Our Mice, and Special Art Project for a Special friend

Can't believe how fast time flies. It's now almost 2 months since I underwent surgery to remove a tumor found near my pituitary gland.  I've gone back to work, but am still cautious about my activities. Just last weekend, I thought it'd be safe to swim. What a huge mistake.

After the swim, I began developing a headache, and by night, the pain was so unbearable I thought I was surely going to end up in the ER again. It felt like there was a knife and electricity in my head. Since my husband was away, all I could do was just to pray and pray and pray. The horrendous pain lasted till about 3am, when suddenly I felt like ice cold water was being poured inside my head. Then somehow, I fell asleep. In the morning, the headache had reduced to a dull headache. Thank God that there is prayer and God to turn to in time of need.

Since I can't do much outdoors yet, we've been doing lots of reading, and little projects. Kids have made a huge variety of playground for their mice. Sadly, I didn't take pictures and playgrounds have been torn down. However, here's a few pictures of our mice. Not very good shots as it's been gloomy and rainy outside, and there was insufficient lighting. Nevertheless, here are some pictures.

First mouse to land on planet milk. :)

Our kids named this male Pipsqueak. Here he's trying to conquer the world in 80 seconds.

This is a blur picture of Lucy, she looks like she's guilty doesn't she? Plotting an escape perhaps? ;)

Another blur shot of Lucy. She was attempting to play this traditional instrument, but fell in instead. haha...

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Finally, today with all classes canceled, we decided to work on a special project for a special person who's not been well. We're just praying and trusting that he will be well. Nothing is impossible. These pieces will be mailed tomorrow.

Jo's art work  -ink and colour pencil.

Nel's art work - Ink, colour pencil and water colour

Mine done in watercolour. It's been sooo long since I picked up the brush. This was a third attempt after two failures. Get well C! Prayers with you.

@poundthegarlic.blogspot.com 2012

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With sadness, Mr. Choo from Save our Seahorses passed away in June 2013. An excerpt taken from their webpage.

    "9 Jun 2013, Save Our Seahorses Malaysia bade farewell to its Founder and Team Leader, Choo Chee Kuang after a long but incredibly brave struggle with cancer. Chee Kuang will fondly be remembered for his pioneering work on seahorses and the conservation of their precious seagrass home in Sungai Pulai, Johor."

Rest in peace my dear friend.

Craving Solitude

I'm a busy mum. I work, I teach, I do most of the house chores, I cook, the list is endless. Sometimes I get burnt out...often, I crave solitude, time alone.

Just today, after a very hectic and rather chaotic class at StART...(a whole new bunch of kids from several different orphanage homes suddenly appeared in my class unannounced, and etc etc..I leave you to imagine how it was..), and with all the extra work piled up from the holidays, I needed my cave, time alone.  I got off work,  drove off in the madness of the evening traffic, my mind wondering, hands and feet moving in auto mode... expecting to get home late, pick up Nel and Jo and head off to mum's for dinner. (What a blessing to have a mum who cooks some days!).

But lo and behold, the traffic for some reason cleared up after a while, and I managed to get home just some precious 20 minutes before my girls got off from Chinese class. I needed that moment of quietness and I received it. I spent those moments pouring out my soul over my piano playing random notes, just listening to the echo of the sound, connecting with an Awesome God....and I felt release. (An excerpt below...)


And then, at night when my dear hubby tucked my girls into bed...I still had that something in my heart...and thus this piece of unplanned art. Unplanned art is a wonderful tool of release, of expression. I  took a piece of blank paper, chose colours that I "felt" (just as I chose sounds on the piano that I felt), and just started painting unplanned, random strokes on paper. Pouring out whatever into that paper.... and here's the art work. I guess, I shall just call it "Craving Solitude."

Martha 5/3/2012

Kids still down with virus

If you read my previous post , you'd know my kids are down with a really bad virus...day 6 now. Nel's just got back from the hospital. Praise God, she tested negative for Dengue. However, she's still feverish with bad chesty cough, reddish eyes, and there are rashes on her neck, arms and legs. Tomorrow we'll have to take her to the doctor again for further treatment/tests. I'm praying this is the last. She's usually nervous about doctors, and cried like crazy after the blood test.

Jo had her last meal at lunch and wouldn't eat anymore after that because of the metallic taste in her mouth. She had a little more energy today, but has also been in and out of bed several times through the day.

Anyway..I've been a praying mum today...worried most of the time, getting them sufficient liquids, taking temperature, praying praying praying. At the same time, to keep myself saint..I painted a little...nothing fantastic..just simple, childish stuff to keep my mind occupied. Yeah, I made simple watercolour cards today  which I will mail out soon.

There's another project which I've just started today, inspired by Mini Mocha which is to plan a "visit" by a Guinea Pig. I'm nowhere creative when it comes to hand made stuff. I'm rather lazy at that. But I guess, I just wanted to brighten my children's day. Seeing them suffer these few days have been unbearable, heart wrenching, and I've had few heart stopping moments. Thus this project to kinda brighten the days.





Basically I told my dear girls that that if they wrote an invitation letter to a little guest, there'd be a surprise in  the morning.

First I got my girls to write a letter inviting a lady guinea to stay over. Well..initially Nel wrote : Dear Hamster, you're the cutest animal in the world. So sad you die easily (which is why we cannot  keep you as pets), sincerely....

I told her, "No way is a hamster or guinea visiting you with such a welcoming letter!"  *grin* So they rewrote the letter:

~

Then when Nel went for her blood test, while Jo slept, I started on this project, me, the one who can't sew a button to save my life. I cut out a box for a home and also made a tiny bed, using cardboard  and wrapping paper. Then the difficult part....I actually, sewed a tiny pillow for the little "guest."

...and lastly I left this letter in the box, which they'll read tomorrow morn when they wake. And up to Christmas, they'll be receiving an item or 2 from Guinea Lulu...hope my creativity will last that long. :)

There...all I did today to keep my mind saint. Well it's 2:30am now, I'm not asleep..keeping watch over my kids. That's what mums do..because they love their children. I love them like crazy...and all I want is for them to be well...see my tears? Yup..just want them to be well. Enough is enough, virus be gone!

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p.s Despite being sick, my lil one went on her usual hunting.
Jo's catch of the day ...a rather large house lizard

Turtle underwater

Have not painted turtles for a while, although I really wanted to.  Was just looking for an underwater turtle picture to paint. So happened a friend, Steven Teo, posted some pictures of turtles which he captured on his camera, while diving. Walla..I loved his pictures, and he was very kind in allowing me to download his shots, and thus the painting today.

Since this is the first time I've ever tried anything underwater, it was difficult for me. I'm still learning how to manipulate the watercolour to make the ocean look natural. In the end I think I overlapped too many colours and water was a little messy. Well, this is only the first attempt, and I will be trying it several times more and hopefully get better at the art of painting underwater scenes.

Here's the painting in Original Colour. My DD decided that her mermaid would love to ride this turtle. LOL :) I'm sure her idea  (and my painting) was inspired by Prof Chan Eng Heng's storybook Little Turtle Messenger, a book my children really love and have read over and over again. :)

I used Photoshop to Edit the pic to create a brighter version

What I learned from Dad (and mum)

When I was growing up, dad was a busy man. Busy with work, busy with sports, busy with church work. Believe it or not, he has medals in almost every game...badminton, squash, basketball, table tennis, carom, golf, chess  ...... a long list isn't it?

Yet, he made time for us, time to talk to us. He also made the most beautiful kites, took us to fields where he'd make his huge kite go up, dive towards the ground and lift off again. I remember chasing and chasing the kite and yet, never catching it.  :)

But what I really learnt from my dad, was his love for "outsiders", orphans and foreigners without home. As a child, our home was often filled with people every weekend. Mum would cook up her best Nyonya dishes, and the house would be filled with people from all sorts of countries, Korea, Japan, Phillippines, East Malaysia, Nigeria etc. They loved coming because of my parent's company. There was much laughter. Somehow, they would end up calling my parents Dad and Mum. Such was my parent's impact on these lives. They cared for people who were newcomers to this land.

Well, upon retirement, my dad took his passion a step further. He began going into interior villages where he saw the living conditions of the OA people. Because he has the wonderful gift of "connecting" very soon the village people recognized him and looked forward to his visits. His heart of compassion drives him to bring in basic necessities for them, and talk with them.

Apart from this, he and my mum dedicate one day a week in going to the refugee school. If you go and see for yourself, you'd know how much the children there love them. And lately now, he's also dedicated his weekends to going to P.Ketam where he provides free English lessons to the children there. I met some of his students recently and it's amazing to note how love has touched them. Their parents can testify that their children who were once bordering on becoming gangsters and school dropouts, have turned around. 

How did it happen? Instead of looking at them as gangsters, my dad saw them as potential leaders. And because he saw them that way, that's what they've turned around to become, true leaders in training. :) My mum (an ex teacher) is also now a regular teacher there, and it's wonderful that they share the same passion. :)

So...I titled this post "Things I learnt from my dad." I'm sure you can tell now what I've learned. While growing up, it wasn't A's or being first in class that mattered the most. What mattered most was a heart that cared for others, for the less fortunate, for the orphan, for the foreigner.  And because I too now am a parent, I do the same. I bring my children  to interior villages, I take them to refugee centers, orphanages and old folks home. For I'd like to pass on what I've learnt, to my children, in hope that they too, like their grandparents will put above all else, a love for God, and a love for those in need.

Some time ago, my dad's friend gave me a photo which he captured. It was a photo of my dad walking in the rain, in a remote village deep in the jungle. I decided to make a painting of it.

Watercolour- Figures

After a long dry spell and reluctance to paint...motivation/inspiration came yesterday. Decided to try figures...never really tried it much before, except once. So here's my second attempt at figures. I think I overdid on the shadows..and can't get rid of it..

1st layer of paint.

and here it is about 60% done. HOpe to complete it by the weekend...

Uninspired

This is something I painted today. Feeling uninspired, unmotivated is  a horrid feeling. I walk around feeling listless...itching for something extraordinary to do, longing for something to captivate me and inspire me so much that I wanna sing it, write it or paint it, but nothing comes to mind.

Sure I'm greatly inspired as far as my teaching work with children is concerned, and am GREATly inspired by the continuous work we're doing in the Remote Village. But I'm really "empty" in the inspiration/creative bank. Being a creative person...it's really an unpleasant feeling. I can't quite describe it...it's like waiting for that rainbow or something "wowzers" to hit me that makes me want to jump, makes me wanna work till midnight, makes me want to create something. But here I sit, painting stuff like the painting above and the ones below..which is even worse..all painted half heartedly..with no direction, planning or goals in mind. 

Pathetic water lilies?

Perhaps the state of my mind?

And believe it or not....I even sat down and made up this meaningless song...that'll prove further to you, how unmotivated I have been.







I desperately want something to "stir" me..to bring up the creative side in me again..or I'll continue to feel agitated, "lifeless"..with nothing exciting to do, till the next trip somewhere into the jungle. Am I making sense anyway? coz you know, the uninspired me is affecting the stuff I write too. *sigh*                                                                                                                                                                   

Depression

painted 29/7/11

I'm not a psychologist/psychiatrist, neither am I an expert on this topic (depression), but I've been there, and I know what it feels like to loose hope, to want to disappear, not wanting to face another day. I'm thankful I've a family who cares, and a God whom I can cling on to in my most desperate and blackest moments.

Observe her smile,
You'll notice, hopelessness behind that facade
Listen carefully to her laughter,
You'll detect,  sorrow and despair
Feel her hugs,
You'll realise, there's desperation in her grip saying "help me."

Look around you...have you stopped recently to really find out how your family and close ones are doing? If you haven't, stop all activities, make a point to spend time with your closest and friend in need, look them in the eye, feel their heart with your heart and say silently "I'm here..I'm here."

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(As I approach late 30's..I've seen so many of my friends succumb to depression. How important it is in these days to have strong family support and a close relationship with our Creator, that we will not fall into the black pit of depression.)
                                                                                                                      

Today

So what did we do today? 9th July 2011 , a date Malaysians will remember forever. I woke up, prayed for my country. I prayed for peace, for protection over the people who'd be out there in the chaos. Originally we were supposed to head out for a 4x4 adventure and some jungle trekking in a cool forest. But all that was postponed due to the major clampdown on our city by police forces. Major roadblocks everywhere caused massive jams since last night, and there was no way we were heading out. In the end we decided home was the best place to be during this time.

Well we decided to start the day by praying as a family, and then by preparing breakfast together. My older girl cooked baked beans for all of us,  while little Jo helped me cook the apples in preparation for an apple crumble pie. 

 

Then Nel made us all the drinks, coffee for her dad.



Jo and Nel helped me prepare a pie crust and after it was baked, we put on a layer of delicous blueberry jam and added the apples that Jo cooked.

 


Apple Crumble Pie ready. I made the base crust a little too thick. Reminder to thin it next time. However, my dear Nel and hubby still insist it was delicous. haha...:)

 Sausages and eggs, courtesy of dear hubby. Beans by Nel

Finally...after breakfast while the air was still cool,  I headed to my tiny garden where I worked on a quick watercolour..a turtle on surfboard.

The afternoon from 1pm onwards was spent glued to the internet for updates.

All updates about the happenings in KL today can be found on Malaysia Kini and http://bersih.org/ . Keep praying for Malaysia.



Latest watercolour sketch work~ Turtle Blues...

Worked on this latest painting on a Sunday afternoon, a continuation to my sudden craze for turtles. The first two paintings can be found here.

 This was done in a rather short time, I think I'm getting better at controlling my colours. In the mean time, I'm also working on an oil painting of a turtle when I have time, the very first oil I've ever attempted. The canvas has been sitting on my porch for several weeks now, and the turtle is just half done. To add to that, I've also been working on a Batik Painting of a turtle as well. That's half done, and I hope to complete it by tomorrow. I must say Batik is a lot of work, let's hope the end result is worth it.

 My recent craze for turtles can be found in this post.

So..here's the latest  to the collection...

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Dancing free.. (watercolour)

Busy week and weekend around here as usual. As I sat down after a long day yesterday, a sense of hopelessness enveloped me again. I don't always feel this way, but I have felt it, off and on, after my second pregnancy.

After I had Jo, I had pretty bad post pregnancy depression that had me crying for days and months. Eventually with the passing of time, my mood improved and I began to feel more like myself. 

Yet somehow, since then, that depressive feeling occasionally finds itself back into my heart and mind  and hits me bad.

It hit me yesterday.

 As I sat there with this desperate, lost feeling, strangely I felt an urge to paint. But instead of a bleak, somber picture, I saw a happy picture in my mind..a picture of me and my girls dancing...perhaps dancing before the Lord. I guess, though my mind was depressed, my soul told me that my hope and joy can be found in the Lord.

The first picture I painted in the middle of the night as my family slept..

A more colourful version..
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These paintings are not perfect...just an expression of myself.
Out of curiosity..which version do you prefer?

Watercolour - Turtles

I've not been painting for a while.

Being a full time mum, who works part time, means I'm always busy with something, either doing house chores, cooking, grocery, laundry or working. But recently a good friend dropped by my house, looked at the pathetic old  collection of art on my porch and asked "You've not been painting?"

I shook my head and said "No...no time." I started painting late 2009 and took classes for a while, then I quit, "No time" and since then, I've hardly painted except for bits here and there. Well, my brushes were rotting and collecting dust recently when this dear friend's question really nudged me,  and inspired me to pick up em brushes again. So some work from this week, done bit by bit during some spare time in between my hectic schedule.

Inspired by our recent field trip,  Watching Turtles in the wild on a beach under moonlit skies

THis is a watercolour sketch, done under 20 mins.

I tried sketchin my doggie my hero  .Thought of starting a wildlife drawing collection, but since I can't find a lion or tiger here, I thought, heck, my dog will do. He's hyperactive though (the vet and groomer say so too!) It was tough drawing him, coz he wouldn't sit longer than 3 seconds.

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I guess that's it for the week. I might not be around much this week and next. Giving blogging a short break.

The Story of WHY I could not finish painting the apples

  


Uncompleted painting of apples


I've given up trying to complete the above painting. It was a special morning when the sunlight shone on the inner apple. I quickly sketched and began painting. As I was about to continue, the clouds came in and the lighting totally changed.

I waited for similar lighting the next day, which also happened to  be a day where the part time cleaner comes in. I told her to leave my apples alone, but alas she did not take heed.  ;(

So when the sun shone its brightest, I rushed to my kitchen only to find my apples gone. The part time cleaner had cleared it. I, glared at her silently, rearranged my apples on the tray and placed them back on my washing machine where it originally sat, patiently allowing me to paint it.

But alas, the machine was vibrating so hard,  trying to cope with the overload of clothes in it. So I watched helplessly as my apples bounced and tumbled all over the tray. I gave up.

I waited the next morning, a weekend, what bliss. As I got ready to paint, I said good morning to my hubby and found him cutting the very apples I was about to paint. End of story. end of painting.
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Progress at self-learning painting. I wish I was back learning at a proper class with proper guidance. I called the art teacher again, but he only teaches fri morn and no other time. I can't make that time slot, so till I can, I'm on my own still.
Here's my attempt at painting  Apples again..without that special lighting.
 


Apples by my window

 

Garlic Painting

"passion cannot be forced, but it can be caught." That's what I once heard someone said. I've been passionate about learning watercolour. When I get time, I paint bits here and there..and eventually a piece of art work is formed.

My children sometimes observe me practicing and began to "feel" the strokes and colours..and soon  asked if they too could practice painting. They've caught my passion.

So i gave my little JD (5 yrs old) her first art lesson, using watercolour. Here's her very first watercolour work.

an art work by Jd. (5 yrs)

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AND here's some art work by me done during the last week of February 2011

all about GARLIC