I heart Art Wednesday!

Here it is folks… Just what you have been waiting with baited breath for… the first printing of my colourgraph print block that I made last week in Art Class at Out-2 Saigon … At first I wasn’t too sure how well it would turn out… but for my first attempt… pretty darn pleased with the results!

Actually… before i got to get all messy and covered in printing ink I made another print block… something that would contrast with all the circles… sort of art deco sunburst inspired… I love love love the way this print block turned out…

Finished yet? Oh no… more to come… I have 2 hours people… I can create a tonne of messy printy goodness in that time… press on dear readers… Next step… try out my first print block on a different type and colour of paper… this time a fabulous bright canary yellow tracing paper…

Now here comes the cool part… layer the yellow tracing paper print on top of the geometric print and voila…

Pretty Neato!

Next week I get to play around with my print blocks and actually create a piece… I think I would like to try out some terps transfer as a background to print onto… best get myself to a photocopiers at top speed!

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Before I bid you all a good night… if you find yourself in Saigon on May 7th and you like art and you like wine… why not join me and the lovely folks at Out-2 Studio  for Art & Wine…

I don’t think it needs much more explanation… do you?

Happy Art Wednesday chaps!

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Contrasting Sunrise

I think this is possibly my favourite photograph that I have taken to date… sunrise at Angkor Wat… worth getting up at the ungodly hour of 4.30am and waiting for hours until the perfect picture came into frame.  The light was poor being a somewhat overcast day but using my sunglasses as a lens filter it gives the photograph a golden glow… I love the contrast of the modern cheap plastic chairs against the stunning silhouette of Angkor Wat… it evokes wonderful memories of my travels and time with my wonderful Mom and friends… this photograph makes me happy happy happy…

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Round… like a Circle in a Spiral…

Print Block... before printing...

Art Wednesday… and I very nearly didn’t make it… buildings in Saigon get demolished, renovated and reconstructed on an almost daily basis and i wasn’t entirely certain the studio would still be there… however… hiding down a side street beside an abandoned cinema and tucked behind a thousand motorbikes is the Out-2 Saigon studio… actually… it isn’t that hard to find… I just missed the bloody enormous sign…

A small but lovely studio with super friendly people… projects nearing completion and stunning pieces hang on the wall, filling up the space as well as serving as inspiration… the course will run over the next 8 weeks… just long enough to get me through the last term with my sanity intact…

Printing… cut glue stamp stamp roller stamp… actually… as you can see from the photo above I got as far as the cut and glue stage… a cathartic process… selecting pieces for their texture and the negative shapes they will create… I chose circles… I wasn’t sure where I was going… to be honest I still have no idea how it will turn out… but I liked the idea of diminishing circles using everything from hessian & ridged paper to coins & buttons… I know it may not look like much yet (although i think it is a little bit pop arty and kitsch)… but when it has all dried the fun part will come next… rollering on the acrylic paint and seeing how it turns out on paper!

….Let’s hope it turns out as well as I imagine it in my head…

2 hours disappeared… but at the end I had made something… something not for work… something not for another person… and something that on Tuesday I didn’t know how to do at all… how awesome is that…

Sarah, the Out 2 Saigon chapette in charge of us budding artistes was really supportive and encouraging – exactly what you would hope for in fact – and made sense of some of my odd ideas to incorporate my print block with fabric or photographs… mission for this weekend… find a photocopy and print place… oh and learn all about terps transfer technique…

…As I suspected… Highlight of my week…

…Oh… a few pretty Hoi An lantern photographs added here…

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Out in Saigon

Saigon Post Office

So often I forget just how wonderful Saigon actually is… how many strange and curious sights i overlook because they just become part of the blur of daily life here. Not today though… or yesterday for that matter… Two of my most favourite people have arrived from England… Cat & Toby… this is there first trip to Asia and it is my opportunity to share with them some of the things I love most about the city.  We started off the day with a traditional Vietnamese breakfast… a hot spicy bowl of Pho… a delicious noodly soup that you can’t perfectly describe in words… the crunch of the beansprouts, the tang of chillies and limes all combined in one delicious mouthful of this delightful meal.

With bellies full and a good caffeine zing we ventured forth into Ben Thanh market… a place I usually avoid… as much because of the tourists as the locals… wandering through the cramped aisles piled high with fabric and food, a bag of freshly prepared jack fruit in hand… stopping to marvel at the weird and wonderful produce… it is quite special… even if a white face means you have to work incredibly hard to get a bargain!

Slowly strolling along the city streets we followed Le Loi down to Dong Khoi to the Opera House and then Notre Dame and my favourite building… the post office… just as stunning outside as inside… would be the perfect backdrop for a Poirot mystery to begin…

The heat is somewhat oppressive this time of year and instead of opting for a bottle of overpriced water on the street we went to NYDC for a delicious ice cold glass of Lemon Shiver… thirst quenching and fabulous for stabilising the core temperature of parched tourists…

Thumbs up for Lemon Shiver!

Onwards… this time to China Town… aniseed… the first thing that hits you is the pungent aroma of herbs and spices… huge sacks brimming with all kinds of oddities which will eventually be pulverised, mashed or ground into some truly foul smelling Chinese medicine…. we were content just to look…

....don't eat the mushrooms...

A walk through Cho Lon and into the haberdashery market before heading to Pham Ngu Lau… backpacker district… for another icy cold beverage… ca phe sua da… people watching and street hawker avoiding…

All the delicious sights and sounds and smells absorbed it is time to head home… only to refresh… dinner at the superb Quan An Ngon… over ordered again… but you just want to try everything!

Fresh rolls with shrimp barbequed on sugar cane

I love being a tourist where I live… It makes me appreciate how wonderful Saigon truly is… it may be prettier but the grass isn’t always greener on the other side…

Daisies at Quan An Ngon

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