My teacups, bowls and pitchers are glazed with either white satin, shino or ash glazes! I added a sprinkling of banyan tree ash, hoping that it will create interesting effects on the surfaces.

This time all our clay pieces filled up 5 chambers! The kiln is packed and all is set and ready for the firing on Friday!

55 teacups and bowls waiting to be glazed!

Buff raku trychiate (BRT) and white raku.

Tia and her mosaic piece made from multi-coloured clays.

Steven’s new series inspired by nature’s seeds and seed pods. He started with a coiled form and developed it iteratively.

Here’s a peek at the spread of the bisque pieces that we will be glazing in the next week followed by the laborious packing into the dragon kiln. There is still much to be done before the firing at the end of the month. As always, prior to a firing, we feel an equal proportion of excitement and apprehension.

On Saturday, 27th February, I was invited by Tia to join a group of sketchers for the first SketchCrawl of 2010. The main idea of a SketchCrawl is to walk the streets on a given day and record what you see on pen/pencil/ink and paper (i.e. sketch). Basically you walk, stop and sketch, move to another place, stop and sketch again. It can be for a whole day or just a couple of hours. SketchCrawl has become a worldwide event where people all over the world will sketch on the given day, and afterward will share their journals online.

I take photographs much better than I sketch so I decided to do my own photocrawl with the sketchcrawlers. We started the day at City Square Mall on the fringe of Little India, and there was quite a turnout. Some of them were from Urban Sketchers Singapore. They were an eager bunch – all ready to put their pens and sharpened pencils to paper even while they were having their breakfast!

The sketchers “plonked” themselves on every street corner or any place they found interesting and began drawing furiously.

Some looked left, some looked right…

…all of them absorbed in their art – interpreting the world in front of them, in their own way, in their own unique style. Their hands followed what their eyes saw – capturing the sense of place, the sights and people of Little India in their sketchbooks.

Everywhere the sketchers went, they attracted curious onlookers.

These sketchers are a talented bunch! There wasn’t anything that they couldn’t or wouldn’t draw!

Throughout the entire morning, the urban sketchers stopped at about 7 different locations to sketch. Then they met up again at 1:00pm at a coffee shop for a well-deserved lunch break. During lunch, they shared their artwork and exchanged notes on the tools and techniques they used.

Although it was hot and humid, the spirit of  camaraderie among the artists made it a well-spent weekend morning. It was a privilege for me, a non-sketcher to be invited to join the group. I also learnt a thing or two about street photography. So, when is the next sketchwalk?

UPDATE: You can admire some of the impressive sketches from the sketchcrawl here. If any of the artists who participated in the sketchcrawl is reading this, please add a  link to your sketches in the comment box. I’m sure the readers would love to see your work.

A once in a blue moon event! A blue moon is the second full moon in a calendar month, and it is doubly rare that this December it falls on New Year’s eve. I was at Monument Valley to shoot this rare occasion. I was out at sunset and waited for the moon to rise over the horizon. As this was the first time I tried shooting a moonrise, it was quite an experience. I had to shoot at one place, and then every minute or so I had to move about 3 feet down to follow the moon’s path over the Mittens. I had to do this shoot-move-shoot sequence many times over the course of an hour or so. You can call it “chasing for the moon”!:-) Yes, it was cold to be out shooting with temperatures in the 20s (deg F), but what a way to end the old year and welcome the new.

Peace, happiness to all in 2010!

Wishing everyone Peace, Joy and Happiness!

Hope you will explore and discover many rewarding life adventures in the new year!

After traveling 9,160 miles, 23+ hours in 3 planes and 4 airports, I finally arrived in Phoenix – the Valley of the Sun. But there was no sun when I landed. Well, how often does it rain in the desert? Rarely! I guess I brought along the equatorial showers with me.

Since it was a Tuesday, I had to have Rubio’s tacos for my dinner.

It will be busy busy for the next couple of days meeting up with old friends before I head up north for photography. It is really great to be back!

The 107 steps at the National Institute of Education. These steps are great for training for hikes to the Paria wilderness!

Last week, I chanced upon a Chinese Street Opera performance at the open space next to my neighbourhood hawker centre. The performance was carried out on a makeshift stage.

In its heydays (1930s – early1970s), Chinese Street Operas were commonplace especially in Chinatown. Then, the costumes were more resplendent, and the staging was definitely more grand than the neighbourhood performances we see nowadays.

Today, street operas face a declining audience. They appeal more to the old as they are performed in dialects (either in Cantonese, Teochew or Hokkien), which young Singaporeans find difficult to understand and appreciate. Presently, the handful of troupes here perform during Chinese religious rites or festival celebrations organised by the temples. They are more visible during the seventh lunar month (Festival of the Hungry Ghosts). It has been said that the performances are put up for the benefit of the Gods and the spirits.

I won’t be surprised if the final curtain soon falls on these troupes and their performances. Sadly, such traditional arts find it hard to survive and thrive in Singapore’s changing social and physical landscape.

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I have been  spending more time behind the potter’s wheel than the camera lens. It is only to be expected as now I am back home in the little red dot. No more hiking and photo trips to wild places, at least for the time being.:-(

As I have a remote interest in any of the Singapore’s favourite past-times (i.e. shopping and eating), I have to find my own worthwhile pursuit. I previously wrote about my Sunday visits to the dragon kiln. It was during one of these morning breakfasts that we decided to awaken the dragon and carry out a wood firing.

So last year, our casual group became Thow Kwang clay artists. Somehow things gained momentum and we not only had a successful 48-hour wood firing in November but also an exhibition of our wood-fired pieces. You can read about our wood-firing experience in this blog.

Here are some of my wood-fried pieces.

There is something about working with clay. It is very satisfying to see a lump of clay turned into a bowl, teacup, vase or some form or other. So I will be focussing more on pottery, perfecting my throwing and glazing skills and experimenting with the various firing techniques. Thow Kwang is my Sunday retreat, far from the maddening crowd – a place where I can relax, exchange ideas and create.