I stumbled upon this video featuring Stefan Bucher one day and really loved his creativity, the way he did monsters especially.
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So we decided to give it a shot.
Bought some ink, straws, ink dropper, black inked pen of different tip sizes and had some fun with the kids and their friends.
Ink dries fast, so the children found that they had to drop the ink and blow hard and fast! (Tip: Cut different lengths of straws and find what works best for you.)
This below is Jonq's (Jo's friend) first ever attempt at art with ink. First you drop the ink, blow it in any
direction. Then carefully turn the paper all around and see what sparks
your imagination. Based on what you see, turn your ink blob into a monster of some
sort.
Ian's Art
Below is Ian's work, judging by the focus and details he put in, I think he really enjoyed this activity.
Have fun trying, if you haven't already. Only, make sure to cover your table first if you don't want to end up cleaning like mad like I had to after the activity. Cheers!
Since we've not been to Penang for at least 6 years, we decided upon a visit to coincide with Georgetown Fest and a dear friend's visit.
What an absolutely lovely festival! I highly recommend it when it comes around next year. We walked close to 9 hours over two days, and I think that is the best way to explore Georgetown, for as we walked, we came across many of the beautiful mural/art work done on random spaces on walls and back alleys.
We also chanced upon many galleries of unique art and photography work and several cultural performances that were happening along various streets. Both Nel and Jo also enjoyed the architecture of old buildings and temples there. They were more than once, tempted to play hide and seek in some of these very old buildings with spiral stairways, heavy wooden doors and hidden passage ways with long corridors. So mysterious and enchanting indeed. Below just some random photos from our visit.
Our walk started with exploration of the Chew Jetty. It was so interesting listening to my friend Bee's story of how her mum used to live in one of the wooden houses right by the sea, and how her dad used to take part in swimming competitions swimming from the jetty to Georgetown and back again.
We found this humorous mural on Lebuh Ah Quee by accident. It's not easy to spot, as it's hidden in a back alley.
There were lots of craft markets, and of course my girls, esp Jo wanted to shop shop shop. However, I seldom encourage random shopping, so I gave both girls a limited amount of pocket money and told them to spend wisely, for once finished they cannot ask for more. This encouraged them to really think before spending. In the end, Nel hardly spent, while Jo bought a pair of lovely owl earrings for me. I was surprised, touched. :)
Enjoying old buildings. This is the Yap Temple.
Khoo Kongsi building, as the performers prepared to perform in front of a large crowd.
Girls enjoyed the mask changing performance and the acrobatic lion dance. There was once, the acrobat took a tumble, but recovered in a really amazing way.
Below a short video clip of mask changer:
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Along the streets there were games for people to try. We tried stilt walking, top spinning and some other games from olden times.
A really cool group of female percussionist
An art gallery featuring art created out of household things. Nel really loved this, since she likes creating new things out of recycled materials.
Nel's been looking after stray cats in our back alley, and naturally she loved this huge painting on a wall.
Jo intrigued by this art collage made out of broken pieces of mirror.
We enjoyed this exhibition, Views from a Postcard by Luna. The girls especially loved the dress up section, where they had a chance to use a variety of props to create new characters.
Djitron Pah and Brothers from Indonesia was the highlight for me. They created amazingly beautiful and soothing music with their ethnic instruments. My camera wasn't able to capture the beautiful nuance of their music. You have to be there to understand how beautiful their music is.
Below a short video of their rendition of Hey Soul Sister:
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We had lunch at China House. This is one restaurant you have to visit. There's art on the walls, chalk boards for anyone to draw on, art paper and crayons for all who dine there and random board games to play with before meal is served. Their spread of dessert is oh....so scrumptious and good! This picture was taken in the courtyard. The restaurant itself is really crowded but worth it!
Girls did me proud by walking in the heat without any whining. I told them, this means they are now ready for real travel (exploration sort.)
Dad and Jo going on a bike ride on Sunday when they closed some streets for cyclists.
Jo sat down and drew some cats while Nel ran the whole street counting the number of kittens there were.
After visiting several galleries, Nel decided she liked these pieces by Chan Kok Hooi the best. (Featured at the Whiteaways Arcade, Beach Street.)
I on the other hand was captivated by life size portraits done by Ahmad Zakii Anwar.
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Finally an exhibition that really touched us. Photographs depicting the lives of those in Papua who've suffered because of HIV. This exhibition was in the gallery above China House. They say, a picture paints a thousand words, and these ones certainly did.
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Below some random videos.
1) Video of drum performance at Khoo Kongsi. Watch in the background, you'll see the lion dance acrobat doing his practice.
Kids have been attending several random workshops. I've just been lazy to blog about them.
1) Book Making workshop at Silverfish Books. It was an enjoyable workshop where they learnt the basics in building parts of a book. They also learned how to write a blurb.
2) A First Aid Workshop at St John's Ambulance, Klang. The workshop was rather long, starting at 9am, going on till 5pm. However, it was an enjoyable and informative workshop. Children had some hands on experience, eg. carrying an injured person, various methods of bandaging (which they enjoyed), CPR and of course, they loved the part where they got to try chest compressions on a dummy.
3) A Comic Writing workshop with a comic artist. Again it was a basic workshop where they learned about building a character, setting and structure (I think...I didn't sit in.)
I know they went for a few more, but can't seem to recall at the moment.
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Yesterday we added Wayang Kulit (Shadow Puppet) to the list of field trips. The workshop was held at Rimbun Dahan, a beautiful place with lovely gardens.
Nutmeg tree
Exploring the garden
The younger wanted to see if water lilies were waterproof.
The first part of the workshop was learning about the different characters that made up the Wayang Kulit, the history behind it, the different types of Wayang Kulit, the music and source. The performers leading the workshop were really generous with information, willing to share everything they knew. They also told us that anyone's welcomed to watch their rehearsals every Wednesday night at Rumah Pena.
The second part of the workshop was where the children went on to painting and making their own puppets.
Talking about the characters
Looking through the amazing variety of shadow puppets. All tediously crafted by hand. They say that creating a detailed one takes an average of one month per puppet! Process involves preparing cowhide, drawing the character on the skin in detail, then slowly chiseling bits off to create the intricate designs, followed by painting.
Wayang Kulit Show 8:30 pm
A moonlit sky greeted us as we returned to Rimbun Dahan for the night Wayang Kulit Show. Insects were at their loudest and the children were thrilled to be in such an environment again. Nel in fact, wished that she'd be allowed to camp there.
The people in charge had beautifully lit the path towards the outdoor show. Jo thought it was like we were in a magical fairy realm, and it certainly felt like it. So we lingered near the lights, allowing my children to soak in the ambience that sparked their imagination.
little lamps that lit the path
When we got to the theater ground, the stage was set and all the puppets lined up. They had placed large woven mats across the garden for audience to relax and enjoy the show.
We watched as the musicians warmed up, many of them, for some reason, smoked their pipes before the show began. Wonder what was in those pipes, didn't really like the smell.
A musician warming up on the Serunai. The Serunai which is heard throughout the performance. This was miked up, and was too loud for Nel who's always been sensitive to loud sounds.
Below is the Tok Dalang, the main person behind the show. He alone controls all the puppets, and tells the story. A lot of his story was told in a Kelantanese accent, making it a little hard for me to understand some parts.
Several times during the show, the children ran towards the side to see what went on behind the scene. I did too, and thought it was just fascinating watching the music ensemble and the way the Tok Dalang controlled his puppets.
Children on the right taking a peek at what happens behind the screen.
The Story we watched yesterday was taken from an "episode in the Kelantanese Ramayan
epic in which Dewi is kidnapped by Bota Maharaja Rawana. The Maharaja
Sri Rama asks for help from his son Harimau Kera Putih. A clash between
Harimau Kera Putih and Maharaja Rawana follows in which Harimau Kera
Putih becomes the victor." Quote taken from here.
Scene from when the bad character kidnapped the princess.
Overall, both Nel and Jo enjoyed the afternoon session where they got to make puppets, and most of all, they enjoyed exploring, looking through and playing with the original shadow puppets.
As for the night show, Jo loved it. She watched attentively, asked a ton of questions about the plot, sometimes dancing with the music, sometimes lip synching! haha... I kinda guessed she'd like it, after all, she's watched an entire opera in German (3 hours on VCD), multiple times!
Nel was more like me. I was tempted to head home after the initial excitement wore off, and when the show dragged on past one hour. But I sat for the sake of Jo.
Nel who sat several feet behind us (coz she couldn't take the loud sound of the amplified music) enjoyed the first bit. By the middle bit, I turned around to see her flat on her back looking at the stars. She got up a bit to take some shots of backstage and the moon, then lay down again. Three quarters into the show, I turned to see her flat on her tummy, almost knocked out. hahaha....
All in all, it was certainly an unforgettable experience. My children and I learnt so much from half day at the show than what we would have from history books. That's the beauty of hands on learning. And it was certainly a unique and worthwhile experience, something I'd highly recommend.
(Below is a short video clip from the scene where Harimau Kera Putih and Maharaja Rawana fight.)
Video 1.
video 2. (unsure what this part is about, but listen to the Dalang's voice as he goes "Ohhhhwoi!" Yeah, that part of the dialogue my kids remember. haha..
We've been traveling quite a bit this month. I guess, it's kinda like making up for all the time lost when I had issues with health. Anyway, we just got back and I told my husband that I'd be blogging about Camel's holiday. My husband raised his eyebrows and asked "Not blogging about OUR holiday, but about our dog's holiday?" I replied "Yes, Camel's turn this time." So here, a short post bout Camel's vacation.
We adopted Camel about 5 years ago. He was an abused dog, rescued by a volunteer at PAWS. When we first adopted him, he was already debarked by his previous owner, timid, scared of being carried, cowered whenever we walked towards him. It took us a while to gain his full trust, and today, he's such a confident, curious little pooch.
Well, when the children found out that Camel would be going on a holiday with us to Ruby's Resort, they went wild with excitement! To cut a long story short, Camel was spoilt with the constant attention he got at the resort from all the children.
As for Nel and Jo, they as usual had a great time with friends, spending most of the day by the beach swimming, playing with the waves (jumping over...hiding under ..swimming over and simply getting whacked by huge waves.)
Ruby's Resort where you get to holiday with your pets. Ruby herself has several stray dogs and cats which are really well taken care off.
Camel's very first time at the beach.
Nel taking Camel for a long run. They both loved it!
Camel's first experience with waves. At first he kept barking as every wave crashed onto shore. Then being the curious dog he is, he approached it with a pounce. The wave smacked him, and he got a fright. Afterwards, he'd only try swimming when the water was calm.
Best friends taking a break
The waves at the Cherating beach are huge and strong. That created a lot of exciting play for the children.
Trying a bit of boarding
At Ruby's pets are to be kept on the leash, except when in the middle compound. Here Camel managed to escape from the compound and went wondering on his own.
All the kids went running after him shouting "Camel come back!! Camel!!" (Camel is a fast runner!) Well they found him in someone's balcony. So one of them got him out.
Camel watching his first sunrise at the beach. I think he really loved it.
On the second night, after a long wonderful day by the beach the children knocked out very quickly. But we were awoken less than 10 minutes after. A turtle had chosen to land right by Ruby's gate. The few of us who were awake walked out to watch quietly from afar as the turtle dug her hole. As we watched we realized we weren't the only ones. Several strangers dressed in black stood nearby waiting for the turtle to lay her eggs. Sure enough as soon as she started laying, they came and took her eggs, claiming that they were conservationist. A few riders on bikes passed by, exchanged words, and rode away. I certainly hope her eggs are safe. We stayed about 2 hours watching the whole tedious process. So much tough work. Poor turtle. The children walked quietly by her side as she returned to sea saying their goodbyes. What a lovely experience added to the lovely weekend. Truly God is good.
We plan to go back real soon with Camel again, and a few friends with their doggies. Camel aside, we truly enjoyed the trip because we got to catch up with friends, and the children got to bond better with their buddies. Indeed, it really doesn't matter where one spends the holidays, as long as there is good company. :)
