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Sunday, 3 July 2016

Soft pastels at Hua Ho Manggis

My delight at such a discovery! If only there is more time to dedicate between books, anime and drawing!

And they have two sizes, last I saw; mini box of 24 and 48 Faber Castell ones.

http://www.fabercastell.com/creative-studio/products/crayons

My first attempt at soft pastel drawing

Monday, 13 October 2014

Where to get soft pastel and fixative in Brunei?

JK brought me to WW Mart at Citi Square and the first thing that got me excited was the sight of soft pastel boxsets! I have tried looking for them at Manggis Mall but the Hua Ho there had only oil pastels. Here, not only they have soft pastel blocks but the pencils as well as fixative! And a whole lot of other drawing/painting materials.

We spent a good time there as I relished over the many different items I like. They have really nice decorative boxes, decorative paper for your scrapbook making.

Only thing that disturbed me was seeing a whole aisle of fake Lego. I felt as though my memories of playing with Lego and the essence behind Lego was defiled by the very items on that aisle. There can only be Lego looking like "lego" and nothing else. Sigh.

Soft chalk pastels, pencils and blending tools

Fixative

Fake Lego

Wednesday, 28 May 2014

Lang Lang at Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham

13 May 2011

A colleague was asking around if anyone was interested to catch Lang Lang's concert. To be honest, I hadn't known Lang Lang at that time and was teasingly "judged" by my more cultured friends. As I have always enjoyed listening to the piano, I was thrilled at such an opportunity.

I was held captivated throughout the whole concert, not just by the music but the way in which the artist moved as he played. His facial expressions danced with his music! The concert was thoroughly enjoyable.

Lang Lang at Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham (May 2011)

Saturday, 12 April 2014

Tanhausser at the Royal Opera House

Jan 2011
Royal Opera House, London

I have always wanted to go watch an opera and was thrilled when C expressed interest to go. We decided to go for Tanhausser by Wagner. My colleague had driven us down to London and we had found free parking at a less busy area, about 10 minutes walk to Convent Garden. I was initially a little worried I was underdressed, thinking people were going to be dressed posh and all. It turned out to be a pretty relaxed environment other than everyone is a stranger to me. Once my discomfort of being surrounded by a large crowd of strangers is pushed aside, everything else was alright. The performance was tremendous and kept me mesmerised throughout the whole show! By the end of it, I was very happy to have watched an opera and have developed an appreciation for Wagner's work. This was a very interesting cultural experience for myself.

Interval time at the Paul Hamlyn Hall

Cast of Tanhausser

Different area in the opera house

Elaborate decoration on each tier

Saturday, 3 March 2012

Canada Trip Day 26: Muttart Conservatory, Edmonton

8 July 2010 - This was our last day in Edmonton and also the second last day of our entire Canada trip. Mum's friend took us to the Muttart Conservatory. I'm impressed by the large varieties of plants in a not-so-large conservatory made up of four glass pyramids. I particularly love the showcase on the different types of cacti. I wish the labelling can be more complete. There are some plants which were without labels and I did to do a good bit of investigation online before I stumble upon them. To be fair, I came across a very interesting term, inflorescence and there are so many types in the way the flowers of plants are arranged while trying to find the names of the plants. It's amazing to actually see the physical appearances of the plants which we only know by name on bottles and packaging of shampoos, lotions, soaps and so forth.

Stone engravings on the wall at Muttart Conservatory

Mermaid lying on a bed of flowers - Muttart Conservatory

Witch Hazel

Mexican Orange - Choisya ternata 'Aztec Pearl'

Lotus corniculatus "Plenus" Bird's Foot Trefoil

Dragon Mouth (Horminum pyrenaicum) Europe

Woolly Thyme (Thymus pseudolanuginosus) Asia

Maidenhair Tree (Gingko biloba)

Sleeping lady sculpted from moss, Gaia Mother Earth

Common Fig (Ficus carica)

Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis): An interesting fact is the chemistry of jojoba oil is similar to that of sperm whale oil but cannot handle the high temperatures to be a replacement of the latter, as a lubricant for machinery.

Moonstones (Pachyphytum oviferum) North America

Kangaroo Paws (Anigosanthos sp.) Pacifica

Elephant Foot Tree (Beaucarnea recurvata) North America

Shaving Brush Tree (Pseudobombax ellipticum): Its bark was used to make tea in El Salvador to treat diabetes and floral tea can be made for gastrointestinal ailments.