Country Cottage Arts

Tuesday,  26 July 2011


I've been going here and there and everywhere and have had no time to take 5 and write properly........ and before I lapse again, I thought I would sit tight and update before I run off again ............


I attended a two day workshop organised by the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement and SABM ( Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia) which is located at Damansara, Kuala Lumpur. I had heard about the NGO before but was curious as to what they actually do.  So, my daughter and I attended the workshop and came away uplifted and feeling "  so so MALAYSIAN " .  There were a good mix of all races, Malays, Indians and  Chinese  and  we all spoke openly about our Malaysian identity and shared heritage  and how divided the people are presently.   We were recommended to see a documovie called " 10 Years Before Merdeka " by Fahmi Reza ( can be uploaded from Youtube) but we decided we would all watch it together at SABM House  soon and also have the Producer Fahmi Reza in attendance too ( to talk about the 'behind the scenes ' and give his take on his movie ).  

My class at 3C is going on fine and I am rather getting fond of the special students as they are with me.  Maria Soo always gives me the ' High 5' special  hand shake with a friendship tag with the thumbs and forefinger , Arshad will greet me  loudly and repeatedly the instant I walk into the class no matter where he is, Ashraf will smile shyly and say ' Hi teacher Lakshmi ',  Lai Meng would sit quietly and wait for me and Zanina will smile from ear to ear, waiting eagerly for my class to start............. and when some of the other students  bake cookies, I'll be offered cookies packed in platic bags from all of them.  ( lol )  even their parents  goodnaturedly complain that I'm being offered more than them !! ha ha ha



Maria Soo painting the paper plates......












Zanini on the extreme left and Rafika next to her being helped by her maid





The craft project involved using paper plates and acrylic paints.  The end results were   watermelon shaped ' handbags' for the girls  -(  had bows on them )and  watermelon shaped mail holders for the boys ( had  no idea what to tell the boys to do with it and had to think of something quick to tell them , thus  the idea of a mail holder !)










I think they're quite happy with it ... the shy smiling handsome guy ( 3rd from left ) is Ashraf










My painting students/ladies  at 3C Community class is going great too.  There are more ladies attending the class and I have the pleasure of the 3 grannies who always come together and support each other during class.  We have a good time together, laughing and joking at mistakes and hits and misses made during class time.  Each want to impress their grandchildren and boy!, they are so happy to do and learn something.....now that time is on their hands  ...Sorry, I was so busy teaching that I didn't have time to take pics....


Anyway, the pic below shows Amutha and Pushpam with their artwork ..
 
The picture below is one of my students at home, Shalina with the door stopper



Tea box with pansies by Kak Nor


Have to rush off for my English class at the SRJK Ebor Tamil School.......


Happy reading and painting



Lakshmi

Saturday 16   July 2011



My last activity with the the special children/students class was quite interesting and creative.   I took with me the ingredients from home and taught the students how to make playdough - the kind that anyone can do and use it as a modelling clay for creative craft making.

The recipe is quite simple and fun to do and for those who want to try, you need the following kitchen ingredients :

                               3   cups  plain flour

                               1   cup fine salt
                                1  cup    warm water  ( a little extra may be necessary )
                                 acrylic colours of your choice

 Sift flour into a  bowl  ( this is to avoid any hard lumps )
Dissolve the salt in the warm water and pour into the flour.
Knead the dough for about 10-15 mins until it is soft and pliable
Divide the dough into required portions and mix in your acrylic colours
( I used a disposable glove when mixing the colours )

 The longer you knead the coloured dough, the softer the texture.
Roll the dough and use cookie cutters to cut out the desired shapes - stars, crescent, rounds, etc...  Use  a skewer to make holes.  Dry them for 2 or 3 days  or you can bake these in the oven 100 C until it is completely dry ( about 3 or 4 hours )  and varnish them.

We did not have time to bake the playdough as we were busy having fun and playing around with it.

Friday,  1  July  2011

It was a clear and beautiful sunny day when my daughter and I donned our Malay costume   in honor of the wedding of Khairun Nisa Mohd Zabidi and Maximilian Tariq Conrad.  Khairun was the daughter of my friend, Puan Juairiah.   It was a beautiful garden wedding  and the organisers truly did a great job.

The bride was dressed in a beautiful ivory silk creation which was specially tailor made  after her  many trials with various off the rack   bridal gowns.  It was a last minute decision but I should say that  Khairun made the right choice.

The wedding was classy yet informal  and  breezy yet chic at the same time.  A wide array of food was served buffet style together with the  the perennial Malaysian favourite  ' Cendol ' , a Malaysian ice concoction . There were local fruits galore, arranged beautifully at the patio in quaint wooden wheelbarrows - mangosteens, passion fruits, rambutans, etc which really was a terrific idea.  Local cakes and bakes were also displayed elegantly for the guests.

Almost everyone was  clicking away  their cameras at the garden concept theme and I'm quite sure that  Khairun Nisa's wedding theme will be the new craze in town as you can see from the pictures below.




Before we left,  I took a photgraph of my daughter and I in the Malay traditional costume.   The costume  was a tad too big for me, I think.  ( Me thinks it's due to my daily yoga practice.!)

 A  beautiful  view of the garden  deco.  According to Puan Juairiah , on the eve of the wedding, they had a barbeque party with the same surrounding deco.  Gosh, so so fairy tale like









A closer view