Weekword

Rose and Lychee Tea ©Caroline Soer

I'm playing along with 'Weekword' again. The word this time is 'flavour' and as I'm such a fan of tea I thought I'd share a cup of my Rose and Lychee with you! I quickly worked up this little pink illustration morning - it's watercolour and ink with a little pastel and gouache. This tea is really delicious - it has such a delicate flavour and aroma. It comes from the Boh tea plantation in the Cameron Highlands - you can read about our visit here.



Here's a peek into my tea cupboard - there's rose and lychee in the pink and green packet! As you can see there's quite a variety of flavours - I have over 20 different teas! I don't drink coffee at home, just tea, without milk or sugar. Rooibos or Earl Grey for breakfast, lemon grass or camomile mid morning, peppermint after lunch, rose and lychee mid afternoon, with jasmine after dinner! Oh, and then there's spicy marsala chai (find out how to make here) and ginger too; white tea, green tea, black tea, liver detox, skin purify - so many flavours, not enough hours in the day! Slurp! What can I pour for you? If you're still thirsty here's my earlier tea party post.

For more takes on 'flavour' pop over to see Aimee at Artysville where you'll find the list of participants this week! Aimee will be choosing someone to hand out the next weekword on Monday - why not join in?

Week word -' Lesson' and Mim's travelling art book page

I'm going to kill two birds with one stone in this post. First off is this week's word - Lesson. Which was your favourite lesson at school? I didn't much enjoy the maths and science side, nor were sports my thing - I'm an arty gal and always have been judging by the above which I found yesterday in one of my first school exercise books - I was around six years old when I wrote that - note the star! Unfortunately, there are no paintings from that time but there are lots of little crayoned pictures that I made to illustrate my news in primary school.



Take a look at the left hand pic! A Dutch girl and boy, windmill and tulips!! Who was to know then that I'd marry a Dutchman!!

Early attempts at journaling?

See? Told you I was no good at sports!! Making pictures with wax crayons was definitely much more fun! These days I use mostly watercolour, coloured pencils and inks, but I've have recently bought some inexpensive oil pastels and started experimenting with these grown ups' wax crayons! I am used to achieving detail with fine points so these stubby little pastels are quite a challenge and have been ideal for' loosening up 'a little!

Women and birds
Oil pastels, cropped image

Today, I completed a picture with these waxy oil pastels for one of the travelling art books. This one is for Mim's book - her theme is Women around the World, so I decided to do an international crowd of girls and popped a few birds in there for good measure. Whilst I was at it I thought it might be fun to turn this into a weekword 'lesson' , so I took a few photos of the process so that I could let you see how I created this picture in oil pastels using the sgraffito technique. I quite like the end result of this process as it looks a little like a wood block print. Basically you create a design using oil pastels which is then covered with a layer of another colour and etched into. It's very exciting to reveal the underlying colours when you scrape into the top layer. I don't have a lot of patience, so am always eager to see the vibrant colours emerging with each scrape of the knife, so those of you with more patience will probably be able to plan and achieve much more detail with your scraping and scratching!





First I drew and then traced my design onto heavy cartridge paper - it's important to choose a reasonably heavy weight paper for this process as you will be scratching into it with a sharp implement to create your picture.



Next, I added small details likes eyes, mouths and beaks with coloured pencil as I knew I wouldn't be able to do that with the chunky sticks of oil pastel. I then blocked in the main colours of the design. You need to use a thick layer of colour, worked well into the paper as you have to scratch into this later.



Now you really have to be brave and rub black oil pastel all over your design!! Not too thick, just enough to cover. This shows the picture half covered - at this stage you will be having serious doubts!!



Here's the whole picture covered in black oil pastel! If you've not completely lost your nerve by now you need to retrieve the lines of your original design. Not so easy!! To help, I taped my tracing (lining up registration marks I'd made earlier) and traced over as accurately as I was able again with a stylus.

Here I am using a scalpel to gently scrape away the black pastel to reveal the design below. You can use any sharp implement at this stage - needle, pen nib, nail file, skewer, whatever! As you work do remember to clear the scrapings from your scalpel and surrounding areas frequently!!! Cover your working hand with a piece of scrap paper to protect the image - things smudge so easily!! Believe me, it is also pretty easy to overdo this scraping stage and end up with a grey mess. Should this happen, take heart, for fortunately, all is not lost! It is possible (with care) to retrieve overworked areas. Remove as much of the pastel as you can without destroying the surface (also very easily done and hence the need for a sturdy substrate!!) and paint over with a layer of gesso. Reapply your pastel base, cover again with black and try again!! If you obliterate an eye or beak try repainting with acrylic paint.

The final piece.


I liked the precision of my original design but am quite pleased with how my sgraffito oil pastel picture has turned out.

This week's word was chosen by Alexandra Hedberg. She has a list of all the other participants so do pop in to her blog to get more lessons!

Have a good weekend!

Weekword - Hole

This week's word was chosen by Linda Sue - I hadn't got anything planned for this, but yesterday I was uploading some photos to Flickr and thought this one would fit the bill perfectly! Any idea what this is....?

Well, this oddity with its net covering is a fungus! Phallus indusiatus to be precise - also known as the Crinoline Stinkhorn, bridal veil fungus and bamboo fungus (it grows in bamboo forests). Isn't it bizarre?! As its name suggests it has an unpleasant smell, but nevertheless is now cultivated, dried and eaten in Asia (apparently it was originally reserved for special occasions and was once served at a banquet for Henry Kissinger on his visit to China in the early 70's to reestablish diplomatic relations). I've also read that it is prized for its aphrodisiac qualities, particularly for women!! We came across this specimen whilst doing a trek in the rainforest in the Cameron Highlands. Luckily for our party there was no evident smell - they can be smelt for miles around apparently! Perhaps is was because this is a fallen specimen ( they're usually upright)!

The light was low and unfortunately, my original photo was rather blurred so I doctored it to make it more presentable and then played around a little with a cropped version. If you would like to see better photos and read more about this fungus you can click here.

Scary little holes - looking like something for Halloween!!

For more versions of 'hole' visit Linda Sue's blog for links.

Have a good weekend!

Weekword - Begin

Laurie has chosen this week's word - begin.
I did begin another post for this word about the walk I do to begin my day, but changed my mind and decided instead upon this little cockerel just about to begin his early morning crowing.
When I begin a new painting I usually make quick colour studies on any old scrap piece of paper I have to hand!
Do visit Laurie's blog Indulge Your Shelf to view more Weekword entries.

Week word - Charm

This Weekword is 'charm', chosen by the charming Linda Sue . I'm showing a few charm bracelets that I made a while back. Charms are pendants or trinkets which may be just decorative but can also often signify important things in the wearer's life.

Strawberry Smoothie

Here's a girly creation for Valentine's Day - I combined pretty pink and strawberry coloured handmade lampwork (glass) with Swarovski crystals, silver beads and a Karen (Thai hill tribe) silver heart charm to make up this sweet bracelet.


Deep Ocean

The ocean is always a favourite theme. This bracelet has beautiful turquoise and cerulean blue lampwork beads with Bali silver, Swarovski crystal and Karen silver shells and starfish charms.

Dragonfly

I favour the colour green - I wear it a lot, use it in furnishings in my home and of course love my tropical green garden here in KL!

For this full, jangly bracelet I used various green and white pearls, lampwork with semi precious stones, crystal and silver. I added a Karen silver dragonfly and little bell charms.

I think dragonflies are charming creatures and love to feature them in my artwork. In many places in Europe folklore paints them as rather sinister creatures associated with evil and injury, but in East Asia they seem to have a far better reputation and are considered symbols of courage, strength and happiness. Well, wherever you hail from or whichever way you choose to think of them, dragonflies are undeniably beautiful.

To view more Weekword 'charms' please visit Linda Sue's delightful blog, All I Ever Wanted, where you'll find a full list of participants and discover who will be nominated to choose the next Weekword!

Have a great weekend!

Weekword

Weekword this week was my choice - 'AROMA'.

Well, I knew it would probably be a difficult one, for if you've never smelt this particular aroma, you simply just can't do it justice digitally. So, what is aroma anyway? Generally considered a pleasant smell - right? Well, I've chosen to illustrate something which some consider pleasant but others consider downright revolting! If you've never had the opportunity to come close enough to one of these then you'll have to take my word for it for the time being!

Now, breathe normally, but a word of CAUTION - you should be aware that what wafts by now may not be to your liking!

Pictured here is - the DURIAN - the King of Fruits -

and its AROMA is S T R O N G !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even with its thick, spiky suit of armour you can smell this fruit from afar!

Some people simply adore it and look forward to 'the season', relishing every whiff and taste they can manage! Others have described it as being akin to over ripe cheese or smelly socks and many more would say it is distinctly disgusting, unpleasant, unbearable, pungent, putrid and it has even been likened to the smell of a civet cat .... I think you may get the gist!
Love it or loathe it, one thing is for sure - its smell lingers and because so many people object to it, the fruit is banned by law in public transport, hotels and public places in many south east asian cities!

My first experience of Durian was in Singapore some 20 years ago and whilst I understand that some people (strangely, in my opinion) can't get enough of this aroma, I'm not one of them, have never forgotten it and recognise it as something one should give a wide berth too! In the '80s, before 4 lane highways were commonplace in Malaysia, we ended a lovely trip to Malacca on a sour note by having to drive the long single carriageway (with no possibility of overtaking) back to Singapore behind a truck full of the offending fruits.

If you can get past the smell, however, then you may well become a fan of the fruit and wax lyrical about its rich creamy flavour! You could head straight for a large bite of the fresh-peeled fruit, but best perhaps to begin with something milder where the odour is less conspicuous. Durian is frequently used in cookery and transformed into all kinds of sweet treats.

In Singapore recently we stayed in the Goodwood Park Hotel, famed for its high teas and, when in season, tantalizing Durian confections. We indulged in a little Durian tartlet topped with hazelnuts and drizzled with chocolate. Looks delicious, wouldn't you agree? The aroma was unusual - really fragrant and mingled with other ingredients - exotic! So washed down with a cup of green tea it tasted pretty good. It passed the test, we awarded it 7 out of 10, but, it was really creamy and way too rich for my liking, so one was enough and I'm not sure that I'd want another, thanks!

Then, this weekend, having had the sugared taster, we really took the bull by the horns and bought some virgin peeled fruit.

Sheesh, the smell (note I use the word smell, not aroma!) in the supermarket was enough to turn your stomach , but having got it home, unwrapped it at arms' length and photographed it for the album (outside - no way it was allowed in the house!), we set about tasting.....

Hmmm, well, let's just say that we won't be rushing out to buy it again. You definitely have to get over that pungent smell. So, place peg on nose and pop slice in mouth .. grimace.. First impression? Sweet, but strange - tastes a bit like it smells, so starting to feel a little uncomfortable about eating this! Then, yes, it does taste quite creamy; perhaps a little fibrous there, but a generally smooth texture. Oh, all of a sudden it's becoming rather cloying. Chew briefly, swallow quickly, grimace again. Hmm, I'm not convinced, are you? Nope, don't think I really like it at all, actually .. what do you reckon then? Head shake.. an emphatic No! Sorry, but Durian has been voted out with a resounding YUK.

We'll never be Durian Devotees and just for the record - in my humble opinion it does not have AROMA - it STINKS!!




Photo - Bangkok post

P.S. I just read that in a small village in Northern Thailand farmers are now cultivating Durians with no smell! Could this be the way forward to attracting more fans?



To see more WEEKWORD entries please visit Linda Sue,
Yoon See, Nicky, Remistuff, Anairam, Veja cecilia, Alexandra Hedberg, Sandra Dieckmann, Theresa, Aimee, Fruenswerk, L'Atelier, Asphalt and Air

I've asked Linda Sue to pick the weekword next - visit her blog All I ever wanted
to get the next word on Monday.

Weekword

I was asked by Nicky to select the 'Weekword' this week! I've chosen Aroma! Get creative and use the word prompt to post your drawings, photos, stories, poems, paintings or whatever you choose, to your blog. If you'd like to take part, please leave me a comment here to let me know that you'll be participating, then post your offering on Friday and I'll link back to you! Hope you have fun with this!

Weekword - Camping

CAMPING

I have never been a great camper - certainly not in Europe anyway. The mere thought of canvas and campsites sends a shiver down my spine! Add drizzle and damp to that too and you've got a mix for misery in my opinion! I wasn't a girl guide and fortunately my parents didn't rate camping holidays in Europe either, so my first real experience of 'proper' camping was much later, when I was married and living in Oman. We spent warm, dry weekend nights by the Arabian sea on silvery sand under twinkling stars ... magical!

Camping out in the garden on a sunny day however, is wonderful fun when you're very young! My children loved afternoons camping on the lawn in a rickety Indian Teepee made with garden canes draped with old sheets! And these photos from half a century ago show me clearly enjoying camping out in our garden with my big brother David and his friends (he's the one on his back in the top pic). This sort of camping is at its best with plenty of custard cream biccies (cookies) and your favourite story book or latest Beano comic!

This is my entry for 'Camping', the word chosen this week by Nicky Linzey for 'Weekword'. Each week a new word prompt encourages you to get creative and post drawings, photos, stories, poems, paintings or whatever you choose, to your blog. Definitely hop over to visit Nicky's blog which she fills with her lovely illustrations and photographs!

Have a nice weekend - hope the sun shines for you if you're camping!