I'm finally on my DPL leg hair removal journey and they're now 82% gone.
No art updates.
This October, Waie and I will be 10 years together, Elle will turn 3 and I'll be on my maternity leave.
I AM PREGNANT (AGAIN) and I have so much I NEED to write about!
I've been trying to remember how my first pregnancy was like but I didn't keep a journal until Elle was born. I need it for this one so I can remember it forever!!!!! I'm just getting old and forgetful. I really hope no one gets an update about this hahaha :')
Last time I was pregnant with Elle was in January - October 2018. Three years after that, we are blessed with another pregnancy (and hopefully the last one :'D).
I'm really struggling with this pregnancy. Juggling between teaching, extra teacher's non-teaching work, a 2 year old and house chores, the morning sickness...ugh...It keeps me from enjoying myself and routines...I mean, I used to enjoy CLEANING / ORGANISING our bedroom, now it's just a total mess...I'm constantly on an emotional roller coaster and this pregnancy just makes me not want to get pregnant ever again.
We found out right after Christmas last year, but were not exactly sure if it was viable and would not tell anyone until we got a heartbeat confirmation from the doctors. First u/s was exactly the same case as it was with Elle -- an empty sac, but this time it costed us $120 instead of $60 at the same clinic. Three weeks later, a heartbeat at 8 weeks for FREE (government clinic). So happy but still would not tell anyone but my sister. Two more weeks later, a wiggly foetus at 10 weeks, for FREE, and the doctor was kind enough to PRINT IT OUT FOR ME! K we spilled the beans and told our parents a few days before the scan because my mom just annoyingly could tell that I was pregnant. She's a mother afterall :')
Fast forward to today, I am 14 weeks tomorrow (second trimester), and I still have that bad taste in my mouth. Everything I eat no matter how delicious it is WILL leave a horrible aftertaste. What's funny is that I can eat TOMATOES everyday, I never liked tomatoes this much but now it's my remedy, and so as that white sambui. Drinking water and hot drinks make everything worse but I can't not drink. Cold iced soda works and never in my life I ever drank this much soda. I just hope this baby will turn out ok and healthy...
How do other pregnant ladies do this?! During my first pregnancy, I was only doing my final semester thesis at home. I remember I cried so much because I was not feeling well, but that was just it. I spent my first trimester at home, had enough rest, didn’ suffer from this bad taste in my mouth and the extra saliva, and didn't have any cravings at all. But with this one, I cry everyday. I'm exhausted, I spit whenever there is an opening. I don't get enough sleep. I still don't crave for anything but look for things that I can actually eat and to our surprise, tomatoes taste soooo good?! I don't feel as glowy as I did with Elle. I don't check for weekly pregnancy updates. I'm not as excited. All I care about is Elle's breakfast, Elle's lunch, Elle's snacks, our dinner, the kitchen, laundry and ironing?!?!?!?!? Our maid's gone, and that's another story.
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I have totally skipped about a year and a half of this blog...but the gallery has been updated a few times. Yes. I’m a mom and my baby is SEVEN MONTHS!
First things first -- this is no way a pregnancy journey, delivery story or baby growth update. Just a quick and simple hi update on my mommy-teacher life. And my baby’s name is Elle Afeya Muhammad Waie :) I’ll (inshaAllah) write about that in my next post. I’ve all the writings prepared, just need to gather and decompress the pictures!
Anyway,
if you had not known, I am an art teacher now at X School teaching BC-GCE ‘O’ Level Art and Design! It’s been almost four months since I started, things were hard at first as I had to leave my 3 months exclusively breastfed baby. I have also recently started painting and art-ing again which is so much fun. Haven’t had that in soooo long. Being a mother is not an easy job. Being a teacher too!
My old domain DKALYSSA.COM has been stolen from me thus I updated to a new one. I gotta have my baby’s name in it.
My gallery is updated as well -- not so much stuff -- but it’s progressing ahahah. I’m doing more things now than just portraiture. I love love loveee birthday decos, teaching aids and BABY STUFF. But two things remain -- home deco and bullet journal. Not so much on the plants, healthy food and yoga side now, but they are OK. I still water my plants, though my garden has been demolished and my yoga mats have been used for the anti-slip property under my carpets.
I have completely neglected my cats, though they’re still alive in the house.
It’s been half a year since I last posted, composed and felt the need to really make use of this space. A lot has changed since. I used my married uni life as an excuse for being busy / lazy – cleaning, cooking, groceries, family time, laundry, husband time, meals, going to classes, going to events, weddings, gardening, room renovating, business plans, meetings, teaching classes, lesson plans, assignments – all are never-ending inevitable crap that, most of the time, take up only 12 hours of my day (remaining 8 hours = sleeping and 4 = procrastinating). I do visualise everyday how my website is going to be like soon, but what holding me back was waiting for the right time that never came. Aiyo.
Today is unlike any other day. But, today is not how I thought it would be like to start an entry. I was going to talk about how a married student life with a dream is nearly impossible, yet still achievable…very inspirational and contradicting as I wasn’t really doing anything major thay would make a quick 180° turn in my life. There was a lot of false hopes and attempts at thinking around the state of depression – I struggled with choosing and constantly reconstructing my own purpose in life – choices being art education for people, and care for the loved ones. Too human. But that’s not the case anymore.
Hello epiphany! I have been waiting for you.
A lot happened within this week, and it has only been day 4 of week 19. I feel rejuvenated after being (emotionally) murdered for being selfless, selfish, critical and indecisive to my own self and my other self. Some things I learned in quotationz formz:
“Do not treat a person as if they were you. Treat them as if they were more than you.”
I hope these will at least change a bit on your perspectives of some things. This educational journey of mine, I hope it’ll settle for a bit soon.
I used to be scared to say this again, but it helps with my own motivation:
Expect more art updates from me soon, and thanks for reading!!!
Art School #1: (Bye Bye Fine Art!) Introduction to Modernism and Contemporary Art
Salam sejahtera and hi everyone!
The time has come; after three years of truth seeking in Art -- I am finally done with my degree in Fine Art.
My way of seeing has evolved a lot in the past years, and I am proud to say that I am graduating with a priceless knowledge that I’m really thrilled to share with everyone (who are interested) (even though I did not really do that much practicalz in THAT FINAL SEMESTER as I was binging on readings...and documentaries...and The School of Life.)
I did write a vague post on the topic of Fine Art vs Applied Art back in Feb, but I didn’t really cover the in depth definition of the subject relating to the contemporary art world, modernism and philosophy. This post is an attempt at explaining the Fine Art experience the better way, however in order for me to do that in the simplest and proper way; a breakdown is required. Thus I will start with an introduction to Art School, what to expect and how to cope with art stress.
If you’re keen in doing Fine Art but are not sure yet of what to expect (especially when you’re a Bruneian and you have an interest in mainstream art), or if you’re merely an art appreciator and a believer of the term ‘creativity is innate’, or you’re just curious of what ‘Fine’ stands for in ‘Fine Art’....keep on reading! I’ll try my hardest to write in the easiest and informative way of Alyssa weww.
Sooo, you’re probably wondering while contemplating on Fine Art as an option as your major : “how hard can learning Art be? I just want to branch out and improve my drawing skills. I’m going to be a famous painter like Alfonse Mucha and Charmaine Olivia -- their work are (aesthetically) beautiful !”
My dear, you expect yourself to be painting everyday doing your own thing and responding to the given GCSE-like art and design topics? Consider this:
Instead of you being the special creative potato back in high school --> in Art School, everyone will be the same as you, talented artists though in different areas (drawing, sculpture, moving image, performance etc.). How are you going to stand out now?
So if everyone is going to be as special as you are, what’re the tuition fees for? They’re not going to let you get away with completing your degree within your conservative box of ‘preferred art methods and style’. Forget individuation, perfectionism and OCD’s in intricate detailing abilities, instead question yourself WHY should you have them in the first place anyway, and WHY again after you get the next answer and the next one.
Here’s my story started as a n00b:
At the start of my first year, I remember I was asked to choose either painting, drawing, moving image or mixed media as one of my workshops. In confidence I told my professor, “I’m a painter so I’m going to go into painting.”
Then he said “Oh but the painting class is full. Do you want to try something else instead? Bare in mind that you’ll be able to do painting in the next semester if you still want to.”
In my mind I asserted “DUUUUHH of course I want to; I’m a born painter!!!”
“Don’t worry of not being able to do what you prefer in your first semester. Most of the students, from my experience as an Art instructor, tend pursue something completely different to what they thought they’d be doing for the rest of their lives early at the start of the course. You might think you’d be better off as painter right now, but in three years, things might change.”
“🤐 🤐 🤐 🤐 🤐 🤐 🤐 “
With a heavy heart, I chose moving image. And after three years, he’s right and I’ve changed.
Art School (Fine Art) tests your ability to think critically, work differently and tolerate the painful reality of life and....group projects.
This is not applied art.
I repeat: NOT APPLIED ARTS.
1. Art History
Art is more than just skills and craftsmanship. Before you confirm your place in the Art world, ask yourself: “Do I really know what Art is?”
Like real life, Art has its own history to tell. It all started with of course, idolising the ‘beautiful', the common concept of beauty. Sadly, that is what everyone (who is not art educated) thinks what Art is about; creating emotional and beautiful things.
Charmaine Olivia
Let me introduce to you to Marcell Duchamp -- the father of the Dada movement, one of the key modernist artists, known for his readymades and his ‘Fountain’ (1917).
By now, it must have probably hit you that anything can be art. Yes, anything can be, as long as you know your way of justifying it -- meaning you can’t just say it’s art without a reason, you’ll have to understand the concepts and the -isms and the aesthetic philosophy behind the anything you call ‘art’.
That’s Duchamp and his conceptual art, which is in the same area as Malevich ‘Suprematism’ in painting, which is a minimalist understanding of a transcendental and pure form of purpose in a creative process.
Existential crisis? Duchamp abandoned art to become a Chess pro.
Malevich’s 0.10 Exhibition
Art Modernism Timeline
That’s a lot to digest you see! But fret not, they are really thought provoking and life (or art) changing.
2. Art Theory
You’ll be learning and practicing different ways of seeing. The theory of Aesthetics is very much philosophy, and the way artists perceived art changed a lot throughout modernism.
I recommend John Berger’s ‘Ways of Seeing (1972)’ as a starting point to understanding this, and I assure you that you will learn a lot just from watching this one video (it’s a series of 4).
There are a lot of theories in art, not just aesthetics, because mind you, Science tried to explain art as well and psychology, if you preferred that. But everything will fall into the philosophical theory of the purpose of art -- unless you’re more into the cognitive functions of one’s self then you might be interested in Freud and his psychoanalysis theories on Art.
Art History & Art Theory = Quizzes + Research + Presentations + 2000 word Essay
And all these researches and knowledge will definitely aid you in your personal studio practice. My favorite (a leap of faith if you get what I mean...) would be Andy Warhol and Murakami’s concept of commercial art hehe because it’s all about money makingz ~
4. Studio
This is probably the most anticipated thing when one is going to an Art School; you get your own studio space! A space where the creative processes take place, a space to have lunch, a space to chill, a space to procrastinate and a space to get people to kacau you with their endless visits. You are expected to be in your studio from 9am to 4pm everyday but it really is up to you. I usually spend up to 10 to 12 hours in my studio everyday a week prior to assessment dates -- any day before that maybe less than 3 hours, sometimes 6 hours, two to three times a week.
(In my first and second year, my studio was my second home -- I was readily equipped with my water boiler, jars of biscuits, coffee sachets, tin of milo, pillow, yoga mat and blanket. My third year studio was quite mundane as I didn’t really have time for it; I had a wedding to plan and now an EOY thing to enjoy...)
5. Lectures + Workshops
Prior to self-directed studio time, you’ll have to attend workshops and/or lectures according to your enrolled subjects. You’ll also have a lot of readings, suggested and personal ones. It differs every year, but during my freshman year, I had three workshop/studio classes which only one of them was my core fully self-directed subject. Workshops and lectures enable you to learn more theories and encourage experimentation with different media such as screen printing and moving image -- again, everything is open-endedly conceptual in the end i.e. you don’t have to create a screen print resolved work for your screen printing class, though it should derive from the concept of screen printing idea.
6. Group Critiques
Group crits are fun but most of the time absurd...when they get too long and an hour past schedule. It’s a session where you and your peers, in turns, present a resolved piece of work to the group and a professor, who then attempt to read objectively, interpret, analyse, question, contextualise, and assess the effectiveness of the work corresponding to the artist’s intention. Your resolved work could be in a form of painting, assemblage, projection or installation, and no matter how simple and didactic your work you think seem to be, these group crits will prove you wrong -- nothing is ever going to be that easy. You got to have a well thought reason for every single thing you do e.g. why you chose this space, that arrangement, this colour, that material, why on the wall and not on the floor, why this line and what impact does it have -- and these crits will never take ‘faith’, 'taste’ and ‘preference’ as legitimate answers. Although it’s ok when one is blunt with logic, but when a personal opinion is handed down (unlikely, unless that person is himself a hopeful believer of taste) to you, back yourself up with rationality, history and common sense, or accept that not everyone is educated with logic. You’ll learn who’s opinions to trust. Don’t worry hahaha.
You’ll have to be brave, ambitious and accepting. Don’t cry. They can be quite painful at first, especially when you’re just starting out and are emotionally unstable (after that confusing three week of learning art that did not teach you how to paint realistic figures, but collecting trash from home and construct a monument of the mundane). You’ll figure things out as you learn more and I promise you that if you keep an open mind and stop painting pretty portraits for a while, you'll start to love Art again.
These crits are very effective if you don’t know where you’re going, they give you lots of different opinions which give you options for further development. But if you have a strong and distinct idea of how you want it to be, and the feedbacks suggest a completely different path -- you can choose not to consider their ideas, but explain to them what you intend to create so that they’d be able to see from your perspective and give you better feedback.
7. Assessments
This is quite straightforward; journals, documentation, reflections, proposals, and installation of resolved work = a product of all of the above.
8. So what’s the catch?
Fine Art is not Applied Art. Fine Art is not Craft. Art School is not about refining your realistic painting skills and techniques. It’s not about making money the graphic designer or illustrator way, where you fulfil your client’s needs and make things visually pleasing (according to norms). It’s about creativity and your ability to think outside the box.
Art School is a place where dreams shatter into pieces, and as you try to assemble the pieces back together again, you find out that you can’t go back but to create things in the most pretentious way -- or most honest way (whichever float your boat). Because you’ll learn about the truth of reality, and not everyone can accept truth. Some art students / art graduates just regret their choices in studying Fine Art; after all that knowledge, they still believe in their constructed sense of what art should be (beauty and skills) and move on to making accessible and mainstream art, and diss Art School. However, some appreciate the unexpected surprise and flow freely in the fusion of art and real world -- they are the honest hypocrites who chose absurdism as a way of life, have understanding companies, the people who can believe in the meaningless but achievable elements in life, like striving to take part in the Venice Biennale or have a show at MOMA, just for the sake of art and life.
“You will discover:
Picasso is a genius (but Cezanne might be better).
Pollock is no drip.
Cubism has no cubes.
A urinal changes the course of art.
And why your five-year-old really couldn’t do it.”
-- Will Gompertz
I hope this introduction to Contemporary (Fine) Art covered the basic expectations of Art School, and if you think you’re still interested in improving your techniques and not learning how to think creatively, you can say bye bye to Fine Art and choose Applied Arts (Design, fashion, interior and architecture, professional photography, animation and decorative arts) instead! But if you want to get your mind blown and open up to learning different and weird things in art/life. I definitely encourage everyone to go to an Art School.
❗️📢 Special shout out to those people who dropped out of Art School -- eeeep -- ACTUALLY, people who just can’t stand their course no matter what course they’re taking (me early in the course hehe). You who go and complain about hating on your irrelevant module, have no idea what you’re learning in uni and blame it on the teachers and school, ranting on the pile of assignments that for sure are not going to help you out in life...emm...what did you expect?! I don’t think you can just expect everything to be taught to you and handed to you exactly how you want it to be like how it was back in the high school days. You transitioned from that comfortable zone to having an independent work ethic as an adult, so blame yourself for still being a child. This is EDUCATION; you need to put in your effort to learn and get the most out of this situation. Have you ever wondered why some people are just so good at math and you can’t even solve a simple problem? Or how some professors are just too carefree in the fashion department (okay this one is just off topic hehe)? It’s because they know what they are doing from all that time and effort sacrificed, challenging themselves to solve new problems everyday. If they could love math, why can’t I?
Let me end this introduction to art school with this video by Peter Drew:
P.S. I’ll be doing this Art School series once a month! :D
In search for Eudaimonia | Stunned by Stupidity: to be frank or not to be (a.k.a. why bother? you can’t fix stupid)
Salam and hi all! I know I shouldn’t be on a hiatus cozzz truth be told...I’m not that busy. Just super duper organised with my schedule. I just want things to be done in turn so that I can focus on one thing at a time. However, I do know that I can still post an entry or two since I’ve got so much free time despite that ideology being a mere excuse. The fact that I still want to have full concentration on what I do, thus. Here I am writing this entry, still, simply because...
I have a problem.
There are solutions and I’m not oblivious to them.
However, the problem is that I can’t choose a side / make decisions.
And whenever I try to voice out my real opinion, it will always sound vague to everyone.
And let me tell you why ( reason is in between: it’s worth sharing | why not ).
Some people see it as a gift, and majority would think it’s a weakness. Depends on how well you know me by the amount of modesty or/and arrogance have been exposed to, and what area of life you are interested in or passionate about. Good or bad -- I see it as both (duh!). Practically it is a weakness, but morally, politically and philosophically it is logical. It’s hard to try and apply this state of mind into my everyday life even though I am aware of how troublesome it has been causing me in a lot of situations, because the way I cope with it makes me feel pretentious the whole time. Yes, I never speak of truth whenever you ask me for my opinion. But again, trying to prove a point to those who don’t understand not a single word you’re talking about even, is meaningless, and is it not.
Can you see the problem there? I’m so open-minded that no matter how informed and researched I am, I still remain strongly unconvinced and unpersuaded. I’m unable to function easily because of this serious indecisiveness, at the same time, I think it’s still OK; life is still meaningless anyway.
Example.
How do I explain my thoughts to people? If I get questions like, “what do you like” “what’s your favourite colour” “what kind of person do you think you are” “what’s your opinion on animal testing and veganism and the illuminati” “are you considering to do this or that in the future”. I can’t. What I tend to do is briefly (indirectly) describe myself as a confused person in order to get away from an attempt at explaining things the way I think of them.
Q: “what do you like?”
A: I don’t have things that I like or dislike, but I used believe in harnessing curiosity in art and creative practices. But now, I kind of do anything. I think a lot, but I don’t ‘like’ it like ‘like’. It’s more like, ‘I have to live with it’.
Q: “what’s your favourite colour?”
A: I don’t have a preference in life. But I do think colours make meaning-making more fun and exciting OR curated and professional looking -- it’s very applicable in a society where aesthetics are based on the exploration of colours and compositions in response to a mood or a theme. I can wear anything -- black to yellow, top to bottom -- but sometimes I do need to consider the situation that I will be in. Would you like to see pictures?
But quick answers would sound like:
Q: “what kind of person do you think you are?”
A: In between (and I don’t expect you to understand it, but if you do, I’m pretty sure we’re on the same boat).
Q: “what’s your opinion on animal testing and veganism and the illuminati?”
A: Animal testing - neutral; animals might be harmed, assists in creating reliable outcomes
Veganism - fun experiment; just don’t intimidate others
Illuminati - if not one of the most successful faith-based marketing
Q: “are you considering to do this or that in the future?”
A: I am, but I want to do something else. or...
Of course, why not. But I do have other options as well just in case I change my mind. or...
Definitely, but we’ll see. ( then I’ll be explaining why I can’t give anything a 100%)
You realise the pattern in these answers?
They’re indefinite. Even though how critically thought and reflective my answers are, they end up sounding mundane.
Why?
Back in my second year of uni, I think I’ve mentioned before somewhere in one of my old posts (my journey to self-discovery, LOL), that I learned psychoanalysis in Art. That taught me things tend to be read symbolically, because it’s human ‘nature’ (or ‘nurture’ to me) to seek things that are relatable to us in something -- it’s our (learned) tendency to objectify. Then we would question it’s validity. It might be valid, but only to a certain extent. So all these rationales that might seem legit, whether it be coming from either the nurture or even nature side (for example: one is this way because of how it was brought up OR to be more reliable, one is this way because of its experience and it is genetically predisposed to behaving this way), can’t be 100% true. To me, it’s just a matter how we see it and what we can (benefit) take from it. I believe that we all can learn from past experiences and not let it influence us in making us feel the need to belong to a single and particular view.
In a world where everything is so accessible -- mass-media (for example: a romance movie but not limited to this medium) -- we have learned to judge ourselves by the hopes and expectations fostered by this misleading means of art. We compare ourselves to these unrealistic standards of life -> we feel unsatisfied -> we blame it on others -> we blame ourselves. Just because we don’t meet the norms’ idealism, or expected-realism.
What I’m trying to show should be categorised into two ways of understanding it (and by using the same example as above) :
1. Young adults and children
it’s impossible to not be influenced to what they are exposed to -- if only they’re matured enough to understand that the media and society (romance movies) should not define their perception of something (love). This depends on the factors introduced by their upbringings.
Controlling what the little ones should and should not see according to traditional beliefs (for example: they should watch Disney, and not watch couple hold hands or beat each other even though it’s very thought provoking and applicable in life), should be done in consideration of the possible consequences. I’m not asking you to ban Disney and introduce them to the harsh graphics of reality -- I’m suggesting that whatever it is that is exposed to these children, should be followed up with a critical discussion session, or maybe by simply giving them a reality check such that happy endings aren’t supposed to look like that and that life is so much more to that -- introduce them to the practice of ‘tolerance’. If you keep on forcing them to follow a set of rules in order to become a good and successful adult, look at it this way: they’re not born to give your life a ‘new purpose’ or ‘help you continue your purpose’ -- that’s objectifying them which equals to dehumanising them. I know I’m going off topic here but the point is: it does not hurt to learn to teach ‘healthy’(balance).
And I'm a firm believer that every part of life can be taught and honed because everything's a skill and not an innate talent that you either do or don't have a knack for (passion, studies, work, love/relationships).
2. Adults
As the powerful adults that we are, we should be able to consume something for its entertainment value and not see it as a guide for reality. We can use these ideas to bring colours into our lives, but keep in mind that it shouldn’t be taken seriously. We need to teach ourselves to be open to both successes and failures, and not be offended to criticism and opinions of others. I’m not sure if it’s individualism or
But if you prefer to live with hope in romanticism rather than experience from reality -- I’m sorry, but you might have wasted your time reading this hehehe. I do suggest you change your reading matter: expose yourselves to a more realistic and less sentimental things (movies, books, cause) about the progress of life and relationships, this could normalise your tendency to whine about your first world problems, instead show you an intelligent way to go through them. It ain’t that great, but less problematic.
So from there, you should see the patterns more clearly...
Am I going to live like this for the rest of my life?
Of course not. Being the complicated person I am, does not mean I am in full denial of my ‘feelings’. I’m human (nature) after all, and the fact that majority of the population in the world strive for justice and happiness -- I can do that as well (nurture). My refusal in making a decision could be due to the fact that I used to think that I could make them understand things the way I do. I failed, and picked up something else unintentionally instead -- selective mutism -- unable to express myself.
As much as I feel like I need to be like the norms, I think I still need to expose myself to people who are like me, though so far I have not met one in real life. LOL. For positivity reasons, I will always need to inject a dose of gratefulness in me every single day / a reminder to this cause. I’m thankful that I actually have someone that has to deal with this piece of mind everyday. He’s the reason I believe that I can tolerate the.....lack of something (if I objectified that something e.g. knowledge or stupidity, it would make me sound so conceited) as I lack empathy, am frank and intimidating towards him -- he still believes that I am good nonetheless. Sabr is really xxxxxxful ( a word that doesn’t exist in the dictionary and exists in between things ). I’m still learning how to live with this condition, and knowing that I’ll be alive for who knows how long or short, I need to start to experiment with ways to overcome this in order to communicate easily again and at least be useful for some.more.things.
Just needed to let that out, and I’m aware that I’m not alone in this.
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Hey kitties, guess who’s currently doing multiple projects lah during her final semester? Me :D
I haven’t been functioning healthily in the past two weeks...and I brought a pack of maggi and indomee with me to Melbourne last week OMG. Banar. After quitting on instant noodles for almost two years, guess again, who ain’t got no time for cooking? Me :D
I know I promised to write about the exciting projects that I’m doing, but I don’t think I’ll be able to do that until I’m settled with my uni work, which is coming to an end...NEXT MONTH?! Anyway, whilst looking through old works for this exchange project thing that I still have yet to sort out by tomorrow (and here I am writing a post LOL), I found some old illustrations that I never got to take a proper picture of!
Back in 2013 in JIS. That’s my final oil painting over there. Who would have thought I’d end up doing something completely different to that now?!
Fine Art, everyone.
But I really do miss these mainstream illustrations that I used to do. But they failed me in Art School. Hehe. Past is past, I am a changed person :p
My early works as a noob Fine Art student. Thinking about it now, the experience I had when presenting this work for group crits was a turning point in my LIFE. Hmm...it’s been quite a revolutionary journey for my art practice.
And I never got this work back after exhibiting it at the Paddle Show in 2014 :/
LOLs.
Posting for the sake of posting.
I hope this brings back memories to anyone who grew up with my work.
(Also, Waie and I have been watching this old Korean Drama, ‘Full House’. Funny how I discovered him watching this dramatic piece of mainstream and dragged myself into doing the same thing. It’s my first time seeing it and it’s so good! Sometimes we do need this in our life OK. It’s not all about GOT and NPM etc. At least to me...and Waie...He said he needed it. Is this because I’m not a romantic? :O)
Welcome back, back for more honeymoon pictures (actually just three key events in this one) EXCITING! No holiday tips, no pokemon go hints, just a spontaneous honeymoon/pokemon hunting trip in Melbourne 🤗
Keep reading and scroll down for a video 😇
QV Gardens
Giant garden clock
Shrine of Remembrance
Inside of the holy shrine -- you must not wear your hat!
View from on top
Mandatory mosaic background picture of Waie
NGV International
We actually went here twice! It was fun walking through Waie the history of Art (from Ancient to modern to contemporary) and I’m so happy Waie enjoyed my si tahi-ness. I hope he learned a lot from it, coz I can’t wait to teach Art to everyone! :)
Lisa kah tu?
Ichwan Noor, Beetle sphere, 2015
Lisa’s influence, Andy Warhol & Waie’s traditional vision of his Bad Weather :p
Oi apa tu
Double the Waie, double the belabih-ness!
Contemporary aboriginal art
Sudoph Gupta
Can you see me?
Melbourne Zoo
My word of advice: Do not go to the zoo in winter. Animals do not come out and it’s gonna be cold. But you still can go Pokemon hunting!
Hey that’s me!
Waie in his natural habitat
I swear this butterfly house was a life saver. Not only was it warm inside, we got to see this ulat in close-up!
Then someone thought a real lizard had escaped:
I thought it was real too at first ha ha ha ! Ye fooled us.
Thanks to these buddies for hosting the trip (not really) :p
Last few days
...were the busiest, coz we had to do our last minute shopping and album making! But time did fly by so fast -- there goes Waie’s sixteen days in Melbourne. The combination of wedding prep + wedding + post wedding raya + honeymoon as nomads was indeed tiring, yet beautiful and will forever be cherished.
Now Waie has to go back to Brunei...to our family...to his job...
Yep. I only spent 3 weeks with my husband and the waiting game is back. Albeit naht for loooooong! I’ll be back in Brunei for a bit for something exciting in the future (that of course, involves art) and of course, for Waie. Will also be back with exciting updates about this particular project. As for now, enjoy our video! I tried to fit the important bits in under 10 minutes. Gime me HD for effort lah.
I did mention before the storybook I spent on making for 5 days, non-stop, right? I never got to actually publish it properly, but here it is, free for you to read:
WEHU AND WISA’s MAKESENSICLE ADVENTURES 01
I’ll talk about this project more inside :)
It is printed, it is the first print, and it is an on going project.
It was spontaneous, time-consuming, but we did it anyway. Thus, I’d like to explore more on ways to expand this idea coz it. is. so fun. !.
Like, I don’t have to care about the story or worry about anything and whatsoever like how it will turn out. The process was what it was all about -- we made up stories, stopped at the most unpredictable moment, and the only thing I needed to spend more time on was actually coloring everything in digitally!
Very very inspired by the pop culture, Fine Art world and children story books.
Have you read it yet though? I’d appreciate if you could share some of your thoughts down below, as I'd want to know if it's a good idea to let people make up stories for this makesensical (opposite of nonsensical if you’re wondering what it means according to the lisadictionary hehe) journey and see if I’d be able to commit at least 5 days in a month to focus on this project :)
Hello kitties! I’m back with more post-wedding stuff. But can you see the balance I constructed up there?! That’s art.
Blah blah first round was with my family same time Ramadhan last year (which I still have yet to share...) and since we’ve been to the Great Ocean Road, Ballarat, and Philip Islands together, this holiday was more of a makan-makan, less shopping and more relaxing honeymooney kind of holiday. And reason behind splitting this honeymoon post into parts is because we just have too many photos...Like what even...this ain’t Facebook Alyssa...but it does belong to me so I can do whatever I want :p
Keep reading to see 1.2 week worth of pictures crammed into a single post ;)
“Rombongan cik Yaya” -- Mama
Thanks to Syaheera and Farid for picking us up at the airport!
If you’re wondering, we stayed at FIVE different places in that 2 weeks, and yes, everything was unplanned! For the first time in forever, I finally lived like a spoilt princess.
The first place was my very own apartment in Docklands! Probably the best place out of the four coz:
1. it’s free (I pay monthly lah split between my housemates hehe)
2. best location
3. best view.
Unfortunately we had to move out as my housemates were coming back from their holidays ~
And of course, first stop would be QV as we had to shop for groceries as my husband who’s sitting on the fake grass below being cute and all, is cooking me dinner.
Wa’ie: Oooo I like fake grass, I like grass.
Aqua’s sea salt and coconut ice cream, topped with marshmallows and fairy floss.
Game of thrones and husband’s cooking kind of night.
Told you we have the best view in Melbourne city!! Winter fireworks every Friday night from our balcony.
St Kilda
NEXT: #2: Easystay (via booking.com) in St Kilda, 5 minute walk to the beach!
Too early for the penguins :(
Sapa kan tu lol
Waie: I like grass...
Waie: Imma take pictures of grass...
Waie: Wife is not distraction...I still photograph grass...
Luna Park
HaLaLness
Cranberry juice lol (to those who know, jgn ketawa).
Bumped into a good friend while getting lost trying to get to Chapel Street :’D thanks for the directions Camilo!
Then Waie met babu! Waie missed babu :(
Back in the City!
Did I mention the photos aren’t really in order? Yep they’re not. But up there is a cute picture of Waie that I had to include, because he, being the model and subject of my photography, directed me to take a picture of him running towards me. Do not ask why. I am also confused.
Winter Night Market at QV market!
WARNING: MORE FOOD
Modelling skajap:
Sydney Road
My favorite view wearing my favorite beanie by Charlavail!
Fact: One of Waie’s old and best friends is named after that Indian restaurant. It’s halal but it was closed until evening.
WHY IS EVERYTHING CLOSED IN SYDNEY ROAD IN THE AFTERNOON?!
But look at that amazing sky.
Open house at Izzati and Anati (Wa’ie’s aunties hehehe)!
Coz Waie’s been to Hosier Lane last year, and we found this Audrey near our place #3: 29 Market Street! (via Airbnb)
T2 tasting and shopping.
Taisliur Brunetti.
Good bye antique place :’(
Hello #4: Toorak Manor! (via scoopon.com.au)
Bunga, makan, bunga, makan, bunga, o o.
Finally #5: Southbank! (via Airbnb)
If this place was 15 minute closer to the free tram zone, or cheaper than it was, we would’ve picked this our the best stay! ;D
Johnnyyyy ~ yu sapiking inggerisu rike japanisu we ke hada hada to andarustandu....
Sydney Road round 2, Collingwood & Eureka Skydeck
Sajuk banarnya hari atu.
It’s Waie’s day!
Then it's time to be spiderman and climb up to the 88th floor of this building:
View of Melbourne city at night! And me.
And to end this post, let’s have Kamil’s Kebab’s HSP (Halal Snack Pack) and some turkish rolls!
My goodness, that was tiring. I hope that wasn’t too long coz I’ve got part 2 and a video coming up! Thank you for reading/viewing hehehe....
“They are large (1white as 1GOD) canvases organised and selected with the experience of time and presented with the innocence of a virgin. Dealing with the suspense, excitement and body of an organic silence, the restriction and freedom of absence, the plastic fullness of nothing, the point circle begins and ends...it is completely irrelevant I’m making them. Today is their creator” -- Robert Rauschenberg (1951)
In life, we are significantly formed; our thoughts, values, patterns and routines are embedded in a historical and cultural situation. We overlook at the insignificant, focusing only on what we are nurtured and choose to perceive. Objects are objectified through their shapes, colours and learned definitions -- and when these meanings are blurred. traces are left but what is current will be freed from time.
Energised by the idea of a hidden content, this project investigates ways new forms can be achieved through collecting everyday materials, ready-mades and production waste through paintings and sculptures. By using chance as a rule to extracting their recognisable identity, and white as a neutraliser to flatten and at the same time highlight their references, the works play with the idea of looking and experiencing one’s presence with these forms at their current existence, pure on its own. In Between is about blurring the boundaries between the known and the unknown, relevance and irrelevance, answers and questions, and what it can and not be.
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Salam kitties! Guess who decided to pop out of nowhere with wedding rings on her fingaz....?
Me! :D
Yep I surprised everyone, but the wedding’s been the reason why I wasn’t making as much as art I did last year. Now that it’s 1 month past my marriage (monthsary anyone? kekeee), I think it’s finally time to wrap everything up and be done with the honeymooniewoonie feely :p
I’m sharing a few pictures from the day (yeah...there are gazillions of them...bubbillion thanks to my dearest photographers!)
I might’ve had the simplest Malay wedding ever in the history of Brunei -- I ditched all of the traditions (kind of...we had suap-suapan though...and a pelamin...). Everything ran smoothly, Alhamdulillah done beautifully, and on a budget! But first of all, I would like to thank my parents (and my husband’s) for supporting this crazay but real decision of ours to get their first daughter married at 22 while studying overseas and doing her final year, and my ever loving aunts for sponsoring my dress for the wedding hehe. Also to everyone who came to celebrate our wedding with us (I know some of you who couldn’t attend as you guys were graduating or not in Brunei or couldn’t find a parking, sorry but you were in my mind!), big THANKIUS! It was the most magical day ever (at least to me hehe).
Anyways I don’t want to talk through this thing but let’s start with the night prior to my wedding when I had the whole family henna’d by my step aunty @nurwazie_brunei_henna (thank you!), with a mandatory easel pic with @shopoverbros who came to annoy me and pierce my stomach with her never ending hysterical yet hilarious dramatic self!
12.30pm (event starts at 1.30pm) and still chilling with middle school friends:
Thanks ka Ning for usai-ing my tudung! Couldn’t have done it without you. Bless you :’)
“Sah?”
“SAH !”
Mwah.
Updated family members:
Babah II, Babu, Suami, my humble self, Mama, Babah.
(And then some Lisa and Waie post wedding pictures that won’t be shared here)
And I don’t know why, but let’s just include this picture of us in b&w.
Finally, thank you my dear Abul and Chera for beautifully capturing moments of our wedding! Guys, these are emerging photographers, and I’m recommending them to everyone of you if you’re interested in working with them. Ehem. They’re my sister’s friends ;p
Also I’m thankful to Allah for all this.
To myself for being able to do anything.
Alright.
Below is a sweet and staged picture of my romantic husband, on his knees, with plastic white roses in his hands while I pretend to be surprised because in my book of symbols, this moment symbolises the Halal-est of Halals.
Yep that’s it. I’ll be back with legit art updates! Excitiiiiing coz things are going to get even more real than it ever was, coz it’s my final semester. Right?
K bye!!
Love, Lisa
PS. If you were expecting your pictures and you’re not in here, don’t worry, I’ll share everything on facebook soon....
Hey all! I swear this weekly blogging thing isn’t going to work. I did mention that this year is going to be the most hectic of all years right? Well guees who’s suffering from stress and anxiety rashes every single night? Me!
Anyway, here’s a step-by-step of a recent commission :D Expect more art and possibilities to happen in the near future, can not wait ~~!
As usual, I did not take a picture of the pencil sketch. I really really wish I’d take a progress video of every painting that I do...But please do enjoy these progress shots!
Remember I mentioned about renewing my busking permit a few weeks ago? You have no idea how hard it was for me to start painting in the streets again after five months of not doing it (though not as hard as my first busking attempt).
And I’m finally busking again! (pictures inside) I’m also back on commissions so if you’d like to know more on that, keep reading for some recent commission progress shots + updated information :)
One of my early busking sessions:
2016 and same spot:
You can check out my originals and prints for sale here: http://dkalyssa.bigcartel.com :)
Anyway, so far I have busked three times. My busking hour goal is at least three hours, BUT, I haven’t even reached two hours due to unsettling circumstances:
1. a drunk old man was sitting next to me throughout my busking session scaring my customers away, and then selling ‘cheap iPhone cases, cigs and cokes’
2. It was cold and I had to pee.
3. I spilled my water jar on my mat and I had to pee again.
That’s one thing about busking alone -- when nature calls, you have to go.
I’ve met so many wonderful people, as always. Especially those who came up to me and showed appreciation, and took the time to chat about my art and art in general -- thank you! Some even contacted me on Facebook and Instagram to keep in touch, and some are aspiring artists themselves. I really do hope I’ll be able to do some creative collabs with them soon :)
Here’s a customer, a roommate and sister, the Wonderful Aina, posing with Audrey :p Thanks for purchasing a print, woman!
I’ve also started doing commissions again, and recently, I did five paintings in a day.
Some progress pictures:
If you guys are wondering how much I charge for a quick painting like these, they are $50 per painting on A4 300gsm watercolour paper, no matter how many subjects in it. Less than a one day wait (1 - 3 hours).
For a more complex piece like these:
It’s $80 per head, + $20 for an extra head, and it’s a more than a-three-day-process. That is because now that I actually know what I am doing, I should up my painting game, and my painting details do like to take their time.
Last week, I was helping out my dearest little ex-housemate with her event’s backdrop / banner for APAR (Aman Palestin Australia Roadshow), a fundraising event for the Palestenians. It’s a wonderful cause, and I’m honoured to be able to do at least this for them. You can check out their website here:
https://www.amanpalestin.net
or their facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/amanpalestinaustralia
You can read more about them, help raise awareness and even make a donation through them!
In this post, I’ll walk you through the 2-day banner process, and share some whatsapp shots from the event :) Silakan baca plis...
Teamwork Time!
Featuring: Dk Aqeelah, Na’ilah, Sabren, Fatin and Azhimah -- the SPRINGIRLS! 🤗 Anyway, we started with the pencil outlines. The surface we decided to use was a white cotton 1 x 1.5m fabric I believe, and the medium was acrylic.
Then everyone helped with the paint outlines!
And primary colours 🤗
Spontaneous details as always -- no serious planning because you know, that’s how I roll.
Look at these amazing details (the patterns) by our amateur artist, little Aqeelah ! 😱 But yeah I did fix them, but not too much, because I just appreciate people’s attempts at art so much as they open my eyes more and give me so many possibilities! So guys, be fun with whatever you paint. If you think that it’s not ‘pretty’ enough, hey stop judging, everything can be accepted ok 💋😠
For the finished result, you can scroll back to the top :p
THE EVENT
Pictures time ~
Models:
Heaven looking cupcakes:
Maghrib and Ishaa girls jemaah
Talk, singing, poetry performances
Fun auction session
Dk with Lah (V.E.) at the back singing Pop Yeh Yeh :p
Springirls with Yousef Alreemawi, a Melbourne-based Palestinian academic, translator, radio producer and refugee-activist. Learned a lot from him that night!
Hi all! Long overdue (AGAIN), but I finally ‘completed’ my piece that I started two weeks ago, of my beautiful mommy :)
I made a quick timelapse-ish video of the process. Enjoy ~
It’s pretty self explanatory, and as you can see, there is no planning but just going with flow. My process does take time....but I guess that’s just how I roll 😅
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Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
Hey guys! First of all -- why the heck do I look so white in that picture?! I promise you I did not have a wrong shade of foundation on my face as I was only using some concealer -- it’s from the colour correction on Photoshop!
Haiyaaa.....I know, I know...March is almost ending and it’s been almost a month since I came back to Melbourne.
I’m not sure if it is an artist’s block or I’m just being a total lazer -- but you know that feeling when you haven’t art’d in a while, and you’ve got so much ideas but none has been executed? Yeah that one. I really thought that I’d be busy making new art as soon as I started uni, y’know, (I’ve been y’know-ing a lot, so please be patient) but starting all over again is the hardest thing to do. I swear.
This is how I overcome my laziness:
Step 1: Doodle-a-little.
With no intentions and idea of what you’re about to do or what the outcome will be. Y’know -- the no rules, Whatever your want, however you want kind of thing. Put some eyes on it to make it less lifeless.
Step 2: Doodle-a-more.
Go big. Still no intentions. No rules.
I used my wall, but you can use a bigger disposable surface such as a huge recycled material e.g. cardboards, fabrics, your old paintings. Just make use whatever’s available around you. Scissors, tapes, nails and a hammer would be useful in my case, but you could just totally go with some paints and collage materials.
Step 3: Contemplate & take photos.
Notice and decide on how you feel about your art, and how they are captured in pictures. Pick your favorite element / shot. Develop from there.
Step 4: Realise your intentions.
You should have a clear vision of what you want to create. It could totally be something completely different than to what you initially started with. I tend to reinvent or redo my old work, and incorporate bits from a previous one, into the work in progress.
Take progress pictures, and more more more pictures of yourself, as you go.
Be a poser ya.
‘Coz I feel that whenever I take pictures of my work and they turn out good, it’s like a motivation to keep me going, y’know.
Remember I mentioned before here that I would make use of my muses for my art? Here’s a teaser:
Ok gais thanks for reading! Let me know if you need any help huhu.
Food Adventure | Pepper Lunch, NER DEE Café & Escape Evade
Salam and hi!!
Even though I am now in Melbourne, I’ll still be sharing Brunei content while I collect and prepare ideas for my Melbourne posts...hehehe! Well here’s a life update: I have settled in properly at my new apartment with my new sisters, I am on a strict budget diet, I just finished my first assessment last night, I have two group crits next week, and I just renewed my busking permit. YES PEOPLE. I will be back on Swanston Street SOON!
While I find more reasons to procrastinate, let me share with you a bit of kiulap, particularly the new Setia Kenangan Building :)
PEPER LUNCH
Setia Kenangan buildings are relatively new, and the shops there are of course new as well, with lots of hipster-ish and conceptual eateries. Pepper Lunch is a widely known franchise from Japan(to be honest, I didn’t know that when I went there. Apparently, Melbourne has one too...) and this restaurant really did stand up the most when Waie and I were looking for a place to have lunch. That’s because most of the other restaurants are only serving light meals and high tea level foodie so hmm.......................
We actually went there on its opening day, and ya there were a lot of people. It was like eating Paparich in QV Melbourne. Because, we had to sit (as if we were on a same table) with other customers. Awkward!
As it was their first operating day, the service was sooo slow, but it’s understandable. I got myself spaghetti bolognese and Waie had this curry thing. The mashed potato is nice! But my spaghetti however, was dry.
Okay la ~
Price? A bit expensive, considering it’s an international franchise. Like you know, eating Paparich in Brunei but when in Malaysia it’s so so much cheaper, that feeling, you know. It’s acceptable!
NER DEE CAFE
One of the many cafés available there is Brunei’s first ever board game café, NERDEE ~ A very nerdy experience indeed. So many familiar faces there though uhuh huh, so definitely not a place to bring your other half for a date. And it’s awkward when you’re not a board / card game pro and you’re just there looking really hard at the stacks for something familiar, like snake and ladder, or cards to play Big 2, you know, but NO, they only have these serious and complicated games that I have never even heard of in my entire life. Thank god they have manuals! 😜
This hipster café serves hipster menu. WIth really cute geeky names for every one of their dish. A number of them are quite healthy as well. We had this Hulk juice (I’m guessing it’s cucumber, lime, a bit of green...?) and what’s that red thing, watermelon? They are served in a beaker and conical flask, together with syringes filled with syrup (you might need more if you need more sugar hehe). Really fun concept and a cool place to hang out with your friends. Or your geeky other half, if you own one 😂
ESCAPE & EVADE BRUNEI
Not enough games? On the same level as NERDEE, you’ll find this escape room game. And if you’ve never played it before, don’t challenge yourself to play the hardest room available. NOPE. Don’t be sitahi like me and Waie. We could’t solve anything not even one...maybe if it wasn’t just the two of us, things would have been different. I’m not saying we’re stoopid or anything hehehe. It was legitly hard for two inexperienced coconut heads 😢
Okay I’ll end it here. I’ll try to write less next time!
