Berry girl amigurumi

Welcome the newest addition to my amigurumi family. Berry was born just yesterday as a gift for a baby, born in the distant lands of America. She will be traveling there soon to meet her baby friend.

Berry's name comes from Strawberry, which was the original idea. Look at her hat, it looks just like a top of the strawberry! And like a true lady, Berry already likes shopping and high teas.


She is brave too, climbing trees and hanging on branches. She loves nature and flowers, and she insists that all her clothing items have flowers on them. Even the bib.

Crow & Fox: re-discover wisdom through poetry

The Brief
Pick a children's story and illustrate it with 4 spreads, and design the book cover for it. The goal is to make the illustrations interesting for children, colourful and fun. The medium for the work is line and wash.

Illustration Outcome
I selected to illustrate a Russian fable that I memorized when I was a kid. It's called "Crow & Fox," and it explores the cunning power of flattery. Of course, I needed to translate it as well, which I did during my morning runs by trying out different lines in my head over and over again. I've also brought the fable to Aussie context, cause I am in Sydney after all, and I've used Snowgum trees as the setting.

Well, here it is, my creation.

How many times the world was told,
That flattery is cunning art,
But all in vein, and to the person's heart,
The flattery is solid gold.

One day, God sent the Crow a slice of cheese.

The Crow flew up a snowgum and picked a comfy stick.
Preparing to eat the cheese with pleasure.
But clever Fox too smelled delicious treasure.
She tracked the snowgum, and then thought up a trick.

The Fox spoke sweetly to the Crow,
"What beauty! If only you could also sing,
We would select you forest King!
Please sing for us, give us a show.

The Crow lost his head with such intoxication.
To be a King, now that's a worthy goal!
With all his might he made a loud "Caaaww..."
And cheese fell right into the Fox's teeth.

And here is the original Russian version, just for a good measure :)

ВОРОНА И ЛИСИЦА
Уж сколько раз твердили миру,
Что лесть гнусна, вредна; но только все не впрок,
И в сердце льстец всегда отыщет уголок.
Вороне где-то бог послал кусочек сыру;
На ель Ворона взгромоздясь,
Позавтракать было совсем уж собралась,
Да позадумалась, а сыр во рту держала.
На ту беду, Лиса близехонько бежала;
Вдруг сырный дух Лису остановил:
Лисица видит сыр, -
Лисицу сыр пленил,
Плутовка к дереву на цыпочках подходит;
Вертит хвостом, с Вороны глаз не сводит
И говорит так сладко, чуть дыша:
"Голубушка, как хороша!
Ну что за шейка, что за глазки!
Рассказывать, так, право, сказки!
Какие перышки! какой носок!
И, верно, ангельский быть должен голосок!
Спой, светик, не стыдись!
Что ежели, сестрица,
При красоте такой и петь ты мастерица,
Ведь ты б у нас была царь-птица!"
Вещуньина с похвал вскружилась голова,
От радости в зобу дыханье сперло, -
И на приветливы Лисицыны слова
Ворона каркнула во все воронье горло:
Сыр выпал - с ним была плутовка такова.

Semester 2: Form and Object Studio with Gail Rogers Perazzo

Life Drawing at COFA

Last semester I took my first Life Drawing course at COFA. The instructor was Stavros Papantoniou, and believe me, this guy can teach!

I didn't actually know what Life Drawing meant, but I knew that I wanted to learn realistic drawing, so "life drawing" sounded about right.

I did improve my drawing, but in the class I've discovered something else. A great appreciation for human body and amazing magic of the human form. I've understood what people mean by "the line" and the word that was in my mind during drawing was lyrical. Lyrical design, lyrical shape, poetic line.

Full Life Drawing album on Flickr





Full Life Drawing album on Flickr

Semester 2: Life Drawing with Stavros Papantoniou at COFA

Michael Nyman and Didgeridoo

Yesterday we went to Sydney Opera House cause Michael Nyman was playing there with his band, and it's not a sight to miss. But the cherry on top arrived after the interval.

As the people shuffled around, the crew set up a mic and a didgeridoo, and my body tingled with anticipation. When the lights dimmed, a large man with black curly hair walked on stage in place of Michael, and the crowd was not sure to clap or not. The man walked to the didgeridoo, with a hint of modesty, and the crowd decided that he was a performer and that they should clap. So they did.

Michael Nyman did come out after the man, said a few words, and the rest is a beautiful blur of the symphony they performed afterwords. The man sang aboriginal chants, accompanied by electric guitar and didgeridoo, and the spirits of Australia gathered to listen.

Program
Wonderland (1999)
~ Mollly
~ Eddie
~ Nadia

Prospero's Books (1991)
~ Prospero's Curse
~ Yellow Sands
~ Miranda

The Libertine (2005)
~ The Mistress
~ Against Constancy
~ A Satire Against Reason

Water Dances 4& 8 (1992)

..... Interval .....

The Piano (1993)
~ Big My Secret
~ Silver-Fingered Fling
~ The Heart Asks Pleasure First

The Draughtsman's Contract (1982)
~ Chasing Sheep
~ Eye for Optical Theory

Drowning by Numbers (1998)
~ Trysting Field/Sheep and Tides
~ Wheelbarrow Walk
~ Wedding Tango
~ Fish Beach
~ Knowing the Ropes

I think the didgeridoo man improvised along the way, and I was not sure whether it was sweat or tears that moistened his face.

This one was one of my favorites:

Sea Creature

The Brief
Choose any sea creature and create a short animation of the creature swimming around. The animation must include Action Script controls and two buttons.

Animation Outcome
I am fond of turtles, so I made a cute little turtle swimming around. It's inspired by my scuba diving experiences and colorful cartoons.

NOTE: to stop/restart the animation, please refresh the page!

Please install Flash plugin

Semester 2: Internet Technologies with Dawn Pugh

Special gifts for special people

Phil's sister is having a baby, and he's been looking for that perfect gift for her and the baby. That's when I was giving a presentation about my interests, and I included some photos of the amigurumi dolls that I make. Next you know, Phil asks me for a commission. And I gladly accept.

This particular doll had a lot of special requirements. It's for a baby, so no sharp or chokable parts. Yarn needed to be fluffy, but washable. On top of that, the gender of the baby was not known, so I had to come up with "gender neutral" colors and design.

I called him Huggles (cause he is VERY huggable). For the yarn I picked Lincraft Fairy Floss, which is only available in limited colors now. Sad, cause I love it! And I've altered a Japanese pattern I had to make it bigger and more interesting. The result is this adorable and quirky Huggles. He is pretty big, probably the size of the baby! Phil was very happy :)

You can see, he is as tall as the chair back.


And here Huggles is taking a nap...zzZ


Chilling on the Ikea chair, my favourite reading chair.


Inspired, I also finished another Amigurumi I was making for Anne, I called him "office buddy", but Anne came up with an even better name, "null object." Hahaha!



Look for null object on Facebook!