MAPPING NOMAC : THE DIY LOGO

I was fiddling the other day in between my travels, just sketching and doing my handicrafts. I thought of my friend Swee who started her handicraft business, Swiedebie from scratch in The Netherlands. It was a tough start with no income for a couple of years. It was a lot of creation and recycling materials, upcycling in a way, and then braving the weather at art and craft fairs in the country to try to establish her brand of plushies and handmade wonder. I cringed at the thought of spending on materials when you are struggling with income and the whole notion of profiting to feed yourself is a faraway idea.

I started to think of how one could easily produce their own logo by hand and yet having it look more or less professionally duplicated. Sure there are rubber stamps, potato cuts and stencils. But these methods do not allow one to scale it easily. What if the only tools I have are the trusty old scissors and pencil? Here is the challenge: how can I simplify the process?

I thought of Macca Lee who embarked on his 7-month trip around Europe. How he could use his web name 'Mapping Nomac' all around the world like those who became worldwide memes by dancing or posing all around the globe.

I started toying with the idea of paper crafting and played with different folds and cuts. The accordion fold seemed like a simplified fold in this case, making it almost creating each letter in a 'factory line'. Not all names could be applied to this method. Nomac is short enough and all the letters have almost symmetrical forms. You will see what I mean in the next few pictures. Swiedebie would not be a good name to try on this simple duplication.

All you need is paper, a pen or pencil, a pair of scissors and something round for a more precise curve to be drawn.

This is the final logo of Mapping Nomac. It is black just as a default. It could well take on anything one can get hold of. Be it maps, used leaflets, magazine spread, menus, tickets...etc.

Just finish off with 'Mapping' in handwriting for that personal touch.

PEOPLE TRY LIVING IN A SUPER TINY HOUSE

WANGARI MAATHAI : I WILL BE A HUMMINGBIRD

In this beautifully animated clip from Dirt! The Movie, Wangari Maathai tells an inspiring tale of doing the best you can under seemingly interminable odds. Join us at www.DirtTheMovie.org

DIRT! THE MOVIE

Excursion into the realms of soil, the number 1 lifegiver on Earth...It's fundamentally important ecological functions, our poor understanding of it as well as our destructive relationship with it. They are so essential to life and thus to us, that our survival is directly dependent on their understanding and protection!

CROCHET, THE NON-COMMERCIAL MEDITATIVE HOBBY

I have the habit of crocheting. It is calming for me and it is a form of meditation in my opinion. I like to crochet useful things whilst watching videos or traveling on the bus or on the plane. Instead of Candy Crushing or some senseless social networking that does not lead to anything productive, how about let us make something. Whether it is a small coaster from leftover yarn, or a pouch, or a scarf, they make useful gifts for friends and family with free time to readily available in your hands!

Why buy something from the stores? Why pay more and benefit commercialism? Why not learn something new, a useful hobby? Why not actually produce something with your hands? This month I made a conscious effort to learn how to read crochet patterns. I already know how to read simple patterns, but I want something more. I found an intermediate vintage pouch pattern and off I went.

It was not easy. Reading patterns take some effort and trial and error to get right. But after a few tries, I was off with my fidgety fingers. A 50g of yarn makes about 3 pouches and that makes a nice little gift for friends this season. At the end of watching my series and movies, VOILA! I made a gift. How fab is that? What are you making this season? Make a point to make something with your hands. And the more useful it is, the better. Your friends and family would actually use it. 

Gandhi used to spin wool to support India making their own clothes. And I hope to make a positive change in my life and the people around me, one stitch at a time, one pouch at a time.

About 1920, Gandhi began his program of hand-spinning wool into yarn and weaving the yarn into cloth. He had three principal reasons for doing this: (1) to aid economic freedom by making India self-sufficient in cloth; (2) to promote social freedom through the dignity of labor; and, (3) to advance political freedom by challenging the British textile industry and preparing Indians for self-government. He also began espousing his desires for a united and independent India, a revival of cottage industries, and the abolition of untouchability. Over a period of about ten years, he built the Indian National Congress into a major political and social force in India, and used that force to bring increasing international pressure upon Great Britain to grant independence to India.

SIMPLICITY ROCKS

Found these randomly and thought we post them anyway. Love love love.

CAN YOU WALK ON WATER?

Can You Walk on Water ? Well, now you can! All you need is corn starch and water! Have a look at the video.Walking on Water Experiment - People run, jump and dance on a pool filled with 2,100 gallons of non-newtonian fluid (corn starch and water) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Really do not understand what this has anything to do with a bank. It is simply gimmick, but at least the science is fun.

PAPER STOCK MATTERS

AN ARCHITECT TURNS A 75SQFT HOUSE IN ROME INTO A LIVEABLE TOURIST STAY

The 'Smallest House in Italy' Is Architecturally Stunning

By Melissa Stanger, Business Insider

Imagine living a hair's breadth away from all the most romantic, historic sights of Rome. Now imagine doing it in 75 square feet.

Architect and designer Marco Pierazzi saw the potential in an abandoned, one-room alleyway house just steps from Roman landmarks like the Pantheon and Saint Peter's Square. He bought it, fixed it up, and lived there with his wife until their child was born. Pierazzi now rents what he calls the "smallest house in Italy" to friends, acquaintances, and tourists, making it a convenient place to stay on a Roman holiday.

The tiny house sits in an alley around the corner from Castel Sant'Angelo and St. Peter's Square, right in the middle of Rome.

The tiny house sits in an alley around the corner from Castel Sant'Angelo and St. Peter's Square, right in the middle of Rome.

The house had been abandoned for many years before Pierazzi discovered the place on sale and bought it in 2010.

Formerly property of the Abbey of St. Peter in Chains, it looked like an HGTV nightmare. Mold and rot invaded the wooden beams. Plaster fell in chunks from the walls. It was in shambles.

Pierazzi fixed it up and made it livable. The home was built sometime in the 1700s, he tells us, and may have been used as a one-room residence in the 1930s, but had been largely out of commission until 2010.

"Rome was different then," he says. "[Those were] the days when it was enough for the poor [to have] a bed, a stove, and [a place for] washing." But Pierazzi proved that it's still possible to live minimally today.

The house, which covers all of 75 square feet, is less than an armspan wide and 13 feet long. After Pierazzi and his wife had a child, they starting renting out the space to friends and acquaintances.

The little house has a full kitchen, a bathroom with a shower, a small lofted sofa bed, and an LED TV with Hi-Fi sound system.

The table, which seats 3-4 people, drops down from the wall so it doesn't block the staircase.

A trapdoor leads up to the lofted bedroom area...

...and can be refitted so you don't accidentally fall through in the middle of the night.

The bedroom doubles as a living room. You'll find shelf space and an LED TV mounted to the wall.

It's actually quite cozy, with shelving and lots of light.

The bathroom is cleaner and homier than any bathroom you'll find in a hotel.

And the kitchen is neatly organized and fully stocked. Anyone can easily enjoy a vacation here.

ANOTHER SESSION AT ART JAMMING ARTEASTIQ

Thursday is free upsize day at the art jamming session at Arteastiq. Jeddie and S decided to go painting since Friday is a holiday and it just seems fitting. There were not a lot of people at the studio. A lot of them finish painting before their 3 hours is up and so it was only Jeddie and S left at the studio. The session starts at 6pm and ends at 9pm. S likes to document her painting progress. Her first painting was a cropped inspiration of Van Gogh's, but she reckons it is more effective and more her to do her own rather than 'copy' a reference.

This is S's first coat. Yellow was it. S likes a lot of texture and thus added those tear drop patterns to the canvas. This is achieved by squeezing the tub of paint rather than using brushes.

The drip effect is S's favorite. It creates a lot of texture in a random Jackson Pollock's style. It is however limited as not all the colours are fluid enough to achieve this.

Jeddie's palette. Very conservative in the amount of paint she was using.

S's palette with the crazy amount of paint. See how the paint is just dripping down on the palette.

 Just look at the relief of the paint on the canvas.

This is the finished painting, still dripping. We couldn't bring back the painting on the night itself because it was simply too wet. We left it there overnight and decided to have some martinis down the road.

We checked out the studio at closing to see our painting a last time. People always check out the painting sessions outside the window, just wondering what they really see from here.

We had cravings for prawn soup after martinis but it is unfortunately sold out. :-(

ART JAMMING AT ARTEASTIQ

Arteastiq – Today’s Social Painting and Tea Sipping Place

There is a huge creative potential in you that is relatively untapped, because traditionally we are in a very business and money-oriented city. People rarely take the time to explore their creative side. Arteastiq tea lounge unveils its social painting space that incorporates tea as a whole therapeutic experience that exposes the artistic you.

Customers are given a 50 x 50 cm or 60 x 80cm canvas, unlimited acrylic paint, sponges, brushes and paint palette and are let loose with their imaginations. One free beverage from Arteastiq will be supplied and would-be artists can also order alcoholic beverages to help stimulate the flow of creative juices.

Arteastiq is set to be the latest rave in Singapore. Arteastiq jamming studio allows up to 30 pax in total, an original ad hoc freestyle group painting and tea party place. Start JAMMING now!

This is the reference I cropped from one of Van Gogh's. The colours are very pretty and unusual but it is definitely a brave attempt to do something by a master.

We had Korean hawker fare at the food court at Copthorne. This is cooked by Koreans! but with cheerful food court prices. My hot plate chicken set is a mere S$6.50 and Jeddie's beef soup set is S$6.50.

A painting as such takes forever. The layering and the amount of paint that goes on it takes a long time to dry before you can apply the next layer.

One hour left. This is the thing about art jamming. You only have 3 hours. You can essentially add on the hours at S$5/hr but I think the real art is to time yourself properly.

Really gutted by this blurred photo I took of the canvas before packing it. In this why Tilly cannot even see the actual beauty of the piece. No texture shown here for sure.

Jeddie painting 'The Kiss'. In her own interpretation that is. Very brave to attempt it.

My painting is so thick with acrylic I almost thought it is impossible for me to carry it home on the day itself. However the packaging from Arteastiq is quite well done. They staple the back of your canvas onto the cardboard carrier so that the front will not touch the carrier. Hence, you have a space between your painting and the carrier. It is good protection and also  gives it air to dry. We carried it on the bus and had no problem.