[.a.crafty.talk.]

Let’s face it. I live in Jakarta. Anthropologie, IKEA, Habitat, Tracy Porter…they are all inspirations that make me hooked on the internet. Anyway so far that’s the only way I could give a feast to my eyes and a little consolation for not having these stores here. And I counted my blessings as I rearranged stacks of old magazines and clipping books that occupied so much space in my room. They are my inspiration banks. And thanks God, again, for keeping them safe from the flood last February. For they are the sweet candies to my craving soul…

My daydream was interrupted by the laughing voice of my youngest sister on the phone. “I’ve finished my latest project” she said. “Now preparing a second line, to be sold in the traditional market”

“Traditional market? (in our hometown, the cultural city of Yogyakarta)”

“Yes” her laugh was louder. “the market has this special space for selling crafts. I should give it a try”

“Well, give it a go!”

My crafty sister laughed again.

“You see, we’re both crazy about traditional crafts. You should really try to fit them in your ‘imaginary lifestyle’”

“Which means…?”

“Euh, those high stacks of magazines in your room” she pointed, “they are all international magazines, which is nice for inspiration, and that is your imaginary lifestyle”

“And….?”

“That’s the problem, It’s all imaginary and you can’t find the goods here. Why don’t you try to ‘replace’ the details with locally found crafts to create your own folkloric-influenced style?”

“Well, sister, necessity is the mother of invention”

“So?”

“I still don’t have time to come home, if you mean that I should start there in our hometown. But I can go to Chicmart and Pasaraya (a home decoration shop, and the latter is a department store with a huge section of Indonesian crafts that occupies their entire fifth floor) and start training my eyes….”

“Or to the junk market”

Hmm. I think this time I have been caught by inspiration. Through my crafty little sister. Thanks, little muffin.

My little sister Nataya aka Chacha in our childhood home, our first inspiration, where it all started...







my two sisters and a few cousins in the living room of our Javanese house



Nataya's artworks "Chachalotta"





Baby Nataya in mid 80s, already crafty



images from Chachalotta

[.three-column.blog.]

Notice what's new with this blog? *winkwink* Yes, the layout! :-)

I had, for quite sometime, been eyeing those three-column blogs, wondering how they're created, googling and trying out some templates...but much to my dissappointment, it just never worked. Should I say, I never gave up? Somehow after more googlings and checkings, I found this little tutorial that seemed clear and easy to understand. I followed the step-by-step instruction provided on the page, and youhouuu! It really worked!

You may want to check it yourself. Here's the link:

The 'original' page of the tutorial:
http://www.bloggerbuster.com/2007/07/create-three-column-blogger-template.html

The same tutorial by the same author on Zimbio:
http://www.zimbio.com/Free+Blogger+Beta+Template/articles/40/Create+three+column+Blogger+template

Thanks Amanda for your awesome tutorial!

[.flower.field.webset.]

'tis the season of beautiful things...and finally the flower field set is now ready to download....my huge apology for those who have been waiting for it since end of september when i first announced it *blush* - or those who have been so far wondering "where's the update?"

i realise "flower field" doesn't sound christmasy nor wintery, but hey, our friends in the southern hemisphere is enjoying summer now :-) and in any case, i love drawing flowers...in or out of seasons ;-)

you can download the webset from here. it is in zipped file to protect the graphics from direct linking. this webset will also be available to download from its original home www.amretasgraphics.com in a few days.

the sad news is, this is probably the last webset that is available for free. i may start charging for my future graphics in 2008. besides the fact that i've been very dissapointed by the misuses and direct linking, running my graphic site has grown too pricey for me lately. i understand this could be unfair to those who cannot afford, and i will still have free graphics for everyone, but well, to be very honest, earning something no matter how little it is from drawing graphics will keep myself motivated :-))

well, more about it later, but in the meantime, i hope you enjoy the flower field set! :-)

download the flower field webset

screenshot of what you can find in the set below:

[.what's.your.pirate.name?.arrr!.]

This is fun! I took the quiz and they got me a pirate name: Red Anne Roberts. The comment is much more interesting, however...;o)

My pirate name is:

Red Anne Roberts

Passion is a big part of your life, which makes sense for a pirate. Two things complete your pirate persona: style and swagger. Maybe a little too much swagger sometimes -- but who really cares? Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

[.going.tartan.]

Wew! I love tartans. And I got inspired by my youngest sister, a crafter by profession, she was here last week, and crafts and crafting seemed to be the main subjects of our endless conversations. It seems like I still need a lot of practice. But hey, it's fun! I covered an 'ordinary' plastic folder with fabric - oh, tartan - that I found earlier while exploring the 'junk market' in central Jakarta. So you see, it's one of a kind! :-)

[.going.digital.]

I should have written about this a few months ago when by chance I discovered Zinio while looking for info about international subscribtion to some not-easy-to-get-in-Jakarta magazines.

Now a few months later I already downloaded a few editions of Elle Decor and Country Living in digital format, and I have nothing to complain. Very practical and I can save some space on my book shelves for other magazines I could find here :-)

All I had to do to be able to view the magazine was downloading and installing the Zinio Reader which is available from the site. Now as long as I have my computer with me I can open the magazines and read them, easily, since I can zoom or reduce to size of the images to fit the screen.

It looks like these:

Image from Elle Decor - Dec 2007:




Images from Country Living - Dec 2007:

[.the.noblest.stories.]

It’s October, and came the week that would make my heart race with curiosity: the Nobel Prize announcement.

I can’t say why I have such inexplicable fondness to this event. A whiff of memory would take me to days where my father and I were leafing the encyclopedia for children. It was a set of 12 big books, heavily illustrated, and nicely translated to Indonesian language.

I set my heart instantly to those about astronomy, physics, and mythology. After school was identical with time to marvel at planets, moon and stars, to be inspired by Marie Curie and Albert Einstein, to get lost in the Olympian world of Athena and Hercules.

By the time I was in high school, my admiration of Marie Curie and Albert Einstein didn’t fade. The most expensive book I bought for my self at that time was the biography of Albert Einstein, and my profound obsession was having luminescent radium on my bedside table, just like Marie Curie (thanksfully it was only a dream, having radium nearby can actually kill you!).




Reading and reading about Marie Curie and Albert Einstein inevitably led me to a further quest, the other Nobel prize laureates. And very often, almost always, what touched me most was actually reading about the stories of their lives. The lives behind the researches and the discovery of knowledge of the universe, the lives behind the efforts to make this world a better place for mankind to live.

All these stories, are all remarkable. Sometimes, when I finished reading the stories, all I could do was thanking God and the universe that the world is blessed with such wonderful people who dedicated their lives to science and humanity.

These Nobel laureates are only a small percentage of the actual number of scientists and humanitarians in this world, I could only smile imagining how long my list of people to be grateful to would be :-)

Link: www.nobelprize.org