Still in Progress

Second layer of the dress which I finished sewing today. Still have to dye and sew the Obi.

Grrrr sewing sucks

Took a fabric (dye resist embellishment) class this semester. Past the add drop period the teacher said this class, besides dyeing, is a sewing intensive course. bleh...


Anyway, this class is taking up a lot of my time since I can't use sewing machine. (never learnt how) and Nui Shibori (stitch dye) technique of dyeing takes up so much time to stitch. But I did dye some very beautiful silk, and for the first project, we were supposed to make a piece of garment with the dyed fabric. and I chose to sew a dress for Fuyuko.


Dyed silk using Arashi Shibori (pole wrapping) technique
Clothing design by me...and all hand sewn.
This is the under layer of the full costume.



I will be using this second fabric for the second layer of the costume.
The length of the sleeves will reach her feet. Because it is so transparent, the layering effect will look very lovely..or so I hope.
This piece of fabric took me days to stitch and a full day to dye.
I used Nui Shibori for the white spirals. Dye and wash.
Then I made a thickener and added the dye to make a dye paste to paint the flowers. Dry, iron (heat set) and wash.
Lastly, I dip dye the ends with red.

Costume still in progress...

Dolls

We are given the free will to choose from the day we are born, or rather, led to believe so because our freedom is rather limited and rarely free. We do whatever we choose to do but in fact, that choice has been made after careful evaluation and scrutiny due to consequences that might come. There is an invisible hand that nudges us towards the direction of the social norm. So, our “free” choices are governed by rules and regulations, and influenced by responsibilities and obligations. We are not unlike a doll, moved and posed by the society.

My art now is very much influenced by classical paintings (pure art) and also Japanese anime and manga which I grew up on. Fine art (pure art) has become so expensive and made exclusively for the rich due to tax, as there is very little incentive to support them. Due to this, a large amount of money and a larger amount of creative minds and artists venture into commercial art, and thus, all new ideas and styles are churned out in that realm. Commercial art's expression, styles and concepts are far fiercer and expressed better. I guess that is why my passion for art, though deeply rooted in the classical style, is still very much influenced by Japanese manga, anime and the Otaku culture.

Asian Ball Jointed Dolls, one of the new Otaku culture is a form of art which I am very much interested in. The collectors see the dolls as a manifestation of themselves. They can dress the dolls in ways they will never dress and become someone they can never be in real life.
I also see the dolls as a form of domination, To move the dolls in ways they cannot object to. Some sort of perversion maybe.

Hang. Woodblock print. The ultimate symbol of possession. Also, this piece is about the stereotyping of women, a symbol of fertility.
Lift. Ink on paper. Perversion. Dominance. Sexuality.

In parts and pieces.


The line-up. This brought about many Racial and Feminist issues.


We are meat. Reference : Edward Hick's painting

Past works

For the past two semesters, I have been running about not knowing what I should be painting. I paint from fantasy to landscapes then ultimately, decided that I should be painting dolls. Will update on the reason why I paint dolls later. But first, let's take a look at what I have been painting when I was running about like a headless chicken.


Winter Solace is a piece of painting that comes in four separate canvases. I wanted to paint a winter landscape scene with bamboos. Sorta like an attempt to paint an eastern painting with western technique.


Winter Blossoms. One of my favorite painting. Was experimenting with brush marks.


Weeping Cherry. A painting I painted with my left hand. I was trying to loosen up my painting style.


This is where I died. A painting .... not going to elaborate on it.


Pulang Kampung. My emotional turmoil that was caught between staying or flying home.


Imitation Of Life. A painting of my doll in the classical portraiture style.



And the semesters before this

King Of Pain, a self portrait.


Eve.

Tarian Suria.


You Never Came. this was what started my obsession with Winter landscapes.

Back to the studio

A new semester marks a new beginning.

Got moved into a studio room which I share with Patty and Erica. Yay. We turned the studio into a comfortable place with a "dining table" and comfortable chairs. Carpets make a wonderful face-lift to studio by hiding the dirty remnants the previous people left behind. ^_^

My side of the studio





My painting studio at University where I spend most of my nights...

far left, a painting in progress

the table against the wall holds my glass palette and paints, on the floor is my toolbox.

right of the table is another tool box for paints

hanging on the wall is a scarf I dyed using the shibori technique..should be dried by now

next to it is the woodblock print
and then furthest right is the ink drawing I did.

The table on the right carries a lot of evian bottled water, starbucks cup which I need to trash, some books and watercolor palette.

On the red table is my Fuyuko and lots of junks.
basically this table is where some of my classmates and my studio mates gather to eat or chat. hence there are so many chairs there.

behind that red table, that black shape you see overlapping the silk scarf, is actually a very comfortable cushion chair where u sink in deep when u sit. I have slept in it countless of times, that's why i don't get much work done.