Changes


I'll be writing HERE exclusively from now on. Here here here here here. More little sketches and more proper writing. HEREEEEEEEEE.

I am also involved in a collaborative project with Amelia - check it out: from a to zi. Meels will be writing all things Melbourne with plenty of beautiful photographs to satisfy your visual apetite. I will be attempting the same, but from Malaysia. Get excited!
Bye.

things I like

And some green olive toscano from Philippa's.

Posted via email from zi xin wong

Nonsense

Running errands and washing sheets on typography Tuesday. Maybe next week. I am also trying to get used to using my new camera, which is a Canon PowerShot G11. It's a powerful little thing that offers amazing user-friendly control/knobs. So, so easy to change settings etc., which played a huge part in my decision to purchase that particular model. It seems like it's built like a tank, and it is to some degree ... but it does feel plasticky and hollow in some places.

PS: I'll be posting a lot less in this blog and more at my posterous page.

Just some fun to pass the time and make things, really. Yes I am rubbish at sewing.

I think one of the biggest reasons why we love art, architecture and music is because essentially, we invent things. We create (beautiful) things out of nothing. I would say the same with engineering ... but I won't.

Typography Tuesday

First of (hopefully) many to come typography Tuesdays - today we are in the Melbourne CBD and good old Fitzroy. This little adventure has made me much more aware and observant of the fascinating world of street typography! Barrels of fun, too. (I've also posted this at my posterous too, it's awfully good for uploading and viewing a batch of photos in one post.)
Please click on any images to enlarge.

Virtual relocation

I think this blog will be relocating to posterous. I very much prefer the layout and general aesthetic of the it - and the fact that I can email a post/photos/audio and they automatically appear (and arrange themselves) on the site. It will take a bit of getting used to ... will be looking into that in the next few weeks.
I'll still be posting here in the meantime.

From A to Zi - a new, collaborative, bi-national blog/project. Coming soon.

I am in the midst of moving from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur, so updates will be sparse and seem half-arsed. Bear with me! Not that I owe anyone any kind of explanation ... but it felt like something that had to be said. Ciao.

Dorian has just received news of Sibyl Vane's death.
Oh, what a beautiful book! I never had a clue the extraordinary life of Oscar Wilde. It isn't by any means a simple, relaxing read, but such a wonderfully written book nonetheless ... "I don't want my soul to be hideous".
Thank goodness for $10 Penguin books.
Image from bookarmy.com

Hello, Baby

Came across a picture of Jane Carrey's newborn whilst reading the 'news' this morning. Babies are such beautiful things, aren't they. So I started drawing. First in pen, very simple line drawing as I usually do. The baby on paper then suggested (in the form of a thought bubble) we should all reset our moral compasses. That drawing remains in my sketchbook.
Then the pencil, just a quick 10min drawing:
I wonder why we were taught, since a child, to draw and represent things using lines. The objects we see, we experience through colour and shades ... not lines.

Several photographs

Just some photographs from my recent trip back to Malaysia. Even though it doesn't feel like it, it is home by default - I spent the first 12 years of my life there, and my family is there. I remember a teacher in high school in Singapore saying we should embrace being 'third culture kids', and I certainly see the merits of being one (although, I dislike the labelling) ... but it has its disadvantages. I won't start, though.
This post has turned out to be a little personal (unintentionally), so here are the photos:
Plastic firecrackers, and a paper lantern

A miniature incense burner

A peculiar little letterbox

Chinese chives

The next post will be less fluffy.*
*This I cannot promise.

I spent this afternoon revisiting Ricky Swallow's The Bricoleur at NGV Australia. Everytime I go back, some pieces just get more and more beautiful. Each time different pieces speak more to me than others. I suppose a large part of that is because his body of work is very personal, but universally relatable.
Like many others, I also enjoy the special little nook where books and the exhibition catalogue have been laid out, and you can read whilst listening to a selection of music that Ricky Swallow personally picked out. The musicians are ones featured in his watercolour, One Nation Underground (2007). The watercolours are quite special (one of my top picks is definitely Tim Buckley) ... an definitely made me want to pick up the brushes and start working with some watercolour.

Today, particular attention was given to:
Killing Time (2003-2004)
endless amazing details to discover, endless fascination ...

Caravan (2008)

Flying on the ground is wrong (2006)
incredibly delicate

The man from Enchinitas (2009)
oh the story behind this is miraculous, the translation from narrative to artwork through process and medium, is absolutely beautiful

All Images from Swallow's website.

PechaKucha Melbourne

So what is PechaKucha? Its website sums it up pretty well:
"PechaKucha Night was devised in Tokyo in February 2003 as an event for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public.
It has turned into a massive celebration, with events happening in hundreds of cities around the world, inspiring creatives worldwide. Drawing its name from the Japanese term for the sound of "chit chat", it rests on a presentation format that is based on a simple idea: 20 images x 20 seconds. It's a format that makes presentations concise, and keeps things moving at a rapid pace."
Basically, young designers - 20 images on Powerpoint - 20 seconds to talk about each. It is a spectacular worldwide event, in 281 (and counting) cities like St. Louis, Guangzhou, Barcelona, Bordeaux, St Petersburg etc. PechaKucha night this time around was also to raise funds for Haiti. Fantastic.
The event in Melbourne was held in 1000£ Bend on Lt Lonsdale. I've read about the newly opened cafe/bar but never actually stepped in. Such a relaxed atmosphere ... basically a spacious warehouse (painted white, timber trusses!) filled with old couches that eats you up. In other words, it sums up what is trendy in Melbourne is - derelict-chic. Perfect venue for such an event, with images projected onto the beautifully-worn, painted brickwork.
Front bit of 1000£ Bend (the warehouse is further back)
PechaKucha is a fabulous idea ... and I think we should all do something similar. Get a few of your friends together and just present and share - talk about current ideas, trends, designs, favourite buildings, illustrators ... the possibility is endless. Some vino and birra in hand, of course. A semi-formal evening to get our creative juices flowing, and most importantly (I reckon), put competitiveness behind and just share.
LTRHDS opening is on this Friday, 26th February. Interesting concept, and I can't wait to see what the artists have come up with.

Chinese New Year

KeepCup, PeekCup

What you do when your flight is delayed and have four hours to kill at the airport. It has been quite frustrating drawing-wise ... not achieving anything substantial. I am still sketching, though. It is all a bit of fun really, so I suppose I shouldn't be frustrated. Anyway, will have some free time tomorrow, so, time to draw!
(I am currently away and using a different scanner ... and the scan came out a bit funny, explaining the inconsistency in tone/shading.)

Gracie Fields

the smug mugs

(Click to enlarge)
Quick, fun one. I'm sure a lot of people know this already, but I very much enjoy nerdy wordplays ... puns, alliterations, and the like. So ... here we have, the smug mugs. (Breakfast with Socrates contains a sizeable collection of clever wordplay, yet another reason to love it.)

Endless discoveries

(I've just spent an hour or so trying to arrange the photos in a pleasing manner, but I'm not sure if it is working for me. Seems a bit cluttered and proportionally wrong?)
I forgot how much fun it is to walk around with a camera in hand ... endless discoveries.
- plastic bags are not toys ... a bucket struggling with a plastic bag over its head (disgusting and immoral of me to take a photo!)
- two pipes begging and screaming to be connected
- sss
- Small quest to locate Ghostpatrol and Miso work around Melbourne
- On Liverpool St
- Lovingly, delicately and beautifully handcut
Presgrave Pl
Ah, how wonderful Melbourne is ...


 

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