Rain by Jonas De Ro

Digital art by Jonas De Ro 

In this sweltering heat, I am yearning for rain....

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Art Running Routes- Gardens By The Bay

From Inside The Flower Dome, 24/6/2012

Very few things here make me love my country the way our Sunday morning runs regularly do.

It might be while I was witnessing a miracle of nature over the quiet waters of our most famous river;

Original Photo by Cher Kuan- 24/6/2012

and then behold, a 100 year old romance coursed through.

25m tall super tree grove with a sky walkway- photo courtesy of MSNBC

It could be that moment of marvel at the super scale of a nation's vision, made possible by the effort of thousands, realising what might had seemed an impossible dream.

Summer display of Mediterranean flowers- Flower Dome,24/6/2012

Or on a very special morning like this one, the surprising greeting of a colourful burst of vibrance, 

details-flower dome, 24/6/2012

with promises smelling of hope and happiness,

African Garden-Flower Dome,24/6/2012

adventure and awe.

These are often how I feel while running with friends who have become like family in the many beautiful places in Singapore. This swelling of pride and sense of immense well being; a sensation I have come to recognise as love for my country, my home.

Art, Artisan, Artistry- Huang Xin & The Human Hair

If you have not heard of Huang Xin, he is the artisan who built the miniature Tiananmen Square entirely out of his customers' hair.

Huang Xin is a hairdresser from China and in his spare time after work, he scooped up his customers' hair, dye it and then use it to make sculptures, toys and monuments.

It is reported that he only uses women hair because it is softer. He usually have to wait for months before he can collect enough hair to build something. He washes, dyes and then glues the hair into paper before he uses it to craft.

Huang's Tiananmen measures 2 ft 10 inches long, 1 ft wide and 2 ft high. It is made with 11 kg worth of hair and US$71 worth of dye.

Huang will make your portrait out of your own hair if you fancy. He thinks that portraits made with hair will last longer. What do you think?

And speaking of artisan, Treewizard Chris and I went shopping for my Dremel on Sunday. It was a significant moment, that "ka-ching" of the cash register when I made the purchase. For it marked the next milestone for me in miniature making. I am finally going to drill, saw and dremel..(wow!)..just like the other artisans.

By the way, I soldered for the 1st time on Sunday too, albeit with a little help from my dad but just a little. My lights in the tent are working again although my switch is not. I am still mighty pleased. It's just a matter of time...

Gifts, Swaps & Thrills - Sylvia

I made my 1st miniatures for someone else. I know it's corny but it took some courage. Anyway, after I received the gifts from Sylvia, I thought it's time I make something for the people who have spent their precious time making things for my palace. And I guess, Sylvia was the "lucky" first although Mercedes, if you are reading this, you know I wanted to make you something sometime back but for for the lack of a crucial part. Didn't help that you kept receiving beautiful minis from Sylvia!!

I was inspired to make a wind chime for Sylvia after I saw her beach house. My own home has like a hundred of them . I hang 2 on my poster bed! Which means I think every beach house should have a wind chime. In line with the sea theme, I used tiny dolphins and 2 Indian cushion bells in the blue of her beach home. I made it "shabby" and tried to make it rusty or at least with paint that is wearing off. I wanted it to look home made and I am sure I succeeded.

Above is the 2nd version and below is the 1st:

Version 1 doesn't look so bad today but I didn't think it look like a wind chime that day. It also was too long. So I took it apart and made it in progressive lengths. Also added another bell hoping that it would chime louder. Kept testing it by shaking it at my ear. Does it chime well, Sylvia?

The barrel of flowers were much easier to make. I used dried moss from my home. So Sylvia, you have the Singapore soil in your beach house !


I dried tiny flowers picked from the road side and sprayed them "French Blue" again to match the house. Painted the barrel off white. The red flowers are from my pot pourri.

I made all these while staring a lot at Sylvia's house on my computer and visualising where she can put these. I picked the exact spots where she could place them and she did! (see her pic above which you can click through to her post about my parcel).

Sylvia thanked me in her post. She said they made her happy. The funny thing is when I saw her put my work at her porch, I really wanted to thank her! It's a deep deep satisfying feeling. Very pleasurable.

It was also a tremendous experience, making something for someone far far away, just by looking at their pictures.

Three days ago, you had that mini in your hand and today , they are in the Netherlands , in a far away home. Its not the same when you buy than when you make even though I take a lot of care in choosing my gifts.

So, I have quite a few tiny creations in the pipeline for houses far away that I have come to love and for the people who has come to mean so much. You know who you are. And don't worry, I won't be upset if they are not suitable. Just return them to me and I will make you another.

Musings-Tribute to My Mother

This post is a short tribute to my mother. It does not in any remote way say ALL my "thank you"s and "love you"s but I am glad I am finally able to pen and share with you a tiny dose of my mum's selflessness.

I have often whinged and whined about how no one else shares my mini passion. Having said that, my mum did something so wonderful for me I am now taking all of that back.

Mum is the kind of woman who is really good with her hands. I have no doubt that she can be a great miniaturist if she ever had the chance. But life was a lot harder then and not only was she deprived of an education because she was an adopted child, she had to start work when she was barely in her teens, hawking cigarettes illegally.

Now that she can afford it, her eyes are no longer good enough for mini work. Even then, she had been knitting for me, little blankets/ rugs / throws and each time she showed me unfinished samples, I kept saying: "smaller, mum, smaller" and she would go "Ok, I will try, no problem I can do that". See the little white cover (4" by 4" without fringes") and the round rug with colourful flowers (5" in daimeter)? They were made by my beautiful mum.

After I picked up miniatures, I just wanted to do as many of the craft work myself as I possibly could. Mum is the one who points me ever so often in the way I should go with them . I wished I had started this earlier then maybe by now I would have learnt all the needlework from my mum. She can quilt, crotchet, knit, sew, embroider. I remembered how she had crotchet or knitted an animal from balls of wool.

I was young then and thought many of the stuff she made tacky. Now, I wished she had kept all her handiwork so I could show them off here.

These days whenever she goes "you should not have stitched so hard, you pulled the string too much, that's why your rug is now crooked" or "just be patient, and do it a few more times..." or "hmm, that's not bad" (all in my dialect of course ), I feel really close to her. As I was never interested in cooking, sewing and all the other girl stuff, I believed these are our 1st real mother-daughter bonding moments.

And during these moments, I feel like a teenager again. Its a nice feeling, this Curiosity (which I thought I had lost), or the Awe of my mother's talent, better yet, the sense of Accomplishment after I have completed a simple craft. But most importantly, this feeling that my mum loves me and is teaching me something that she is good at...now that is a feeling few can top.

You know, making these little rugs was hard for mum because her finger was injured from a bacteria attack that never went away. But does that stop her? No. Even after I told her not to make any more, she just kept asking me to buy her more threads.

So on some weekends, after Mum, Dad and I had our breakfast, she would ask if I want her for company, either to hang out at hobby shops or Daiso or Little India. Most of the time, it was for me to shop for My Maharajah's Palace but sometimes, we hang out at Spotlight to look for threads for both of us.

Now, the next time, you hear me whinged and whined again, give me a kick in the butt and tell me to shut up because you know it is not true no one shares my passion.

Love you so very much, Mum! I know I have wished you already but here's another " HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!"

About the picture at the top of this post, it was done by my ever talented bro, Win. He made this poster for my mum on her 68th birthday this February. The photo is of my mum when she was pregnant with her third child, Shir, also my 2nd younger sister. My mother who is as vain as all beautiful women should be, had an 18 inch waist before that and I think, 21 when she had my sis! Mum was over the moon that Win made her so beautiful again. In case you are wondering, it was a poster selling fabric set in the early 50s or 60s. Isn't that just so apt for this post? If I didn't tell you that is my mum, I am sure you will be wondering who's this Oriental beauty is, no?

Gifts, Swaps & Thrills - Mercedes & Taenia

In the one week before I left for Taiwan, I sent out a few parcels and 2 more have reached my new friends from far and wide. When I was in Taiwan, I also sent out a few postcards and Taenia also posted hers on her site. This is an extract of her post on Taenias Grimmauld Place:

Hallo San!

Thank you sooo much for this beautiful creature!
I'm sure that I will find the perfect place for it in my Grimmaul Place house.
And thanks for the postcard form Taiwan.
I was very surprised to receive a postcard form Taiwan and I am very happy to get one from a place so far away from my home.

----

Love

The creature I gave Taenia is actually from a series of 12 animals of the Chinese Horoscope. This one is a goat. The 8th creature in the line-up. I bought it specially for Taenia because I was moved by her really sweet gesture in offering a miniature painting of an elephant for my palace and I thought this one will fit nicely as a mythical creature in her Grimmauld Place. I actually pick another one for her and changed my mind the last minute for the goat.

I found out subsequently that Taenia was indeed born in the year of the Goat. NOW, how wonderfully weird is that?

Shortly after I came home, Mercedes also got her parcel and this is an extract of her post entitled Tour Eiffel de Singapour!

A couple of days ago Liberty and I received some more lovely mail! This time from Sans in Singapore. In the package was the tiniest Eiffel tower! SO tiny, just 21mm (7/8 inch) tall! I had told Sans I was looking for one here but had only ever found one as part of a necklace and it was ridiculously expensive. Everyone who sees this Eiffel tower is just blown away by how small it is. She also included two sweet little candles (you can see one up there in the new blog header by the blue jug.)

A while ago Sans sent me some flowers. I used the yellow paeony looking ones in the basket arrangement on the table here. In the latest package there were some tiny flowers that I have 'planted' in my little garden.

Some of the large flowers had holes in them so they could be used as beads, Liberty has had great fun making jewellery!

There were hairclips for Liberty which she loved so much she's gone to sleep in them and a little porcelain doll - which Liberty wasn't too sure about at first but today it had joined her family of dolls and was having a great time! LOL! I'm sorry I don't have pics of everything, today turned into a crazy day.Mercedes

In the past couple of months, Mercedes and I have become regular e-pals. We write sometime once a week, sometime twice a day. Often it would be a full page of what's going on with our mini life , and then there is the quick one liner where she wrote "Go To Bed " after she saw me make a late post.

I have said it often enough that my love for miniature is a passion unshared as dollhouses are not that common here. "Hobby" is a word hardly uttered and "time"? The usual answer is "No time". And so, when my mini projects are vexing me or my usual sanctuary is giving me scarce comfort like now when the carpet I am working on looks nothing like the others', I take refuge in Mercedes' email because they invariably bring a smile to my face.

Musings-Thoughtful Gestures

Since the start of this hobby, I have been gifted with so many kind gestures, I am still reeling.

It started with my siblings' gifts (planning and rendering my palace) and of course, meeting so many wonderful fellow hobbyist and great craftsmen albeit only through the blogosphere. In my country where few share what many regard as frivolous and impractical, this is my "club" and a place of belonging.

And this week has been another one of those amazing one of receiving these humbling but treasured gestures.

A STRANGER'S KIND GESTURE

I was at a drinks stall at Bras Basah Complex on Sunday when I saw these mini Tiger beer bottles hanging at the cash machine. I must have got really excited because the people at the stall just told me to "Take it if you like" when all I wanted was to ask where I could get it . I was even prepared to buy the beer if I have to even though I rather dislike beer unless it is with 7up. So cheers, Strangers, have a Tiger on me!

TIME AND THOUGHTS FROM A NEW FOUND FRIEND
I made a swap with Mercedes from Liberty Biberty and while I wrapped my parcel with an envelope, she did hers with so much care, I was put to instant shame.The beautiful cover of the outer box is a gift wrap which she had cut and pasted on the box.

The treasures inside, most of which she made will be saved for posts in My Maharajah's Palace. I will however reveal that in the box which says "Palace Perfumerie" are gorgeous mini bottles of perfumes that Mercedes made and she had printed my sister's rendering of my palace, added the words and put it on a box. So, Mercedes, merci de toutes vos bontés


SWEET NOTHINGS AND MY OLD OLD FRIEND
Yen, who stays in Shanghai, often remarked at how he simply could not understand my fascination with dollhouses. But when he chanced upon a mini shop in Shanghai, he took some pictures with his mobile phone because he thought I would like them and he was right. When he was here early last week, he showed me these pictures but I could not download them because he did not have his connectors with him.

He left and in Shanghai, emailed me to say he had to buy the cables to send me the pictures. "If not buy you the real thing, back in mid April".

On Monday night, I received these pictures in my email.

Whatever he did in order to email me these pictures, Yen had done it amidst his extremely busy schedule. Yen, Xie Xie Ni.

Finally, let me share this poetry with you

A simple hand towards the way,
A kind bow before you pray
That which leans towards the moral way
Such acts of simple kindness make one's day.

Holding open the door
For a bystander to walk through
Holding a child's hand
As they see the world while they come to
With their young and tender eyes wide open
They look upon you
With gentle care and love so near
A child to his birth givers care

To hold something for another
While they need an open grip
To care about the loss of one's mother
And to feel the heat of one's coffee before the sip

Many things beyond these here,
The common sense and polite way
Though seemly lacking, they're somewhat clear
In the light of our modern day.
---------- Tetsanosuke