ELABORATE

The butterfly and flower canes by Seana Bettencourt are intricate and rich in detail. Find them at Skb31mom.etsy.com.

PERSONALIZED

Wedding cake toppers, baby figurines, name letters – all of these and other personalized items skilfully sculpted out of polymer clay by a UK artist are available through her Etsy shop, boogiebabys.etsy.com.

WHERE IS YOUR PARADISE?

This is my latest painting which I have called 'Paradise'. Readers of my BLOG would recognise that it flows from my previous work inspired by the tree-of-life and tree-of-knowledge. My last few paintings have introduced Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden into my visual explorations of the symbolic and metaphysical potential in stories and iconic motifs.

My interest is not in literal interpretations or illustrating history. My interest is in the possibility of gaining emotional, spiritual and conceptual sustenance that is meaningful in this contemporary world in which we all live. I am not interested in prescribing what this meaningfulness is because I believe each person has the capacity and urge to search for their own meaning. Age-old iconic motifs and stories provide a gateway for each person to open and proceed to explore at their own pace and in their own direction. Readers of my BLOG know of my aversion to the didacticism I see and read in some contemporary cultural offerings, particularly children's literature. Didacticism does not provide a gateway with endless pathways. It is more like a cattle crush. [the yards designed to feed cattle or sheep through to be branded, loaded onto trucks etc.]

I have called my new painting 'Paradise' because the Garden of Eden is described as a paradise. It is also described as a temple, thus indicating that it was a place of worship where a personal relationship with God could take place. Many years ago when people asked me where I lived I would often say, 'In my head.' It sounded a lot more interesting than saying Dalby or Goondiwindi! As a child I daydreamt all the time, much to the dismay of my teachers. However, daydreams are an escape to a paradise, a place where everything is possible. I believe that our Garden of Eden [our temple] lives inside us, in our imaginations and dreams. I also believe that some art is the perfect catalyst for imagination and dreaming, especially if it causes a person to ask questions, to wonder and to reflect. As people do these things their abilities to understand metaphor and symbols becomes more attuned. I have previously written about my observation that contemporary society has lost its ability to 'read' symbols and then to extrapolate meaning from them. Visual literacy skills are not just about knowing what a symbol might represent, but also understanding them at a metacognitive level where meaning can be responded to in both an emotional and intellectual [even spiritual] sense.

A painting, by providing just one nano second of a story, does not attempt to complete it, thus the viewer can provide their own pre and post narratives. My new painting could be said to be based on a narrative ie: the story of Adam and Eve, but what I like about stories which are mythic and symbolic, is that the viewer can place themselves into the story. Thus, the narrative becomes a constantly new one, never before written or seen, yet the core of humanity exists as a spine or trunk of a tree. A person returning to a painting which has provided them with an internal emotional/intellectual or spiritual journey can find themselves taken even further on their subsequent viewings. A number of people who have bought my paintings have told me they see something new in the painting they bought each day. I love hearing this, because it means my painting lives rather than decorates.

A visitor to my house this week spent about 3 hours looking at and talking to me about my work. He made a comment which really blew me away. He said, 'You know you'd return from the dead to look at your paintings Kathryn.' WOW! Now this got my imagination going for sure. Lots of ghosts wandering through my house to get their 'fix'. We discussed what he meant, which was that each painting seemed to have endless possibilities for thought and contemplation, and that one idea lead to another and another, thus making it seem unlikely that one lifetime would provide enough time to fully explore. I took this as a great compliment.

Readers of my BLOG also know of my interest in distance and perspective. Stories/myths and a iconic motifs represented in paintings are like single points with endless trajectories for story and meaning in all directions. Horizons exist behind, in front, beside and under, with each horizon once reached revealing another. Indeed, sometimes returning to a previously visited horizon is important. These horizons may be close or far in temporal or spatial distance.

'Paradise' depicts the moment Eve is created from sleeping Adam's rib. Trees grow from Eve's outstretched arms creating a multitude of colour and pattern. Please read my last two or three posts where I have written more extensively about Adam and Eve, a story which is shared by the three Abrahamaic religions of Islam, Christianity and Judaism. My interest with 'Paradise' was to create a sense of the universe, awe, movement, beauty and extra-ordinariness. Surely these are all elements which the temple aspires to achieve. My other interest is the fact that shared stories connect us forever.

I love painting because each work exists as a point/gateway with endless possibilities. The viewer creates these possibilities and in this way quietly and privately extends my work into the collective memory and consciousness.

Paradise Oil on linen 62 x 82 cm 2009

Random photos - a lot of Wongsie being disgraceful

WJust realised I got a collection of photos!! No theme, just pics.

Here's a shaggy-looking Pumpkin getting her head stuck in an Ikea plastic bag while watching me pack clothes in the new house!

Looking ridiculously cute as she struggles to get out. I'm not helping her, she has to learn to be independent!

Little menace got out and started to mess up my piles of neatly folded apparel.

Dinner with Lewis and Eekean at Newton before we go watch H is for Hantu. Shengrong was late!

And check out Lewis's mad-huge SLR!

Om nom nom.....

Wongsie loves freaking parsley ok! The evidence on her plate as she chows Lewis's orh lua's parsley!! Gross to the max.

My cousin's daughter Chloe sitting in an Ikea swing. Gorgeous colours!





Dinner with Mike



At our favourite restaurant



My crabmeat linguine... Would kill for a plate now!



Mike's seafood pasta... Not as fab as mine!



New wallet!! So chio!!

Here's Nanolove, the fattest, laziest hammie puff ever! This is her default position. Lying on her back and snoozing!

I took this shot because she was actually EATING in her sleep. That's right! She regurgitated a seed from her cheek pouch, and was chewing on it!

All while being plopped on her back and eyes closed!

Greediest hammie EVER.

At my friend's pool. Fallen flowers look so gorgeous!





I love tanning!

Check it out! Fucking hilarious! My friend's mom found these saucy pics in their maid's drawer and fired her.

Apparently she keeps going missing during the night and THIS is what she has been up to - some pole-dancing competition or something!!

Complete with total sleazebag taking a video of her somemore.

Hmmm... The video must be SOMEWHERE!


I shall search youtube for "Gremlin-looking woman dancing sluttily in leopard prints." **


Alas. No such result.


(I will NOT succumb to making low-brow Ris Low jokes!)

Sexay!

Supper with Rozz at 126. We planned for pigging out dim sum, then on to DURIANS! I was so happy that day.

Sharing the century porridge...



Love in a bowl



Rozz's fav: Tender beef strips with a touch of lime.
MmmMmmm



Deep-fried yam puffs!!



Crispy on the outside, wet, soft and gooey on the inside.

The yam mixed with hot char siew is fab.



Here's Rozz blowing away at the food coz she says smoke makes her photos ugly.



My absolute favourite there: Garlic steamed prawns!
So simple yet SOOOO yums.



Chee cheong fun!


And onwards to durians:






There's Rozz snapping a pic of the young durian seller with his goods. -_-



He loves it!

How can anyone not love this? Creamy, sweet, melts in your mouth... I don't see how the smell is pungent either!!

The closest thing to durians I can think of is Creme Brulee - which everyone loves!!

Anyway I have a new pact with Mike. He can never again cook parsley at home, and I can never again bring durians home.

Very sad right? But worth it for no parsley smells at home again, ever!

Happy!

Another pic at the pool - found this cute little dinosaur toy!!

I gave it to a cute little girl at the pool but I'm a bit sad coz I really like the dino!! :(

Safra Mount Faber and a bit of SR's ass.



Me!



Centipede we saw...

Afterwards, dinner with the rest of them...

Only took one picture: Here's eekean glaring at something Lewis said while he nonchalantly continues eating.

Dinner with Alyssa (who wants to remain anonymous. Bleah.) and BFF.



What's with friends wearing fedoras nowadays?

Had dinner with Eekean again and the restaurant was closing, so they gave us two bowls of peanut cream dessert...

Eekean pointed to the bowl of spring onions I took out from the fish dish, and told us to dare her to put the peanut paste into the bowl and eat it!


So I said, "Ok lor, I'd give you 1 dollar if you eat that."


And she said "On!"

Gross can? It may not be very gross to most people but I HATE spring onions. So...



Can tell she's loving it.



Urgh!! Eating with gusto!


Finished.


And the end result, she gets..........




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Change! Not even a dollar coin lor!! WTF.

She happily took the money.



Here's my nails, sponsored by Celab Nails!

Gorgeous, right?



Happy! My nails before the manicure was atrocious.

More of Eekean's disgracefulness, as promised:





Never will I ever eat squid ink pasta again.



One more pic from the LG advert...



At the live TV and web interview for Blog TV!

The topic for that day was Plastic Surgery and they invited Dr. Martin Huang and Rozz and me!!

It was like a Girls Out Loud reunion!!

Hosts were Flying Dutchman (anyone knows his real name at all??!) and Phin.

It was pretty fun. Dr Huang is so funny!

They gave him a picture of the Flying Dutchman and asked him to circle where he should get plastic surgery.

You'd think that most people would be polite and circle one or two areas, but the whole picture was full of red circles!

Damn funny lah!

The hosts totally took it in stride though.

Anyway I was informed that BlogTV has gone on for 4 seasons and this is the first time I've agreed to do an interview with them despite being asked several times before.

I didn't even realise lor!

The last time they asked was quite some time ago, and the reason why I rejected them was coz I was STILL pissed with fucking Lin Xue Ling!!

Hahahaha!

I don't forgive and forget easily. Took me 3 years!

Lin Xue Ling, huh? Where are you now, bitch?


(Ok fine her LinkedIn profile says she is still working for Mediacorp as a presenter/producer. Still!)

With Rozzie who's donning on a damn chio Adidas jacket.



:D


That's all for now!

I'm preparing my Nomination speech post so be patient! Will take photos tonight, probably published by tomorrow.

(Yes I said tonight and it's 3.15am. Terrible.)

Meanwhile remember to vote!!

Thank you! Totally appreciate it! :D