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Saturday, August 11, 2007
flower fairies!
buttercup fairyflower fairies are actually illustrations of Cicely Mary Barker, who was born in 1895 in Croydon, a town near London, England. the illustrations were made popular in a post-industralisation, war weary victorian era. her illustrations show realistic and immaculate children drawings with wings. in actual fact, she got children from her sister's kindergarten to pose as models for her fairy illustrations.
the author cicely suffered from epilepsy as a child and was educated at home. she spent much of her time on her own, reading and drawing. later on her father enrolled her in an art school, and her talent in art was recognised and eventually she got her illustrations published in greeting cards and books.
my favourite picture of a lost in thoughts Elm Fairythere are spring, summer, autumn and winter flower fairies! flower fairies looks like an extension of their flower, and helps the flower to grow well.
the books are available for sale online http://www.flowerfairies.com/ and in bookstores like pageone. it's their official website!
fairytales from the adult perspective
recently i am drawn to the mystical and magical world of children's stories. perhaps triggered by diane arbus's works. went to pageone and books actually to explore the range of children's books there.
fairytales to most of us adults, are but stories for the children, but then again, many artists and filmmakers draw inspiration from these seemingly childish literature. however, i have discovered recently that many nursery rhymes and children stories are pretty dark and mystical. eg. rhymes like humpty dumpty(had a great fall), jack and jill(broke his crown), these lovely characters have tragic endings, but we still sing them chirpily. hansel and gretel, rapunstiltkin, rapunzel, alice in wonderland, etc have scary characters, moments and symbolic animals in their stories, and i believe there are metaphors of and parallels to that era's society practices and cultures.
come to think of it, there should have some underlying messages in those seemingly happy children stories with happily ever-afters. believing that there are something worth to dig from these, whether the content or biography of the author, has opened a whole new world of profound messages for me.
i am especially attracted to the german brothers grimm's stories.
hansel and gretel
Alice in wonderland
FAIRIES
i bought from germany, a little dandelion fairy clay figurine. it was covered in dust, and on sale in the lovely erzebirge shop. i thought how coincidental, cos my email 'poponta' means dandelion in japanese. it has a magical meaning for me (from a japanese drama in my childhood). it is now on my study bookshelf. then yesterday i chanced upon this sticker book of flower fairies, and i have a feeling there may be a chance that dandelion fairy is from this series, and after much browsing, i saw its illustration! this is like fated. i have since put the sticker book beside the dandelion fairy clay figurine. it can reunite with the other fairies now :) maybe they have planned for this to happen..??
1930s antique print
POEMS
i also bought Edgar Allan Poe's complete tales and poems. got to know this poet from anthony johnson's The Lake. Edgar Allan Poe can be considered a scientist and a poet. he also wrote science fiction short stories. his works rhymed a lot, and relatively easy to digest, but the content is somewhat dark. i need to learn how to read deeper into english poems. i have studied and know a bit about deciphering chinese poems, but i guess english poems are different. His famous poems include "Annabel Lee", "Alone", "The Raven" etc.
fairytales to most of us adults, are but stories for the children, but then again, many artists and filmmakers draw inspiration from these seemingly childish literature. however, i have discovered recently that many nursery rhymes and children stories are pretty dark and mystical. eg. rhymes like humpty dumpty(had a great fall), jack and jill(broke his crown), these lovely characters have tragic endings, but we still sing them chirpily. hansel and gretel, rapunstiltkin, rapunzel, alice in wonderland, etc have scary characters, moments and symbolic animals in their stories, and i believe there are metaphors of and parallels to that era's society practices and cultures.
come to think of it, there should have some underlying messages in those seemingly happy children stories with happily ever-afters. believing that there are something worth to dig from these, whether the content or biography of the author, has opened a whole new world of profound messages for me.
i am especially attracted to the german brothers grimm's stories.
hansel and gretel
Alice in wonderland
FAIRIES
i bought from germany, a little dandelion fairy clay figurine. it was covered in dust, and on sale in the lovely erzebirge shop. i thought how coincidental, cos my email 'poponta' means dandelion in japanese. it has a magical meaning for me (from a japanese drama in my childhood). it is now on my study bookshelf. then yesterday i chanced upon this sticker book of flower fairies, and i have a feeling there may be a chance that dandelion fairy is from this series, and after much browsing, i saw its illustration! this is like fated. i have since put the sticker book beside the dandelion fairy clay figurine. it can reunite with the other fairies now :) maybe they have planned for this to happen..??
1930s antique printPOEMS
i also bought Edgar Allan Poe's complete tales and poems. got to know this poet from anthony johnson's The Lake. Edgar Allan Poe can be considered a scientist and a poet. he also wrote science fiction short stories. his works rhymed a lot, and relatively easy to digest, but the content is somewhat dark. i need to learn how to read deeper into english poems. i have studied and know a bit about deciphering chinese poems, but i guess english poems are different. His famous poems include "Annabel Lee", "Alone", "The Raven" etc.
L'escalier at taka fourum
this little shop L'escalier at taka 4th level (fourum) has many art workshops, majority short-term or one-time workshop, for eg:
- colour patch! me
- collage in a box
- art clay shop house magnet
- manga drawing
- parchment craft
- tole-painting
- felt-art
- creative card
especially popular now that DIY is all the rage now, and there is a dedicated group of women out there who crave such hobbies.
the shop is also an exhibition space for artists, and also sells artwork and lifestyle products.
http://www.lescalier.com.sg/
391 Orchard Road #04-20k Ngee Ann City S(238872) T : 6735 4228
- colour patch! me
- collage in a box
- art clay shop house magnet
- manga drawing
- parchment craft
- tole-painting
- felt-art
- creative card
especially popular now that DIY is all the rage now, and there is a dedicated group of women out there who crave such hobbies.
the shop is also an exhibition space for artists, and also sells artwork and lifestyle products.
http://www.lescalier.com.sg/
391 Orchard Road #04-20k Ngee Ann City S(238872) T : 6735 4228
maki squarepatch
yesterday went to books actually, got to know from kenny about this local artist called Xin, who specialises in mixed media, illustrations and handmade knick-knacks. i like her small canvas paintings of european children, like in children's storybooks.
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i really like her paintings. u can check out more of her paintings and illustrations here, which are also for sale:
Xin has an online shop http://www.makisquarepatch.com/,
and also a shop front called maki squarepatch at 111 Emerald Hill (behind orchard emerald) http://www.d-apres-nous.com/Home.htm
her toys are made of used fabrics, patchwork style. They can be really huge flat toys and pouches, and costs about $30-$90 depending on the effort put in and size of the item.
she also sell clothes, accessories, her other doodles, illustrations in shops like books actually, swirl boutique at stamford house, lescalier at taka fourum etc.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
diane arbus
my current MRT read is Diane Arbus biography by patricia bosworth.
diane(dee-ann) arbus was a 1950-70s female photographer based in NY, US. she was talented as a rich family's child, and her photography career started off with helping her husband allan arbus with fashion photography. she helped with creative input, props, makeup, and the team got increasingly famous with vogue and harper bazaar mags in the 1950s. however, she was constantly depressed. she loved the dark and restricted, the ugly and repulsive side of humanity. she was attracted to the unusual, the forbidden, the outcasts of society like tranvestites, midgets, dwarfs, gays, lesbians, unnamed faces living on the fringes of the city. she feared them, but the more she approached them, the more she was exhilarated from overcoming her fear.
from many quotes of her close friends and acquaintances, she had a mysterious and charming quality that made people want to tell her their innermost secrets. she had a gentle and childlike voice that lured subjects out of their shells.
in 1960s, she stopped being the assistant of allan arbus, and started solo. she thought that women as photographers were not properly recognised at that time, and she succumbed to this idea. her relationship with her husband deteriorated and they separated eventually. she was highly regarded by then famous photographers like richard avedon, lisette model, marvin israel. her disturbing portraits were rejected many times by fashion magazines. but those who adored her, claimed that she was a gem.
she committed suicide in 1971.
her famous photographs would be the 2 below:
child with hand grenade in central park, NY
twins
.jpg)
patricia bosworth's biography inspired the film 'Fur', starring Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey Junior.
reading about diane arbus gives me the courage to delve deeper into the unknown and dangers of photography.
diane(dee-ann) arbus was a 1950-70s female photographer based in NY, US. she was talented as a rich family's child, and her photography career started off with helping her husband allan arbus with fashion photography. she helped with creative input, props, makeup, and the team got increasingly famous with vogue and harper bazaar mags in the 1950s. however, she was constantly depressed. she loved the dark and restricted, the ugly and repulsive side of humanity. she was attracted to the unusual, the forbidden, the outcasts of society like tranvestites, midgets, dwarfs, gays, lesbians, unnamed faces living on the fringes of the city. she feared them, but the more she approached them, the more she was exhilarated from overcoming her fear.
from many quotes of her close friends and acquaintances, she had a mysterious and charming quality that made people want to tell her their innermost secrets. she had a gentle and childlike voice that lured subjects out of their shells.
in 1960s, she stopped being the assistant of allan arbus, and started solo. she thought that women as photographers were not properly recognised at that time, and she succumbed to this idea. her relationship with her husband deteriorated and they separated eventually. she was highly regarded by then famous photographers like richard avedon, lisette model, marvin israel. her disturbing portraits were rejected many times by fashion magazines. but those who adored her, claimed that she was a gem.
she committed suicide in 1971.
her famous photographs would be the 2 below:
child with hand grenade in central park, NY
twins
.jpg)
patricia bosworth's biography inspired the film 'Fur', starring Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey Junior.
reading about diane arbus gives me the courage to delve deeper into the unknown and dangers of photography.
my current bedroom read is COLORS magazine the Beijing issue #70
photos from http://www.colorsmagazine.com/
a book put together by 2 china photographers with outstanding muted portraits. it comes with short life stories/interviews with each photo. it puts beijing in a different light. commercial and polluted beijing comes (nolstalgically and artistically) alive.
month of photography
July is the month of photography (MOP). It is an annual event where the organisation brings in professional photographers for talks.
i attended the talk by Martin Parr, a UK photographer who is a member of the prestigious Magnum. His works spanning over 20 over years were exhibitied at the City Hall. I brought his book Retrospective for his autograph :) his most recent published project is the hilarious studio self-portraits, which is packaged like a huge tabloid magazine. He went to photo studios in many countries and had his own portraits taken, maintaining a smileless expression throughout.
http://www.martinparr.com/
am pleasantly surprised that MOP invited him here this year, it's such an honour. he is a funny guy in person too, and that clearly shows in his photos.
i also attended the talk by Lindy Poh at Alliance Francaise, on how to protect your photographs in this digital age. it is very informative, and i have jot down notes on the legal implications of commissioned works, sales of works. eg. taking public buildings and have them published is not allowed, however if it is not defamatory nor derogatory, it's a one-eye close issue.
met Ming, Eulee, Chris Yap and Deanna Ng at some of these talks, and at Circa2007, a local art outreach photo prog too. missed John Clang's THE WHITE BOOK exhibition at substation though, and the book is not for sale.
my life very much revolves around photography now.
i attended the talk by Martin Parr, a UK photographer who is a member of the prestigious Magnum. His works spanning over 20 over years were exhibitied at the City Hall. I brought his book Retrospective for his autograph :) his most recent published project is the hilarious studio self-portraits, which is packaged like a huge tabloid magazine. He went to photo studios in many countries and had his own portraits taken, maintaining a smileless expression throughout.
http://www.martinparr.com/
am pleasantly surprised that MOP invited him here this year, it's such an honour. he is a funny guy in person too, and that clearly shows in his photos.
i also attended the talk by Lindy Poh at Alliance Francaise, on how to protect your photographs in this digital age. it is very informative, and i have jot down notes on the legal implications of commissioned works, sales of works. eg. taking public buildings and have them published is not allowed, however if it is not defamatory nor derogatory, it's a one-eye close issue.
met Ming, Eulee, Chris Yap and Deanna Ng at some of these talks, and at Circa2007, a local art outreach photo prog too. missed John Clang's THE WHITE BOOK exhibition at substation though, and the book is not for sale.
my life very much revolves around photography now.
陳綺貞, 2007 a piece of summer concert CF
