Mimi's OTHER Portmeirion Collection

Mimi came to me with a few Portmeirion plates ... commissioning me to paint the designs on some signage plaques and a tea-box. It was a tall order I thought, since I only have the plates to refer to for colour and pattern guidance .... no notes, no nothing on how to draw and paint!!! Oh well... I had to rely on experience and my sense of colour and the good old photostat machine and tracing paper haha...

Anyway... on the whole... I gave myself a pat on the back... for work well done ... muahahahahaha ... or so I assume hehe ... have a look see below *wink wink*....

Signage to her show apartment ... Beautiful Pottery is the name... a design I adapted from a wall paper border I found a loooong time ago

Pink Parrot tulips (Tulipa liliaceae) leading into the guest washroom

The sign on the master bedroom speaks for itself ... lily flowered azalea (Rhododendron lilliforum) was the choice

A small plaque of harebells (Campanula rotundifolia) to hold keys ... "must be small", she says..."very small space on the wall by the door" ...

..... and treasure flower (Gazania ringens) on the tea box .....

...so shouldn't I be happy huh???? ... that's all folks ... ;)) more to come ...

More n more Portmeirion pottery designs..

This project... a signage is almost done... just waiting for my hands to get steady to put in the letterings "Beautiful Pottery". Lately I've been having pains in the arms and shoulders ... I don't even sit down long hours anymore to complete anything ... every project is done on a touch n go basis ... taking long breaks between sessions *sigh*... guess I've forgotten, I'm not as young and agile as I used to be ....

Anyway, this is a signage for Mimi's display apartment for her collection of Portmerion and other exclusive pottery for sale. I've adapted this design from a wall paper I found at a friend's house. Had always wanted to have it painted for myself... but errrrr... that was just a thought hehe. Anyway... glad I had the chance to paint it... though it's not for me :(

Check it out ya... will post the completed version later when I'm done ... cheerio

The Avian House ...

This was a design I adapted from Chris Hobel's painting on a utensil holder. Figurines of any form is not my favourite subject... but I do occasionally make an attempt to do something different. The rooster and the hen is a miserable attempt on my part here... but hey... this is art ;))) ... not too pleased with the effort though hehe. Yup... yup... yup...

err... Noorazma do I need to redo this?

*sigh*

Here's a failed attempt at Scott's Roses painted on a stool haha... a classic example of "don't-paint-if-you-are-not-in-the-right-mood". It was a request by a customer for Scott's Roses ... but the outcome is nothing like Scott's *sigh* ... oh well if she doesn't like it, the stool is mine ... one of the reasons why I don't take deposits ... if the painting is unsatisfactory, then the customer need not take it ... anyway... she has not seen it yet... she may or may not want it hahaha ....oh wellll ....

Tulipa Liliaceae ...

Mimi came to me with Portmeirion plates... samples of flowers she'd like me to paint. I'd just completed 1 with 2 more to go hehe. She requested tulips on a signage for her washroom ... but she wanted something different.... to paint the tulips without the butterflies on a background other than white as in the case for all Portmeirion designs. It was a task I enjoyed for it makes me think ... my brain is forced to think ahead before I put the paints down onto the surface!!! So what you see here is the outcome of my thoughts .... and after thoughts hehehe ...as changes were made as I paint ...yup!yup!yup!

I now have to wait for my carpenter to send me the tea-box and a plague for another signage to be placed at her entrance .... till I get them done ;)) ... be seeing y'all ...

For the bride....

It's 1.03am now... I'm dead tired but I can't sleep .... too many things in my mind (err...on my mind??? prepositions always my weakest!!! hehe) ... thoughts not coherent. Need rest ... ah well... might as well get this post out .... promised you all didn't I?

Kak Masnah's son's wedding just passed last weekend ... thus I'm now free to show off my work on her boxes and trays. I was under obligations not to show prior to the wedding hehehe. It was done in a unique blend of grey and silver and pearl white ... it took me many many MANY sleepless nights to mull over the designs to make them unique but definitely presentable masterpieces. Each item has a different design but all tied together with the same colour scheme. Kak Masnah, being the creative lady that she is, has successfully enhanced them with other ornaments and accessories teamed with beautifully laid flowers. I don't have the words to describe them... but these pics will say a thousand words .... have a look see ya ...

The book stand was simply painted to give a 3D effect and was used as a stand for the Quran

The lid of the box was given a textured effect, made to look antiqued. In it she has put in the toiletries ... I think hehe












The papier mache boxes came in a set of threes. I definitely must have forgotten to take the last one as it was added as an after thought. I did some lacework on them ...same concept but different designs











My lace designs I borrowed and modified from Arlene's works apart from some that I designed myself. So in this lidless box, goes the shoes and purse ...











I actually don't know what goes into that box ... hehe I took these pics as she was still decorating them. Anyway... I did a battenberg lace on the lid ... it was a strain on my neck and shoulders ... but I enjoyed it :))














That's the money box .... with big dowry on a bank draft hehe ... lucky bride *sigh*












This was for the ring .. I think ... can't really remember what she told me.... yup! you got it right... memory gone on holiday and forgot to come back hehehehe ...




What you see here are just some of the boxes and trays that were almost done ... below I'll show you the rest of the items that I'd done for her.... as of 6 June 2010, it was not yet adorned with Kak Masnah's specially delicate and intricate touches. I didn't have the opportunity to view the full completed settings though :(

2 cake stands with more lace work of different techniques;)















The last 2 boxes to show off ... It took me over a month to complete them all... but it was worth the effort!!!













...and the time now is 2.48am.... taking my rest now.... zzzzZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzz

Portmeirion lilies... again

This seems to be a favourite amongst portmeirion ceramic lovers from the Botanic Garden series. I'd done sweetpeas and recently strawberries (a design from one of the many series that they have... don't ask me what... can't remember hehe!!!) ... but my customers love the lilies. I'd had them painted on jewelry boxes, wall shelves, huge wall mirror frame, bins, lazy susans, placemats, trays and cutlery boxes ... that's to show how versatile the design is!

So here's to show 2 cutlery boxes with a mirror image of the lilies painted on the top lid .... had to paint both at the same time in order to maintain the colour scheme ...

On another note, last Jun 3 2010, we (Aniza, Zaiton and I) ran a workshop for Dapur... painted strawberries on a cheese board. This is a first of the Dapur workshop series for beginners. There's news that Laman will start off with the intermediate series early next year... so lovers of decorative painting... be on the look-out for the advertisements in these 2 magazines ya... what's in the syllabus you asked? ROSES ... so for those of you who'd been with Laman for the beginner series... you are priority .... so start practicing your strokes... refer to our book for guidance if you are lost ;))

Have a great day y'all... be seeing you soon ya... will show off my collection of lace work next...

Ebony set

I am blessed ... I was commissioned to paint a set of items for a lady who has everything ...that her friends feel that my paintings would be make great personalised items from them to her. And thus the journey began ...


She's a teacher retiring today... and her colleagues felt that personalised paintings on household decorative items would be most befitting for a lady who has everything that money can buy. I hope I lived up to expectations... have a look see here ya... a wall mirror teamed with a tissue box, a wall plague and a tea-box ... set painted in black with hydrangeas ....











The wall mirror and the wall plague









The tea-box which can actually be used as a jewelry box too









The tissue box as seen at different angles







Have a great day ya... am facing writer's block today ... haven't the words to story-tell hehe

Ai Kuan's Vol 52

I was commissioned to paint a b'day gift for Ai Kuan by a group of friends who were lost for ideas on what to get for a lady who's got almost everything! I'm honoured that they feel that my paintings are good enough to present as a personalised gift from May Lee, Anis, Eli and Jennifer.

On this book-box, I painted a design I adapted from a serviette (something I took off Zaitun's table just a day before ...hehehe), a design by Kathryn White ...done my way. I fell in love with the design the moment I laid eyes on it, and Ai Kuan's gift box seems to be most timely and appropiate for me to paint it. Spent marathon hours over a period of 3 days ... but I love the final look. I do hope Ai Kuan finds it precious enough to treasure :)

To this... I end with a good day to one and all. I need to continue another marathon of painting... to complete a set of gifts for a retiring teacher and cutlery boxes for a house warming... BY 30 JUNE!!!!! 6 items in all ... to sigh? or to smile??? ... I shall choose to smile :)))

Have a great week ahead ya ....

The 20-minute job...

*Sigh* ... painting mode ...OFF. Been pottering around in my garden... presumably giving TLC to my plants (hahaha! big joke!!!) ... yup! my poor neglected pathetic looking plants ... guilty as charged!!!! ...

Anyway... will show you my garden later ya... am slowly but surely giving it a face lift, adding more colour here and there. It's like a weekly affair now... there will be something different somewhere somehow ... minor but yeah! different ...hehehe

Age is also definitely catching up with me. Am not as energetic as I used to be. If my mornings are spent in the garden or filled with classes... then, by afternoon I'm almost listless ... and by nightfall... I'm DEFINITELY lifeless, seeking the comfort of the bed for an early night!!! Oh well ... life goes on.. anyway, for now... I only have this plague to show off.

Had it base-coated almost a year ago... but left it alone for lack of ideas. Roses were the order of the day... but somehow the mood never came. For one thing, the base was a colour I had experimented with. Loved the effect but since it's a unique colour (don't ask me what colour I used ok... errr can't remember hehehe!!!), I found trouble in getting the correct colour tone for the roses. SUDDENLY a few days back... I had the urge and just followed my heart... and frankly... I love the look. Very pastel, romantic tones to match the background. 20 minutes!!! That was all that was needed to paint the roses... and to think that I left it alone for a year!!!! Sheeeshhhh!!!!! (what else is new huh???) However... the look is not complete. I'll have to give it back to the rightful owner as she'd like to paint in the letterings herself.... over to you, Ita

So now, I need to seek the ON button again... have two major projects to complete before end of month... YIKES!!!!!

Have a great weekend y'all .... nora over n out!