Beginnings

Farhana’s henna decorated hands added a traditional touch of radiance.

On my recent trip to Singapore, I was lucky to be able to celebrate with my large, close-knit extended family, the wedding of a niece, Farhana and the engagement ceremonies of two nephews, Cassim and Ebrahim.

The Malay wedding is a bustling affair with hundreds of guests and relatives streaming in throughout the day, enjoying the camaraderie and the briyani rice spread.

The engagement ceremony, according to the Malay custom, usually takes place at the lady’s home. The elders of both families discuss issues such as the date of the marriage and the wedding dowry. The young woman is then presented with the engagement ring, and gifts, beautifully decorated, are also exchanged.

After the formal discussion, there will be lots of food and members of the two families chat and get to know each other.

I’m posting some close-ups of the events.

….Love still makes the world go round.

Putting together the wedding cake.

The wedding cake: a lovely centerpiece.

A Malay water jar for guests to wash their hands before a meal. (Wedding photos taken by a professional photographer.)

A man who knows his flowers: Ebrahim hand-picked the flowers for the bouquet to be presented to his fiance.

The box with the engagement ring, decorated by Sarah, the artist in the family.

Cassim’s gifts to his fiance were carefully chosen to reflect her preferences. (Pic by Shireen)

Fine tableware and a delectable spread graced the engagement ceremony.

For another post on a Malay wedding, please see The Life of a Malay Wedding.

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Wisdom

November is Native American Heritage Month, celebrating the culture and rich heritage of the first people of America.

“This month, we celebrate and honor the many ways American Indians and Alaska Natives have enriched our Nation, and we renew our commitment to respecting each tribe’s identity while ensuring equal opportunity to pursue the American dream.” – President Obama.

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Book Launch Invitation

Saturday,June 30 2012: If you are in Singapore, I would like to invite you the launch of my book Kampung Memories.

The venue is in the heart of the Malay district where you can explore an array of food and shopping places. Hope to see you there.

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Artistic Expression

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A Care Quilt

Lubern quilts with care, for caring people.

You could call it a “care quilt”. A quilt to keep you warm, and Lubern Nunley gives his quilts to people whom he considers warm and caring, and who also cares about others.

Lubern says that he quilts “from the heart”, putting together quilts for friends and families; for special occasions like weddings, anniversaries, graduations or “just because”. He has had people offering to buy his quilt, or wanting to custom-order, but Lubern prefers to keep a no-sale approach to his craft.

He quilts in two ways: one from a pattern and the other is known as scrap quilting. For the latter, he begins by creating a centerpiece, then adding pieces like a puzzle.

I have seen Lubern’s quilts created this way, and I find it fascinating the way the pieces harmonize in terms of color or the connecting sense of the designs. I think one has to have an instinctive aesthetic propensity to make such a quilt.

Often, the designs are inspired by facets of the personality or interest of the future recipient of the quilt.

Lubern is the third generation of his family skilled in the art of sewing and quilting. “My mother learned quilting from my grandmother. Then she had us boys, no girls. But she was determined that we become self-sufficient in both studies and life skills, picking up on how to cook, clean and sew,” he said.

A visit to a quilting convention in 2003 inspired Lubern to devote more time and passion to quilting. Since then, he has made over 300 quilts . He has sent them to family and friends in various cities in the United States as well as abroad to countries such as Holland and Greece. A patchwork of colors from San Jose, California – quilted with affection and love.

Lubern likes warm, bright colors.

Lubern has a big collection of fabrics and scraps available to fire his creativity.

Blue and purple are among his favorite colors.

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A Sweep of History

Olney...dedicated to the heritage craft.

In a world of mass-produced goods, there is always a special place for handcrafted objects.

Warren Olney is a craftsman dedicated to the art of handmade brooms, and it was a pleasure to chat and learn from him when I met him at a fair.

Born and raised in Pasadena, he is now based in Oregon. He learnt to make brooms from his father, and that was the start of his lifelong passion. He travels all over the country displaying and sharing his knowledge of this American heritage craft with the public.

When asked how long it would take for one to be a good broom-maker, Olner was modest in his answer and said: “I’m still learning.”

The brooms are made from the sorghum plant, grown in Texas, and he uses an interesting-looking broom-making machine. Like many objects made with personal attention, the handcrafted brooms are built to last. One customer told Olney that the broom that he bought from him had lasted 17 years.

At the same time, these brooms are valued not only for efficiency and durability, but also for its link to history. When talking about the subject, Olney likes to take the listeners on an imaginary trip to the pioneer days when salesmen brought their household wares on peddler wagons. “Each wagon specialized in one type of goods. For example, one would be selling brooms, another tin plates,” he elaborated. He writes about the history of broom-making on his website http://www.broomshop.com.

Olney is teaching his grandchildren who are in their 20s the craft of broom-making, and he hopes that they will expand their interest in the craft in the future.

I guess I always have a soft spot for handmade brooms. One of the items from my childhood in Singapore was the broom that my grandmother made to clean the yard. Of course, unlike Olney, she was an amateur, a resourceful homemaker. And being in the tropics, the coconut tree provided the material for the broom. She used the stiff midrib of the coconut leaves to make what is known as penyapu lidi, or stick broom.

Learning history through household objects: always so colorful and enjoyable.

Olney enjoys discussing the history of broom-making with the public.

The brooms are made from sorghum.

The note explains that this is one of the first brooms made in the pioneer period, and that it would be found next to the fireplace.

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Citrus Art

We’ve just gone through the peak months for some orange varieties in California. I’ve enjoyed a variety of the fruit including the delectable tangelo. But, of course, the ones that I enjoy the most are the home-grown ones gifted by neighbors and friends.

My orange tress have started to bloom, and I just love the exquisite scent of the orang blossom flowers. I think it’s becoming one of my favorite fragrances.

I’m also captivated by the vintage labels and advertising of the Californian citrus industry: a colorful window into the state’s history. It is interesting to learn that it began in the late 19^th century with the arrival of the railroad in Southern California. Farmers were then able to ship their produce throughout the country. To identify and advertise their produce, colorful crate labels were created and attached to the wooden crates.

The era of crate labels ended in the 1950s when growers started to use cardboard boxes.

Here are some that were displayed in an exhibition in Los Angeles.

Read more about the history of citrus in Orange County, California at: http://buildingbridgesworld.wordpress.com/2010/04/13/musings-in-april-citrus-county/

For a pic of the orange harvest from my garden, please see: http://buildingbridgesworld.wordpress.com/2011/03/19/citrus-harvest/

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City Street

Towered cities please us then,
And the busy hum of men.

- John Milton

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Visual Discourse on Southeast Asia

Yee I-Lan, "Sulu Stories".

Nguyen Van Cuong, "Porcelain Diary 2".

Identity and politics. Two powerful themes.

I’ve always been fascinated by how contemporary Southeast Asian artists contemplate these and other issues in their art.

A dichotomy of East and West; how ideas and institutions from these two influences interact form much of the basis behind the art. This melding itself is reflected in the form of the art. These contemporary artists use local or Asian aesthetics to comment, reflect or dissect on salient issues. And for me, therein lies the fascination.

Recently, I had the chance to get a look at this artistic tradition again through the exhibition “Negotiating Home, History and Nation” held at the Singapore Art Museum. The exhibition continues till June 26.

It features the works of 54 practitioners of contemporary art from six Southeast Asian countries  (Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines), covering a broad range of media including installations and photography.

I find that, as is often the case, the works of the Indonesian artists are among the most powerful and forceful in their presentation. An example is Mella Jaarsma’s costume installations.

In “I am Ethnic”, she challenges the issue of gender bias in a lean, provoking manner. Jaarsma utilizes an entire goatskin to focus on the ritual of sacrificing two goats for the birth of a male baby and one goat for a female baby.

Nindityo Adipurnomo uses the konde, a traditional Javanese hairpiece, to comment on Javanese culture and tradition. He recreates an oversized rattan konde mixed with various media.

Apart from being a decorative hairpiece, the curator’s notes explain that the konde is also “worn on special occasions …and is associated with woman’s ideal place in society”. In the konde, Adipurnomo sees both reflections of sensuality and limitations associated with a woman.

The konde is also his commentary on the future of traditional crafts in the increasing onslaught of commercialism.

I’m always drawn to topics of memories and personal history, and thus I find the works of two Malaysian artists Zulkifli Yusoff and Yee I-Lan quite compelling.

Yusoff’s “Koleksi Ibu” (Mother’s Collection) is an emotive collage. He combines images of entertainment magazines, childhood recollections and covers of spiritual books to record personal memories that belonged to his mother, and which were also a part of his childhood. There is a sense of joie de vivre and of simpler times underlying the collage.

Yee is from Sabah and her photo images center on the sea, and its role as an artery that has influenced history, trade, immigration and politics in the region of her birthplace.

For the time that I was in the exhibition hall, it was like taking a unique trip, glimpsing into the psyche of Southeast Asia, a region which I truly love. I would have liked to see more paintings, but on the whole, the exhibition is certainly worth a visit.

Zulkifli Yusoff, "Koleksi Ibu". (All NHHN Art Exhibition photos courtesy of Singapore Art Museum)

Agus Suwage, "Give Me More Questions 1".

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Color Coincidence

“Why do two colors, put one next to the other, sing? Can one really explain this? No.”

Pablo Picasso

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