Hersarong

Mok’s sarong 10: This sarong by Haji Wan Ismail in Terengganu seems to be a stencil and dip-dye hybrid. #hersarong #batik #sarong #batikmalaysia #malaysia #fabric #textile #textileart #fabricart #grandmother #purple #brown #pink https://www.instagram.com/p/BxlDd3UhA-_/?igshid=1euvgh6dtuers

And it’s already the second week of Ramadan. I’m always amazed by how fast time flies after the first few days—once I’m accustomed to less food, less energy and less sleep. BUT there’s still time to get your Lunar Eid cards to send old school snail mail Eid wishes! Set of six for $18+FREE shipping within Canada. Click the link in my bio to order. #hersarong #lunareid #eid #eid2019 #ramadan #ramadan2019 #eidcards #greetingcards #moon #yellow #gray #stationery #creativelife https://www.instagram.com/p/BxcXhnIB36O/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=150lc219zoqbe

Have fun with this one-of-a-kind multilingual Eid word search puzzle postcard! Muslims are diverse and they mark the holy Eid celebration in myriad ways across the globe, starting with the greeting. Send one to your friend or loved one, or try to solve it yourself by finding the Eid greeting in 17 different languages. Set of six postcards measuring 4”X6”. $18+FREE shipping within Canada. #hersarong #eid #eid2019 #ramadan #ramadan2019 #multilingualeid #wordsearch #puzzle #postcard #greetingcards #stationery #graphicdesign #creativelife #creativity https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw1cy4mhLRZ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1bpjgvcyfk5qj

Shop update! My Eid postcards are now available for purchase (shop link in bio). Choose between the #multilingualeid puzzle postcard or the minimalist #lunareid postcard. Set of six, 4”X6”, $18+FREE SHIPPING. This is a trial run with limited quantities so order soon! #multilingualeid #lunareid #eid #eidmubarak #eid2019 #ramadan #ramadanmubarak #ramadan2019 #muslims #islam #hersarong #postcards #cards #greetingcards #stationery #minimalist #wordsearch #puzzle #gifts https://www.instagram.com/p/BwuSpC0hWKP/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=16z3drlvapjsj

When I started to take a closer look at my late grandmother’s old batik sarongs, I never expected to find so many priceless treasures woven into their threads. In this one simple, prosaic and almost mundane piece of clothing lies one mother’s rock-solid persistence to build a better life for her daughters, the history of Malaysia’s textile industry, the legacy of British colonization, the sweat and artistry of present-day Malay women working to sustain this invaluable cultural artefact, and so much more. I can spend my whole looking at my grandmother’s sarongs alone and never run out of stories to tell. . #hersarong #batik #batiksaronf #sarong #batikmalaysia #malaysia #malaysianartist #torontoartist #quotes #textileart #fabricart #stories #storytelling #grandmother #history #legacy #memory https://www.instagram.com/p/BvtaXiahNUl/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ih3w0qr3kwrg

Mok’s Sarong 09: This is a screen-printed batik sarong (I.e. mass-produced) but I love that the manufacturer maintained a semblance of originality by including their manufacturer’s stamp (swipe left to image #3). The fabric itself is still quite stiff and the colours are vibrant, which means Mok didn’t wear this sarong as often as she did the others. I think the splashes of orange and purple and green and ochre and blue and the flowers and the butterflies are just screaming to get onto my canvas, don’t you think? . #hersarong #batik #sarong #batiksarong #batikmalaysia #malaysianfabric #green #ochre #orange #purple #blue #butterflies #surfacepattern #surfacepatterndesign #patterns #fabric #textile #fabricart #textileart https://www.instagram.com/p/BveRez8H2ux/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=13avfh6hon2nl

Letter 21: I dreamt of you. . Dear Mok, . In the winter of 2016, I had repeated dreams with you in them. In these dreams, you never do anything. You would just sit on a chair or a ledge, quiet and unmoving. The light would always come from behind you so that your face would be in the shadow, but I always got a sense that you were deeply sad; maybe it’s the droop of your shoulders and slightly down-turned angle of her face. In one dream I was busy packing because I had to leave—I don’t know where to or what for or with whom—and I could feel your sadness weighing me down as if trying to make me stay. I’m not religious when it comes to dreams; they’re usually a tangled yarn ball of my conscious and subconscious vying for my attention. But this was you, visiting me again and again. So I spoke to an ustaz about it. He was similarly agnostic about interpreting dreams (although I suspect he was just being cautious) but he told me it could be that her soul is longing for my prayers. And that there is a hadith about a day of the week when all the deeds of a deceased’s descendants are presented to them. . Maybe that’s where your sadness was coming from—from seeing how this one granddaughter of yours is going astray. . So I started praying for you again—instead of simply thinking about you and reminiscing about the days when you were around. I sat cross-legged on my sejadah a little longer, grasp my prayer beads a little closer to my chest and whispered “Subhanallah wa alhamdulillah wa laa ilaha illallah” more fervently each time. . And then you left my dreams. . #hersarong #suratsarong #dreams #grandmother #memories #dreaminterpretation #legacy #prayers https://www.instagram.com/p/BsqGRr_hEIZ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=p6e6cf0rdf7c

I’m taking a few days before the new year to work on art personal art projects that I’ve been promising myself (and a few other people) to make. After several sketches, I finally came to a composition for this tangled mess that I’m ready to scale up by about thirty times for a wall in my parents’ house. I don’t about other people but personal projects are the ones I struggle with the most! . #hersarong #lineart #blackandwhite #abstract #abstractart #doodles #doodlesofinstagram #lines #sketch #process #creativeprocess #torontoartist #malaysianartist #creativemuslimwomen #brownpaper https://www.instagram.com/p/Br71BVqh9X-/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=4xzyh9f98dq5

Whoever invented that saying about onions and layers clearly hadn't encountered the elegant rose whose petals layer upon each other, holding its sweet scent like a secret between one another. It's no wonder that roses crop up in expressions, idioms and proverbs of different cultures across the globe. Naturally the rose, or "mawar" in Melayu, can be found in traditional fabrics, carvings and weavings. . This is my final illustration video from my Her Sarong 2019 Calendar. For more step-by-step and easy-to-follow tutorials on line art inspired by my grandmother's sarongs, sign up for my newsletter (link in bio) launching on January 15, 2019. Come draw with me and see how easy it is to create these patterns yourself! . Music: Zapin Bunga Hutan (modified) . #hersarong #2019 #calendar #batik #sarong #lineart #abstract #abstractart #blackandwhite #video #processvideo #surfacepattern #surfacepatterndesign #zapin #rose #mawar #sketch #doodles #doodlesofinstagram #torontoartist #malaysianartist https://www.instagram.com/p/Br6OMbKhVnd/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1q3wbahlzv4r9

One year, the monsoon season brought waist-high floodwaters. The house, the ancestral home built by her grandfather where she and her brother still live, was safe and dry on its four feet-high stilts. The resin stove, paints, fabrics, frames and drying racks in the workshop, however, were barely above water. At the crack of dawn, Hasmah Ismail cautiously waded into the murky waters to begin working on the day's stack of batik fabrics—as she had done so for decades, come rain or shine. . #hersarong #batik #sarong #batikmalaysia #pantaicahayabulan #kotabharu #kelantan #malaysia #malaysianart #malaysianbatik #cuticutimalaysia #monsoon #season #rain (at Pantai Cahaya Bulan) https://www.instagram.com/p/Br5c5M0Bkgh/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=17fk984i0g0ky

The betel leaf holds enormous cultural significance; its consumption is a social activity that happens in casual settings as well as in formal settings. Traditionally, a groom’s family may visit a potential bride’s family to ask for her hand in marriage, and they’d bring with them betel leaves and its various accoutrements. Both families will partake in eating the betel leaves as they open up the conversation around marriage. On the wedding day, betel leaves will be part of the gifts exchanged between the bride and groom. Fresh and verdant green betel leaves will be arranged in decorative bouquets called “sirih junjung”; “sirih” means betel leaf and “junjung” means held up high which describes how the bouquet is carried and presented. Although consuming betel leaves is no longer a common practice (Mok herself gave up the practice after recovering from throat cancer), sirih junjung is still an essential part of Malay culture. Mok had a healthy little betel leaf bush next to her kitchen and I remember local village folks coming by every so often to grab a handful or two. . Got your Her Sarong 2019 pocket calendar yet? There’s just a few days left to order! (Link in bio). . Music: Instrumental gamelan trap beat by Riza Penjoel. . #hersarong #batik #sarong #sirih #sirihjunjung #adatmelayu #malaysia #malaytradition #malaywedding #abstract #abstractart #lineart #blackandwhite #surfacepattern #surfacepatterndesign #toronto #torontoartist #malaysianartist #video #processvideo https://www.instagram.com/p/Brnd3kCBDLm/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=cshb6i561gpr

I didn’t realize my ancestors had wings until I looked up to the sky; I didn’t realize there is so much to learn from their experiences until I started looking to them for guidance. . #hersarong #batik #sarong #quotes #wbw #waybackwednesday #ancestors #rumi #rumipoems #poems #poetry https://www.instagram.com/p/BrkXynJhaU7/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1uf00z4vjg6hv

An unnamed Kelantanese Malay woman and children in traditional attire, circa 1908. . Image courtesy "Women of all nations, a record of their characteristics, habits, manners, customs and influence" (1908). . #hersarong #kelantan #maysia #kelantanese #history #archive #sejarah #sejarahmalaysia #blackandwhite #blackandwhitephotography #blackandwhitephotos #malay #wanitamelayu https://www.instagram.com/p/Bri64oLhQOe/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=smxkgsglrkby

March 2019 in the Her Sarong pocket calendar comes floating on lily pads. This pattern brings to mind cool mornings during the monsoon season, drops of rain falling from the eaves of Mok’s house, little rivulets trickling down the velvety surface of a lily flower in a nearby pond and a little frog peaking from underneath one of its leaves trying to forecast the day’s weather. . There’s less than two weeks left till 2019. Have you ordered your Her Sarong 2019 pocket calendar yet? It’s your year; get organized and make it a beautiful one. . Music: Nana Nanita (modified) by Circus Marcus. . #hersarong #batik #sarong #2019 #pocketcalendar #calendar #organizer #getorganized #planner #dayplanner #video #processvideo #abstract #abstractart #lineart #blackandwhite #torontoartist #malaysianartist #creativemuslimwomen #lily #lilypad #nature #frog https://www.instagram.com/p/BrfkKcoBrvD/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=184k16nlwjbxw