Get Crafty

Here are some new stuff that I have been making.

By Streams of Water - 3D trees


Scarf - What you can do with a hole-puncher


Profile - New pen and ink work


Teabag Tags - To be given away with purchase at Etsy for our Mother's Day special

Oodles of Noodles

I like Japanese cold noodles, and I think it is a perfect fit for the hot weather here in Singapore. The first time I remember eating it was when my host family in Japan prepared it for lunch. Fishing out the noodles out of a bowl of ice water, swirling it around in the light soy sauce and then slurping down each cool strand. Oishi! Delish! Strange that we do not have a local version of cold noodles.

Today, I had a very nice serving of cold soba with beef. The dish itself was gigantic, I reckon at least 30 cm in diameter. The soba sits in a sukiyaki sesame sauce which is another something I love. The nutty frangrance goes so well with the noodles. What a treat. Had this at Waraku at Central.

Timeout

Pauseability is featured in the Timeout website under Arts Workshop.

http://www.timeout.com/sg/en/art/venues/workshop/pauseability

Look Closely

Nostalgic Sound

Via swissmiss

Organ Recital

Design Milk recently wrote about a series of anatomically inspired items that are as weird as they are wonderful.



These featured the brain, spine and uterus.

Inspiration is so close to us.

Greetings!

Yet another something for me to try - a print-on-demand greeting cards site. Do take a look at my card designs at Greeting Cards Universe.

Play with Words

With just words, these videos, based on dialogues from famous films and tv shows, demonstrate just how powerful fonts, or more techinically correct, typography can be. Here the words have themselves come to worth a thousand words.

This is an example using the film V for Vendetta.

IF: Pet Peeve

"A penny for your thoughts?" "Mmm, ahhh, oh, nothing." "Arrgghh!"
For this week's Illustration Friday's theme: pet peeve.

Knotty and Funky

On Friday, Betsy of Knotty Bicsie hosted her very first Funky Knits session at Pauseability.

It was a fun and funky time, not just knitting and crocheting but also sharing abut crafting in general. Everyone tried their hands at knitting, many for the first time, and we ended with a show and tell from all the talented folks who came. From jewellery, angel clay to mango curry, the variety was amazing.

What a nice and warm way to spend the rainy afternoon together. And now, for the next time we meet.

Foto Fun

A kind friend gave me a most pleasant surprise with a Flickr pro account. Now, everyone can see all the photos I upload and not just the latest 200. And there are other little functionalities to play with too. Whee ... feel like a kid in a candy store.

Thanks Ee! Certainly made my day.

Talking Rubbish

It is most intriguing to see boxes of rubbish being sold for $50 or $100 and to know that about 700 such boxes have been sold. Look at NYC Garbage where trash from New York City is packed into plastic boxes and sold. Unusual sculpture.


In a sense, many of us who are closet karang-guni's can appreciate how such garbage can hold sentimental value and conversation starters.

This is a form of recycling too, or upcycling as some would call it.


Been making handbound books using largely upcycled materials, and some are available on my etsy and at Dawanada. Do take a look.

Go Local

Over at Etsy, there is a group of Singapore crafters who have setup shop. Last year, they got together for mutual support. You might have seen some of them if you have ever been to the MAAD fair at the Red Dot museum every first weekend of the month.


Do visit the Singapore Etsy's blog for weekly highlights.

Traditional Tunes

Enka 演歌 are Japanese traditional and melodramtic popular songs. I remember first listening to them through the Red-White Song Festival that was broadcast annually in the early 80's, a period when the J-pop culture was at one of its peaks.

How interesting to come across Jero, an American boy who sings the enka, albeit with a hip-hop twist. As I understand it, he does sing it pretty well and is said to have started singing enka for his Japanese grandma.



The way the cultures of the world are mixing and converging is very interesting to watch. Not entirely a new phenomenon, but I am sure it is at a pace and style rather different from before. What implication does this have on our claim about protecting our "very own" cultural heritage? For one, I do so enjoy the richness of so much more that is available to me today. It does enrich creativity, doesn't it?

IF: Heavy

My go at an Illustration Friday theme.

Eat Up!

Despite of the rain these few days, I walked through some old familiar places recently. At lunchtime, it started to drizzle and I was at Whampoa. Surprisingly, there are 2 hawker centres side-by-side there and both recently upgraded. There was a sizeable lunchtime crowd despite the rain.

The fried meatball noodles I ate was delicious. Each meatball was flavourful and offered a good bite. Listening in on the friendly banter of an old lady customer with the stallkeeper was amusing too - how she teased and asked for a small packet of chilli, and how she repeatedly offered her packet of yong tau foo noodle.

For the past 2 days, I have also tried my hand at preparing my own lunch. Using only ingredients excavated from the fridge, I managed to whip up this simple but tasty meal.

From the tableware, you can tell that there is something about presentation that I enjoy.

Sound of Light: Moving Paintings

A lovely introduction to the person and work of Takagi Masakatsu, a multimedia artist.

Roll Out the Pencils

This pencil urchin sure caught my eye. Beautiful isn't it? There's something about the colours and possibly the sharpened pencil.

Jennifer Maestre makes some unusual sculptures out of pencils. Her pieces on Etsy are definite conversation starters too.


And Quentin Blake, whose illustration in Roald Dahl's books we are likely to be familiar with, has something similar in his studio too. Check out this interview.

IF: Garden

Garden City for Illustrated Friday.

Remember like an Elephant

It is always rather amazing when we get help in visualising amounts with equivalents like when we are told that the distance from here to the moon is equivalent to so many buses or whatever, and like it is done in this advert.



Of course, I like the illustrations too.

Writing in Print ... the sequel?

Paper-based computing. I think this is such a good follow-up to my earlier post about handwriting and computers. This demo sure makes it look fun and very versatile.

IF - Leap (and Bound)

Rabbits leap, and with technology, they sure can leap way ahead. Watch out for a bunny invasion of cuteness.

My humble addition to Illustration Friday.

Writing in Print

The computer and handwriting. Some of us are so used to writing on the computer that our handwriting has gone from bad to worse. Ironically, with computers, we have also become more aware of typography and many more are now familiar with fonts and playing around with them.



One of the victims of computerisation is the typewriter. The speed of change is noticeable when one realises that almost all teenagers today have neither seen nor touched a typewriter ever.


Just bought this typewriter and it will be at Pauseability.

Go Local

These Native Objects from AndLarry is not only very locally inspired but also very clever and beautiful.

These are 2 that I like: High and Dry (what a playful name) and Take It Away.

Deal or No Deal, No Deal Ordeal?

For those interested in handcrafted items, you would no doubt have heard of Etsy, the runaway success handcrafted online shop portal. It continues to gain momentum and has gone beyond its original niche market.

A few Singaporeans have set up stores on Etsy in recent times. Recently, I took the leap too.


It is fun to watch the number of views grow. But I guess, that does not always translate into sales.

Earlier, I tried out the European version called Dawanda. And today, I clinched my first sale there. This is exciting.

Do give me your support, Etsy and Dawanda.

Evol

This is so clever a use of camera work. Love in a Backward World.