become real. I am proud of it so
much. My creations are very diverse and retain the concept of animals and forests.
Another piece of sculpture that I was so proud of: Dan Haetrakul, the representative of Playboy Thailand, helped me
contact Hugh Hefner, who bought a sculpture to keep at his mansion in Long Beach, California. Many pieces in this set were
at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Thailand. The subsequent pieces were bought by many art collectors in Thailand.
JY: What else?
PR: I have some tips for all of you. Everything that is made through the inspiration of artists will reflect thinking, patience
and reality. The new generation of artists have to plan their works carefully and then work continuously if they want to reach
their goals. Do not waste the time unnecessarily without goals. Likewise, life planning for creativity has the same concept. That is, good planning will save more working time.
I believe chance and timing are important aspects. My life is not so extravagant and naïve like many people believe. I have to live
by myself within a limited budget and I also have to take care of myself to realize my dream for designing my life. Life is a thing
that has to be planned carefully. Work can help me to be my true self. I am so lucky to do everything I wanted in this lifetime. The
art second project is still a secret, I want to keep a little while. I kept all images of my dream in my memory as inspiration. I am
really happy when some of my dreams came to reality. I found that I was very satisfied and also happy with all my works. Lastly
, I would like people to admire them as I had tried when the dream come true.
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