Let's Go To The Zoo!

 Early this year (during the long long semester break), I took a trip to the Melaka zoo with Esmond! The zoo just recently underwent a change of management (it was privatised after having being a government body), but honestly a lot of work still needs to be done. It was a quiet weekday when we went, and coincidentally the Chief Minister was there as well, due to a rather serious case that happened the day before. 

The zoo is the second largest in Malaysia, after the National Zoo. I found it a bit disappointing, though, because there were far more deer species than any other animal on exhibit. We didn't even see the flamingoes or the tigers D8. We did see a few large iguanas roaming the grounds freely, though. Large enough lizards to make us run screaming when they came too close. Haha. 

Here are some snapshots I took of the other animals! Photostyler is great for jazzing up the otherwise afternoon-sun-harsh-shadows.

Happy Monday! :)

Urban Abyss

 Last Thursday I had the chance to view a solo exhibition held by an ex-lecturer of mine, Mr Chee Meng! He appears to be an enigmatic, lost-in-his-own-world kinda lecturer on-campus, but do a Google search on him and he's actually one of the many successful traditional artists in Malaysia, with plenty of incredible artwork and experience woven into a belt :D. Urban Abyss is his second solo exhibition, featuring a combination of techniques and materials to produce large, layered artworks.

Many of us ex (and current) students came by to support him. The place was crowded with big smiles and familiar faces. It was almost like a get-together party!

Bunch of us ex-foundation students with the master artist! The only photo we managed to get with him that night!

Mr Chee Meng's artwork reminds me of Chinese nest boxes, or Matryoshka dolls because of its many many layers. One full image is overlayed by another, and yet another, until the completed work looks like a simple, one-layered painting with a fancy background. But upon closer inspection there is an entirely new world underneath the top white. Watching the process videos, I saw things I didn't notice at all when I first looked at the paintings.

Sequential Forces

He used acrylics on MDF, along with CNC laser cutting to create even more dimension. Another thing I found impressive was the shadows he added to the flat visuals, giving the illusion of depth. At first glance one would not be able to tell what was laser-cut and what was simply painted on!

The Blue Melody

Some close ups of the cuts:

My favourite piece was The Candy Machines, because the colours were so bright and cheerful! 

The Candy Machines

Mr Chee Meng's Urban Abyss exhibition will be held till the 5th of May at Wei-Ling Contemporary Gallery at the Gardens Mall, KL. You can clicky clicky here for more information on the exhibition, the other artworks, and view the step-by-step process! 

Happy Sunday everyone! What will you create today? :D

Midnight Star

 Star light, star bright,

The first star I see tonight;

I wish I may, I wish I might,

Have the wish I wish tonight.

Lovely roundup of a constellation-themed works! It's inspiring me to make something navy-silver somehow!

via apartment therapy 

via margotbird

via svpply

via designsponge

via findmetreasure

Put A Ring On It!

I seem to have developed a fascination to rings overnight, hehe. I can never quite find the urge to deck myself in accessories though. Time has evolved me to not even wear a watch anymore (ironic as it sounds). Even if I wanted to wear rings and such, I can never find the 'perfect' one, as all the shops sell the same mostly-poorly-made trendy rings. I've compiled a selection of my favourite online finds, though! I hope I would be able to get at least one (or two, or all of them!) one day 8).

via pinterest

I love the concept of a Claddagh ring. A traditional Irish design, the Claddagh ring is a symbol of love, loyalty and friendship. The traditional design consists of a pair of hands (friendship) holding a heart (love) surmounted by a crown (loyalty). This particular ring has been broken up into three, making it an interesting stacking ring! I like how they all look great on their own, but when put together forms a perfect ring.

via etsy

 Fun, handmade, coral and turquoise! (Almost all) my favourite things put together in one ring :D.

via wired

This gorgeous ring was custom made as an engagement ring! It was modeled after the groom's favourite Leica 50mm lens. Unique and perfect for a shutterbug husband-to-be! 

via urban aviary

This ring was my favourite ever find. It's unusual for me to look at a ring and think: "homg I want that". But this one made my day! Oxidized sterling silver with London Blue topaz. It's so simple, clean, and I love the dark coloured band, compared to the usual bright flash of shiny silver or gold. 

I think I'm gradually falling into a lapse of minimalism. My Golden (Drowned in Colour, more like) Age of crazy, rainbow drawings seem to have given way to more limited colour palettes and simple thinking. I'm still trying to find my 'style', but have I already established one? I sometimes get the urge to want to try one style, and another the very next day. It's all very confusing, but maybe I'll be able to find a balance eventually. Even if I don't, it's not quite such a bad thing, is it?

May our inspiration bells ring upon us forevermore! Happy Sunday everybody :).

Painting With Pantones!

Had a lazy browse through the inturnetz and came across lots of lovely Pantone inspirations! I love the blocks of colour; they are always so vibrant and refreshing. Here are some of the more interesting finds!

via stocklogos

These Pantone Underpant and Underpantytones are just hilarious! I wish they made a really bright turquoise for the ladies, though!

via wordsandeggs

via pantonehotel

What can scream Pantone louder than a whole hotel designed to embody it? Pantone Hotel in Brussels, Belgium boasts of a facade drowned in the trademark colours of the Pantone colour chart. I love that orange hallway! 

via griottes

I previously raved over Emilie Guelpa's food art direction, and I am ever ready to do it again! In this project she created Pantone colour chips out of colour-coordinated fruits and edibles. Beautifully styled and photographed! More pictures of the series here at anthology.

via louellacourt

I am head over heels in love with this pastel turquoise messenger bag! The beachy sea colour is perfect breeze for the summer heat!

It's Friday now! Time to get creative over the weekend! Will you be using Pantone to colour up your Saturday and Sunday? :D.

Double Act

From the rocky beginnings of time... when lightning bickered with ground, the waves argued with solid stone. Tempers and glasses and boxes flew left, right and centre. It was a warzone!

But now the opposing forces have declared peace, the elements sighed and fell into the arms of the other. And today marks the second year of peace and fruitfulness! :D

 I was just rereading old conversations, and looking at old photos, and maaan have we changed XD. It's almost as if we went through a second growth spurt! Blossoming from awkward teenagers into lovely young man and woman. Certainly a tad abusive and vulgar, but lovely all the same :D. I mean, seriously, can't you tell how much we've aged over the course of just two years? We turned from this:

Into this!

Well, okay. You get my drift. XD.

Anyway, a happy happy two year anniversary to Esmond! \ ^O^ /. The days have been perceptibly brighter and optimistic after I met you! My blog may have remained luridly red if we never got together! Our forces united, we shall rock the very foundations of the Earth! We were born to do great things, and ever greater things together! 8DD

On a side note: Crash-learning a new program is certainly not the way to go, especially when there are many things to be done. Worse still is at the height of it all, I de-stress by acting out affected scenes from the now popular Kiyomi/ Gwiyoumi in a futile attempt to act cute. I shall at least appropriate scene 2 for the day's festivities.

Cauliflower the broccoli says hai!

And now, we SLEEP! 8D

(This is a scheduled post, it was completed at 4am. Thank you for your time!)

Stupendous Stewy Surprise!

I had a sudden longing for hot, savoury stew the other week, and I finally managed to satisfy my craving on Saturday! It was raining all day too; I couldn't help remembering a line from I Capture The Castle: 'stew is so comforting on a rainy day'. It certainly is, I've tried and I know ;).

I followed a recipe from the every lovely Pioneer Woman, her Sunday Night Stew is so simple and quick! I omitted the turnip and mash due to lack of funds for ingredients, but that cheesy mashed potatoes look and sound fantastic. I shall keep it aside for another night :D.

I would've enjoyed a tad bit more onions in my stew, and a bit less salt. I should probably use a low-sodium broth the next time. Anyway, that's one food craving settled for now. I've also managed to level up my cooking skills! This has been one of my read-and-dive-into attempts, and I am again reminded of the wondrous beginner's luck I have. Haha.

What about everyone else? What's bubbling in your cooking pot? Hope it's flavorful, nourishing comfort food for your heart and soul :).

Bringing Classic Back : It's All In The Stars!

Hello and happy April! I promised to return after the Puma Social Evolution of Suede Party, and here I am! :D. It was a pretty happening event, by the looks of it. But I am not in any way a socialite so I hadn't a single clue of what to do. I think from most of my posts you have probably reached the conclusion that I am nothing but an introverted worm that likes nothing better than staying in the safety of homes, venturing out only when the urge comes. I can't imagine any better phrase to explain myself in the party than 'rusa masuk kampung'. Which, when translated for the benefit of the non-Malaysian readers, literally means 'a deer walking into a village'. For the first time, I'd like to add. Haha. 

Anyway, I went with lovely friends, so that made the experience ever so much sweeter. I'm glad that despite my deer-ness, I am still blessed with lovely friends to flock about with when I do :D. And to be honest, I think I overcame my initial shyness when I saw how my starry-glowwy-shoes were displayed:

Please don't judge me and my photography skills. I'm not making any excuses for myself.

Here is a closer shot:

If you went 'holy-shit-they-spelled-your-name-wrong' first, then, well. That's not the point. Haha. To be absolutely honest, I did not notice the spelling error until much later, which goes to show you how shocked of a grammar nazi they made of me. MY SHOES WERE IN A BOX! A BLACK BOX WITH BLACKLIGHT! To show off all its absolutely amazing glowy glory!!! It was just as well that the thumping bass was so loud over the speakers, as it drowned out my screams. Haha. I didn't win, but I felt so proud and justified that my design at least got to bask in its full potential, instead of mouldering away in a corner. 

I hope I will soon have more photos to share with everyone, but for now you will have to make do with these. I should've brought Deedee, but she'd have been pretty useless, what with the place being so dark. I'd have to bump the ISO up to noisily ridiculous levels. All in all, I had fun, the free flow of alcohol for VIPs went to my head, and I was glad I didn't bolt at the beginning when I got the collywobbles. Haha. Thank you for reading and have a starry, starry night! :D