Archive | July, 2017

A Tragic Mishap

31 Jul

It was a Friday evening and we got home early. We were just chilling at home, waiting for the evening rush-hour traffic to disperse before we went out for dinner. And Pablo gave us another fright!

Hubby had removed the driftwood and pot several days ago, and replaced it with a mini bridge. And the feisty fella has been constantly moving/pushing/lifting the new bridge around because it must be quite light for him. Or he hates it, I don’t know.

Unfortunately, this show of muscle strength resulted in Pablo breaking off a pincer on that Friday night! Ouch.

Looking back, I think the ordeal must have been too painful for he was writhing around and we didn’t realize the severity. We were hoping it wouldn’t be so tragic; after all, crayfishes do lose limbs during battles especially within a community and survived. You could say he was in a battle here, with the mini bridge.

The poor fella looked off balance and disoriented. Little did we know, two hours later, we came home from dinner and Pablo Sanchez Rodriguez, our feisty crayfish was gone. Motionless with glazed eyes. Gone to pet heaven.

What a tragic mishap! It didn’t have to come down to this. I don’t know what to say… Sniffle…

Pablo was buried in the garden that night.

Pablo7

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The Making of Wanderlust Owl

28 Jul

It wasn’t easy to carve Wanderlust Owl. The sketch was ugly and amateurish but I could visualize how the character would look. And with patience and determination, it started to take shape.

At 31mm only in height, I had to include a cap, a back pack and a hiking pole, new elements that doesn’t appear on normal citizens of Gigglesville. As for the hiking pole, I actually used a toothpick because I didn’t think I could shape a hiking pole that easily without breaking.

This is the process and the end result; and to cut the nitty gritty of it, I am pretty proud of my handiwork. Wanderlust Owl is the start of a new series, the Adventurers of Gigglesville, besides the normal citizens and Superheroes. Let’s hope that there will be more under this new series!

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Carving-8

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A Tribute – The Great Wall of China

27 Jul

The carving efforts have improved with time and dedication. This most recent piece is a tribute to hubby’s uncle, a man with a great passion and unusual life mission which is to walk the Great Wall of China.

This little 31mm Wanderlust Owl comes complete with a cap, a backpack and hiking pole, just like the man who has traversed the Great Wall in a spate of several years since 2009. He would continue on each year from where he left off on the previous journey to pursue the improbable dream and fulfill his mission with amazing courage.

You can read all about his adventure in details on his website: http://ooithin.wixsite.com/count1million

Hats off to you for this courageous and determined effort! You deserve the Wanderlust Owl.

Carving-5b

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80% Effort, 100% Result

25 Jul

Golf is a funny game I always say. It is also a game of opposites. When you try hard, the more difficult it becomes somehow. But when you don’t try so hard, everything clicks. It is almost like when you hit rock bottom and just about to give up, you play one of your best games and because of this, there’s a renewed zest again.

Over the weekend I decided to participate in an away Interclub match for my golf club. After all, a golf buddy signed me up ages ago, I thought it would be good to try playing again after such a lengthy rest.

It has been three and a half months since my last competitive game. Although there were a couple of social games in between, the performance and ability had been questionable. With the persistent tennis elbow, golf has taken a back seat in my life. In its place is of course, the carving and the growth of my Citizens of Gigglesville.

So without any expectations except to not aggravate the elbow injury, I played my best game ever! This is truly a case of 80% effort and yielding a 100% result. I am dumbfounded at my ability but pleasantly gratified with the achievement.

The partnership with another lady saw the two of us emerging as the best pair (not first runners up or even second runners up but BEST pair) for our club, beating the men who are always better. Each of us played one under to our handicaps for a combined Stableford 74 points.

Well, it is indeed a confidence booster and a new secret discovered – putting in only 80% effort to yield a 100% result. This theory has made me wonder if I have been doing it wrong all these years? Hmm… If this is the case, I should remember this formula to have a good outing and at the same time, enjoy the game and not aggravate the injury.

I now look forward to future games and no, the Citizens will not be forgotten, they will still strive in numbers.

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The Pet of Gigglesville

24 Jul

In the thick of carving, I suggested to hubby that he should try his hands at this too instead of just fiddling with his air plants. So I gave him a tiny leftover piece of balsa to try.

He was keen but wasn’t sure he could do the owls, so he opted for something else and we ended up having a baby elephant!

Tiny little fella is now deemed the official pet of Gigglesville. Ain’t he cute?

Carving-6

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Dang! She’s Good

21 Jul

I can’t help but gush about my M2’s artistic ability. Recently, I officially engaged her for one of my client’s project. The style: doodles, something she was very capable of.

The project: a doodle to depict a community of health. I paid her for the job and I think she did an excellent job. The end result speaks for itself. Dang! She’s good.

M2's art

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A Good Mess

20 Jul

Everyday I would sit at the living room and carve if time permits. Gone are the days where I would be on the iPad, being device-reliant all the time which is bad. So this is a good thing.

I wouldn’t say the place is messy because I am stationary in the middle of the spacious comfortable zone. And with everything I need within reach in an IKEA RÅSKOG trolley (which M2 helped to put together), it’s a good spot. A good mess I’d say.

Days when I don’t have time to carve, I would take out the Citizens of Gigglesville and just look at them. Simple silly act but full of satisfaction. Delight would envelop my heart whenever a citizen is completed. It’s funny how I discovered this engrossing activity, thanks (sort of) to the tennis elbow.

Carving-2

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My Poor Canvases

18 Jul

I have been so engaged with carving lately that my poor canvases are just sitting in the corner collecting dust. Even the tubes of oil paints are neglected because I use acrylic instead.

Everyday I would carve a piece, two if the mood hits and definitely more on weekends. The citizen count of Gigglesville now stands at 48, minus the superheroes series.

Sigh… I hope to go back to painting. Eventually.
Canvas

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More New Colors

17 Jul

As Gigglesville is booming, I felt I needed more new colors. I am not too particular of the brand but the color choices available. So over the weekend, I bought another two tubes of acrylic, burnt umber and red ochre, totally new from the brands that I have because I just so happen to be at a new bookstore and not my usual art haunt.

It has been very colorful so far for the citizens of Gigglesville and now with the introduction of brown (I call it mocha), the range is pretty diverse. I foresee a boom in mocha-colored citizens as they need to catch up in numbers with the rest of the red, blue, green, orange and purple citizens.

AcrylicColors

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Gigglesville is Booming

14 Jul

It must be a burst of energy or something because suddenly Gigglesville is booming! Or could it be that Citizen #30 migrated just two days ago and I have this need to replace the void. For every one departure, there should be at least two replacements.

Citizen #30 is the second one to leave the sanctuary, the first being Citizen #10 who now resides in Penang.

Gigglesville is shaping up well with a mayor, citizens and superheroes to protect them (especially from Evil Buster). Citizens even have passports issued for them if they are selected to leave to spread their giggles. Citizen #30 had its passport approved hence, its migration. This weekend another will leave… sniffle.

I have grown to be very attached to all my citizens but it is for spreading giggles and love that I am allowing them to migrate.

Gigglesville!


Citizen #10 (top) and Citizen #30 (bottom)


Citizen #30 with its passport

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