Laya is considered a Beyul, a hidden land unseen from the main Tibetan trade route. The prosperous Layap grow barley, buckwheat, potatoes and radishes, while yak herding, trading and smuggling generate most of their wealth. Large, strong and often dangerously unpredictable, yak pull the plows; provide milk, meat, leather, hair and wool; and double as pack animals over high passes and through deep snow.
For most Layap, yak are wealth and they sell or slaughter only as needed, then hope the herd replenishes during spring calving. Like many prosperous Buddhist villagers, the Layap will not kill their animals, believing this will create an unlucky rebirth. However, they have no misgivings about hiring poor herdsmen from other villages to do this work.
The Bhutanese make a strong and clear distinction between domestic and wild animals. The negative karma of killing and eating wild creatures trumps that of those bred for service to man. Hosts frequently serve their honored guests meat from domestic animals that “fell from a cliff” or were “killed by a tiger” because the Bhutanese do not want to admit the slaughter of an animal – nor worry their guests that a life has been taken on their behalf.
PHOTO PRINTS
Prints are on Hahnemuhle heavyweight (315 gsm) 100% archival cotton “Photo Rag Baryta” paper, using archival inks and archival spray coating. They have a 200-year life expectancy before any deterioration of the print will be observed when stored, handled, and displayed under archival conditions.
CANVAS PRINTS
What is often called “Gallery Wrap Canvas” is a fine art inkjet (Giclee) print on canvas, with printed edges to wrap around a wooden stretcher frame, like a painting. With canvas prints, your print image is still the same size, but given a "wrap effect" around the edges to account for the thickness of the stretcher. Canvas can be rolled and shipped with no effect to the print. Your local framing shop should be able to mount the canvas to stretchers at a fraction of the cost of traditional framing, making for an overall more economical way to get fine art on your wall. The canvas is printed to wrap around a 1-inch stretcher (1.5 inches on larger sizes). Specifications will be provided with your order. Feel free to contact us if you need guidance with your canvas order.
John prints, titles, dates, and signs all of his photos.
CUSTOM ORDERS: For custom orders of prints shipped flat, framed, or as stretched canvas, contact sales@wehrheim-productions.com.