3 Art Cs in Tokyo - Sensoji Temple & Kintsugi

a great day to practice photography !!! tried out lots of new techniques, new compositions and new 摆拍s... 

 

see people picnicking among cherry blossom, we also joined in even though we didnt have any picnic mat with us... =D 

it was cold so i chose to sit in the sun for 2 HOURS!!! 😅😅😅

luv luv this yummilicious melon bun & white peach gellatte from Sarutahiko Coffee... 😍😍😍

luv the dramatic effect of sun & shadow at the dog park where registration is needed for visit

looks like knife painting which i will be learning soon.... =) 

nearly caused cynthia to lose her spects while trying out this new 摆拍... =P

被我拍成孤独老人了... 😅😅😅

art teacher 就是会 support street artist... main reason is to take inspiration from for our kiddos' lessons... oopx... heee

Cynthia took this stylish pic of me when i was coordinating home sweet home reno via text while they were shopping @ Human Made

luv my hair colour... 

😍😍😍

摇出好运哦!!! 

不是故意拍帅哥的... 😅

the start of walking in opposite direction to where we were supposed to head towards... 

走了十多, 二十多分钟, 问了一个, 两个, 三个人 才发现我们迷路了 despite taking reference from google map... wahahaha... in the end, took a cab, 又问了一个人, 跑了一条长长的巷才找到我们的教室... 😅😅

迟到了 一点点

今天的美术课是 KINTSUGI

It is the physical manifestation of Wabi-sabi, the Japanese aesthetic that finds beauty in the "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete."

• Embracing Flaws: Instead of throwing away a broken object or trying to hide the repair, Kintsugi highlights the "scars" as a part of the object's history.

The goal of a good Kintsugi piece is for the gold lines to be smooth and intentional. Achieving that "fine line" requires a steady hand and a great deal of patience during the sanding and polishing process. 

真的是磨到手痛, 手酸... super time consuming, super dusty... process is not complex but really very difficult to get the 金色 '线' 美美 and smooth smooth.. my patience ran thin and that's it...  

my masterpiece was used to house my keys for 4 days until a SBT's intrusion forced me to change to a digital lock. now the bowl sits in my toilet to house my hair bands and clips... 😅😅😅

How can this lesson be brought back to school leh??? 

< Project Wabi-Sabi >

Wabi-sabi is the overarching Japanese philosophy of finding beauty in imperfection and impermanence, while kintsugi is the specific art form of repairing broken pottery with lacquer mixed with gold, embodying wabi-sabi by celebrating, rather than hiding, flaws.

Task : 

> MAKE a ceramic vessel (P5 curriculum) then BREAK it ! 

> Simplify the kintsugi procedure with glue and gold acrylic markers

>  write about a past failure / mistake, and how it actually made them stronger or more interesting—just like the gold lines on the pottery

Dinner at Nishisando

we were caught by surprise when our chef shaped our Monjayaki into a heart!!! so cute!!!

dessert was taiyaki... i had the sweet potato filling!!! yummy!!! 

we got lost once more while locating this entrance to the train station!!! 😅😅😅

my 战利品s for the day!!! 

Harry Potter's Quidditch sweater for Alfred

Stickers designed by Japanese artists; Little Twin Stars for Mab and the Pearl lady with cheery blossom for myself as a memento for this trip!!! Shall use it in Work Planner 2027... 😍😍😍

3 Art Cs in Tokyo - immersive art installations @ teamLab Planets

Candy, Claire & Cynthia, 3 Art Teachers, in Tokyo for 3 days of Art PDL (Module C : Japanese Craft)... Hence this trip shall be remembered as 3 Art-Cs (artsy) in Tokyo... 😍😍😍

so happy we could enjoy this trip together since i wasnt able to join them for ceramic classes in London a few years back!!! 

anyway, 3 Art - Cs finally met up at 2am, cabbed to hotel Asyl, tallest building in the pic below, and whose name we didnt know how to pronoun

deposited our luggage at the lobby and headed off to get 杯面 for supper at the family mart across the street

plenty of sleeping space for the 3 of us as we pushed both the king size beds together but the room was still so teeny tiny that there wasnt space for us to move around much... 😂😂😂

funny episode: 

i was always the first to be ready for bed, followed by claire. by the time cynthia was done washing up, claire & i would be in slumberland liao... on the first night, cynthia couldnt locate the switch to turn off all the lights so she removed the card from the entrance slot, surprisingly the air conditioner was not linked to it so we all slept well and didnt let it bother us much

the same thing happened on the second night and we woke up the following morning realising that most of their devices were not charged as the electricity supply to the sockets was cut off with the removal of the card from the slot.... my devices were not affected as they were all fully charged before cynthia sleeps every night... 

the switch had to be somewhere.. it didnt make sense that the only way to turn off the lights was to remove the card but the room was only that small, why was it that we couldnt find the switch?!?!? after a good 5 minutes of SCANNING the entire room, we found 3 small buttons, the same colour as the headboard and embedded in the headboard!!! 😅😅😅

anyway back to day #1, we 睡到自然醒 and off to lunch we went @ Shibuya Scramble Square

we were told all the tables @ the nice view side had been reserved... =S

then shop shop shop.... nearly got myself a medium bao bao at S$480 for work until Cynthia told me hers couldnt tahan the weight of the school laptop and tore... oki!!! 省钱!!!

Immersive, Interactive Art Installation @ 

must go!!! spent a good 1.5 hrs exploring in the dark, in a whole room of fairy lights, waddling in water, walking on uneven spongy ground and among mythical creatures!!! 😍😍😍

intentionally wore a dress thinking that it would be easier to hold up than to roll up my jeans when moving in the shin-deep water with 'cloud' topping... in the end, 把自己绑成一个葫芦.. 😭😭😭

regretted being in a dress x 2 > trying my super duper best to not 'chau kng' with the mirror flooring!!! 

"Interactive art has always been my favorite—there’s something special, creative, unique about being able to touch the pieces or contribute one's own spark to a larger work. This immersive setup was right up my alley! It felt like we were literally living inside the art.

What I’m taking away from this:

• Mirrors aren't just for self-admiration; they can be a gateway to perceiving infinity.

• The evolution of art: It’s moving from a 'look but don't touch' experience to a 'come inside and explore' adventure."

6pm > weather app showed 12°C and indicated that it felt like 8°C amidst howling winds... 🥶🥶🥶... totally not dressed for the weather!!! 

initially plan was to have dinner here because of the highly raved vegan ramen UZU but the outdoor restaurant just wasnt conducive for a full fledge dinner so we slurped down A bowl of yummy vegan ramen, A cup of hot tea & A scoop of ice cream in record time just to get a taste of all the yummies they served.... 

popped in 10 minutes before closing time at 8pm

to get surrounded by mini and medium piggies!!! 

very cute, especially their tiny wagging tails... they were overly friendly but not nice to pat one cos their hair are coarse and bristly... 😅😅😅

sent this pic into our group chat and captioned "So many Alvin" just cos he was born in the year of the pig... 😂😂😂

he replied with, "it's me (him), psad (his best friend who's very dark) and es (his wife)... wahahahahaha.... 

saw mario carts!!! on the road!!! but only for ppl who have driving license!!! =S 

dinner round 2 of okonomiyaki 

then braved the cold back to our hotel... i was laughed at for using random men as human wind shield while waiting for the green man @ traffic junctions!!!.... brrrr...