Blast from the Past 2

It seems as if the nostalgia of two years ago was not enough for me!

Labour Day initially found me labouring hard in bed despite the noise all around me – apparently there was a huge fight over the saltfish fritters and I was lucky to have gotten any at all! I decided to attack a certain pile in my old room that would convince anyone I’m a hoarder :S There were projects from high school, test papers (only keeping the one’s with high marks so my future nieces will think I was ridiculously smart), art work and a host of other random evidence that I was indeed one of the ‘nerdy kids’ who loved projects so much that I went all out on a project on noise pollution which was given as punishment by our prefect for making too much noise in the class. Basically:

In the first years of high school I was obsessed with Destiny’s Child, and a bit less with Alicia Keys, Aaron Carter and Lil Bow Wow! WOW. (Blame Disney channel!) Spice Girls was more of a Prep School craze.

I hated writing conclusions in essays… Actually, it seemed that I hated ending essays. (Mrs. Foster, I’d like to take this time to apologize for being one of your best and worst students @ the same time!)

Hated studying even more and so I would set mock tests for my friends and have them do it then mark them. I learned from their mistakes.

Then I got to the start of CSA days and that was another whirl wind. seeing those ‘hand studio’ technical drawings I’d slaved and shamelessly cried over really brought back memories. I kept those though! The rest I took photos of and painfully set on a heap to vanish without a trace. They got damaged anyway.

 

 … Otherwise …

My biggest (well….) disappointment in College – A..K.A. The play that never was!

Apparently I made a ‘newspaper’ for a college group project I had to do.

Random chalk pastel drawing I found in a very large sketch book think this was for ‘threshold’ project which found me using plaster, flour, paper,   tissue and God knows what else I had found to make my ‘beautifully-disastrous model’ that earned me a BOLD B!

Those sexy bubbles that stole the attention from the rest of my Al brought Together (ABT) Rural Project that was described as a cool death trap

The Shantoya wall – Created to ‘keep in touch with ma roomie’ because We hardly saw each other! My dorm room was more of a ‘storage container’

Could go on a bit more and tell you about the 7″ cheer leading skirt I dug up from my college days ….  but I’m feeling a lazy vybe over take me. I just love digging up memories! Don’t you??!!

Moving on up …

… It’s official … I was served an eviction notice and little by little I had to move all my things from the 3 x nuff rectangle that I made a room/apartment/escape from the world for some time. Not to worry, I had a place to go. So now, I’m quite pleased that I have internet access still though I’m limited to a certain area of my room ha and can be typing my life away in the comfort of my new room Yay ME! Someone who shall remain nameless is ‘roughing it out’ on  a blow up bed downstairs DWL…well she was at the time that I’d started writing this.

There’s so much that’s been going on . … the move especially but most of all …Austin .. who has already been introduced to his grandparents, grand aunts and uncles …. god father … yup that’s ma baby! Nikey you are still fondly remembered. I haven’t had much time for him though but I intend to in the weeks to follow. Just have to clear ma mind and set my ‘to do list’ up!

So said so done … we went on a fantastic little adventure today and I thought I’d share some of the photos that came out of it …. for those who are clueless as to who/what Austin is, I’ll fill you in ….

If that isn’t clear enough then .. WOW …

Soooo we drove and drove and drove a bit more till we got to Boscobel. Haven’t been to that side in a while -

 found the modes of transport quite interesting though….

….we got to a lovely parcel of land with a great view! Pretty nice indeed though the sun was a bit too intense for my liking, even with the hat on!

Needless to say hunger kicked in so we ended the excursion at Scotchies where i got my grub on with some delicious seafood soup, jerked chicken sausage and festivals. As always they didn’t disappoint me! Now I know that ‘normal’ people would take tons of photos of the food but I’m ‘special’.  Naturally my eyes diverted to the gorgeous flowers and magnificent array of hibiscus around and I knew that I had to capture as much as I could. I call this set “Ode to the HIBISCUS’

 

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When I got home, dad asked if I’d seen the Lily …. absolutely lovely – don’t you agree?

TWO Years Later, I still see shades of GREY

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 Time seems to fly. Initially I had typed ‘one year later’ in the title section only to realize that in fact it was two years ago that I had that overwhelming feeling that life as I knew it was over. I had no idea what I would do with myself or how to re-adjust to ‘normalcy’. Even now I’m still fighting sleep because I’m so used to being up till the sun returns! I was scared of being finally thrown out into the world and nervous at the thought of not having lecturers or studio or anything I’d grown accustomed to over the last four years.

I fondly remember my last days at C.S.A. (Caribbean School Of Architorture); sure as hell feels like yesterday. Running around to get my final presentation pinned up. By then I’d learned how to ‘stress less’ and I knew for sure that I was happy. I often think of my classmates and would wonder if we’d keep in touch or slowly drift apart. It’s proved to be mostly the latter… I’ve even realized that some friendships were horribly misinterpreted. Now I look at the different persons in my photo album and realize that many of them don’t hold as special a place in my life as they once did. But that is life; everyone in it is there only for a season. I got over it … moved on and got over them too!

I haven’t updated anything for a while – not even my top secret Microsoft Word personal journal – there’s just so much going on and I guess I’m far too over whelmed to pen it out. But I sit here … staring at that blank wall ahead that I intend to ‘mark up’ with my creativity real soon (take it figuratively or literally), trying to figure it all out. Till then I’d rather go back to the past a lil

I’d made this video to compile my ‘last days’ … still feels like it was yesterday. Contemplated fixing it up because I think it’s quite horrible now .. but two years ago .. I was pretty proud of it so I won’t change it at all! But here’s to life, good friends and the ones I’ve lost along the way!

Le Mural

I’m dead tired… This seems to be he trending story of my life! Today had it’s fair share of drama but I got though it thankfully without having to jump through any windows…I’m mentally gearing up to do some design work but before I do, I’d really like to share PART TWO of my weekend (told in reverse order).

This too was highly anticipated especially since it was somewhat on my ‘Bucket List’ . some time ago, I had volunteered to help paint  a mural which would be on the boundary wall of the Lalyce Grey Basic School on Cassava Piece Road in/near Constant Spring. [see that red line?] The project was undertaken by The Cecil Boswell Foundation and coordinated by Brittany Singh in collaboration with Laura Facey.

The plan was that I’d haul my lil self out of bed and catch the 7:20 bus to New Kingston. Ha … In the end I made it with about 5 minutes to spare. Sat in the car and silently willed the driver to defy time and get me to Ochi in 10 minutes … Would you believe that he almost did! I guess he was in a hurry to get somewhere as well :S Despite the risk on my life I paid him a bit extra  hehe …

I wasn’t quite sure where I was going so I called City Guide. Pity I hadn’t thought to consult Google maps or I would not have been so clueless!

By the time I got to the site things were already in motion so I chose a spot and started painting alongside someone else. The idea behind it was simple, the kids were the ‘masterminds’ so to speak. They were allowed to express themselves on an 11 x 17 board. The team chose about 14 and we split up into groups and attempted to replicate the works of art on a larger scale. There were at least 20 persons there so by 12 the entire wall was almost complete.

For a few hours we were graced with the presence of some members of the community who were quite fascinated by the project. one passer by argued that we were messing up the wall and should leave it alone. He seemed to change his mind when we explained that it was the children’s art and we were merely doing what they would like to see. He said ‘I was just joking, it’s nice’ and hastily walked away.

Once again the rain threatened to spoil a wonderful day but lost the battle and as the sun blazed on I felt ridiculous in my two shirts and wondered why I left my cap in the bag and didn’t wear it (hence my super tanned face on Sunday!) It was fun chatting with the people who were working immediately beside me and watching the mural take shape was great! There was a section that we both couldn’t figure out how to paint. It all seemed so random and abstract. It wasn’t until later in the day that I took a look at it again and suddenly saw the outline of a man glaring at me …. It made my day and instantly deepened my appreciation for the child’s art.

Lunch time found us seated around miniature tables. The chair was so tiny I was afraid I’d break it. Looking up took me back in time to my own basic school/kindergarten days when I’d stare at the maze of information around me. There were things dangling from the ceiling. Every square inch was covered [so I've exaggerated ] with some valuable piece of information and I’m sure that if they could, they’d have found some way to get information on the floor as well. I wondered how I managed back in the day but then came the question ‘isn’t the young mind like a sponge?’ – highly absorbent. P.S. Check out Sam Sharpe and the very well made up heroes, heroine and government officials!

  

The new Street-scape. Sorry I didn’t do a before and after!

  

We also mounted some 40+ Art Work on one of the walls in what seemed to be the assembly area. Which I could see the look on the kids’ faces when they get to school and see their new surroundings for the first time!

(L-R) ‘Allah’, ME, Laura Facey-Cooper, The school’s Principal, Kemar, Norris Jr. and Jeffrey. All smiles (well most of us) though feeling pretty exhausted after a day well spent! By this time everyone else had left.

Highlights from the 2012 Liguanea Art Festival

So it seems that every imaginable force is against this post which should be part one of two. For the past few days I’ve been typing like the world was ending at random intervals with the hope of posting it to my blog. Now that I have the photos …the damn word document has VANISHED…… *Counts to 10*

Tired as hell! My day started with me walking to catch a taxi only to be greeted with a torrential down pour that left me soaked right through …thanks to the gentleman who pointed that out … I hadn’t noticed -_- … but I appreciate the level of concern he showed. Lunch was two hours late. It was delivered to us from goodness knows where (seriously, I just jumped on the let’s order food bandwagon)… I was so hungry I ate it all … still alive so …. Now home and I’ve started folding 4 of 60 pockets for a wedding invitation I’m working on …. But I am determined to write this today and now have to rely on my pop-down memory to fit in as many details as I can. It’s quite scandalous that I’m a week late and yes I know I have quite a bit of catching up to do…. Blame work … It sucks the life out of me but I quite like it and will miss it when my contract ends. (Bitter-sweet moment)

Last weekend was one I had eagerly anticipated to the point that I had mentally skipped an entire week and almost book my bus ticket for the Knutsford. [Sweet ride BTW] I’m telling it in reverse  so first off was Sunday the 29^th (quickly checks calendar…yes I was correct) at the annual Liguanea Art Festival organized by June and Tong Wong… and as I write I’m thinking how much better this sounds than what I had originally intended. I suppose that loss is a blessing in disguise.

I got the full experience of being at the festival in that I was there from 8:01 by Laura Facey’s watch It was interesting watching the transformation of a parking lot to an ordered maze of booths, some filled to its capacity with amazing art work which included paintings, drawings, sculptures, photography and jewellery. *Wish I had some extra cash though – Next year?!* 

 

After helping to set up, I linked up with Garcia and we sauntered around taking in all the sites and at one point were treated to a complimentary ‘kisko’ each. (Ha ha the last time I had one of those was back when my dear parents still had to open it for me!) Needless to say, it was quite refreshing.  She also fulfilled her dream of introducing herself to the beyond talented Gene Pearson and went a step further to take a photo with him. I saw so many people I haven’t seen a while and It was great to see the work of my former lecturer Alison West-Martin. (Sorry I don’t have a photo)  We were later drawn in by Artist Fernard who was eager to hear our views on his work that he deemed Fauvism, Expressionism and Abstract.  We had a rather lively conversation about the art form, his favourite pieces and how he started selling his work  before moving on to another booth.

Speaking of artists Kamaal was pretty popular and with good reason. He continued his ‘tradition’ of painting in his booth and amazed passersby. Had I ¾ of his talent…. *Sigh*

  

As one would imagine … the hunger eventually kicked in. There were a few food stations set up but only one that caught our eye – Aladin; which turned out to be Mediterranean cuisine… not so impressed that they had a photo of the actual characters on the front of their menu but I got over it. There was a hunk of meat?! [called gyro – lamb and beef combo] on a huge rotating clindrical thing-a-ma-jiggy and while we were disturbed by the look of it, our curiosity was piqued. After walking around it for a while we mustered up the courage to buy one. Money well spent actually. It’s on hope road so I’ll try something else on the menu (but noooo to the ‘Foul M’Demas’ :O) when I’m back in that area.

Gladly the sun won a brief battle with the rain that threatened to literally rain on the parade. From all indications, the event was well supported and I for one enjoyed the live drumming and singing performances; caught the end of an impromptu capoeira demonstration, realized how not-so-scary johnkanoos dancers are.

Capoeira

Johnkanoo Dancers

*CTRL+SAVE* The vybe was just right and although I was looking a tad bit burnt out from the day before’s activity, (soon to come) I was happy that I was able to be there.

Mom saw this photo and said I look like an underprivileged child *sniffle*

I discovered that apparently I’ve been hiding under a rock for some time when Garcia requested cranberry-grape wata. That was definitely new to me and I concluded that it had yet to reach St. Ann … saw it yesterday glaring at me on the shelf :S [Understandable though as my lunch routine is: Supermarket -> water section -> pick up fruit and nut peanuts -> cash register -> vegan restaurant…… WORK. What can I say, I’m a creature of habit]

Before I knew it, the day was almost at its end – well for me. I had a bus to catch! Luckily my sis ensured that I got to New Kingston on time. *Twitch*  I took a final glance and after saying my good byes, I walked away quite pleased and of course tired.

P.S. Don’t forget to make your order for Mother’s Day!

Ayo_Design – 2012 Mother’s Day Cards

Long overdue but better ‘late than never’. I’m still in denial that already it’s been almost a year since i first started making and selling Hand Painted cards. I must admit I got a little lazy throughtout however I know how much my mother appreciates my cards and I’m sure that your ‘mommy or guardian or even someone you view as a mother figure will appreciate and love the too.

I resorted to taking the photos with my phone – which surprised me and got me a few good enough shots to use!

Each specially hand-painted card costs $400.00 (cost of paper ‘tun up!’ *cough* *cough*) and can be personalized to your liking. Let me know what you want on the front and on the inside.

Hope you like them!!!

Check out Ayo Designs on Facebook for updates and MORE new cards.

If you still like some of the options from last year let me know! I’d be happy to ‘manually reprint’ for you.

If I  missed anything out …. Leave me a comment and I’ll answer

THE LOVELY FLOWERS 4.5″ x 6″ Acrylic on Watercolour Paper

A SPLASH AMIDST THE GREEN 4.5″ x 6″ Acrylic on Watercolour Paper

PRETTY PINK 4.5″ x 6″ Acrylic on Watercolour Paper

LEAVES OF MAY 4.5″ x 6″ Acrylic on Watercolour Paper

ENDLESS GREEN 4.5″ x 6″ Acrylic on Watercolour Paper

OUT IN THE COUNTRY 4.5″ x 6″ Acrylic on Watercolour Paper

ABSTRACT ART 4.5″ x 6″ Acrylic on Watercolour Paper

DRIVING ME CRAZY

There I was checking my mail [that I hardly get] when I saw a post from wordpress telling me that it’s Poetry Month! Really? I had no idea and the month is almost at its end (so maybe I’m mildly exaggerating). Ironically, all week I’ve been thinking about writing a new poem but for the life of me I can’t figure out where to start or what to even right about SO that ideas been set on the back burner of my mind for now. I ended up on another page that had an article on 30 Ways to Celebrate then decided to ‘ Revisit a poem you loved when you were young, then give a poem you didn’t like another try‘. Maybe next year I’ll be inspired enough to write a poem a day [that makes sense] for a month. Sure ….

I suppose that when I wrote this, Ne-Yo might have came to mind. Once again though, it’s based on a true story [Thanks to 'My Angel' for all the inspiration to write most of the poems I have] and I wouldn’t be surprised if many of you could relate. This one is called:

DRIVING ME CRAZY!

I’ve unleashed my repressed thoughts now I await your response

You’ve really done it this time love, how will you save yourself

To my surprise you look at me as if you’re in denial

Once again I painfully realise my words meant nothing to you

Your eyes light up, your lips they curve,

My eyes narrow, my countenance a frown

your face dances with amusement though you try so hard to hide it

as I become more and  more annoyed with every smirk you blatantly express

Do you even realise just what it is that you do to me

Does it ever cross your mind that you’re slowly sending me over the edge

It seems to me you like to ride the dragon unleashed in me

‘Don’t laugh, don’t smile’ it’s not a bloody joke

My words aren’t from a comic book; I’m not a circus clown

Don’t you know I’m tempted, to knock your senses back

I’m hurt and angry yet there you are; you seem to think “it’s cute”

Defeated … again, I’ll wait for round 2

While I take deep breaths in then out, as I try to regain my composure

Wondering just how on earth I’ll ever make you understand

Ayo Liag

Have you been to Hampden Estate?

Hampden estate is one of the oldest sugar plantations still in operation in Jamaica and claims over 3500 acres. It is renowned throughout Jamaica’s rum history for its full, intensely flavorful pot still rums and most recently the ‘Rum fire Rum’ brand which is a white over proof rum launched in 2011. Might I add that ‘ish is pretty strong; could get drunk just by smelling it. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to visit the sugar factory nor the distillery however I had the pleasure of not only touring but assisting with a measured survey of the House. Some parts reminded me of Liberty Hill Great House (I suppose the upper space in the roof as well as another which I have yet to post about  (Mt. Pleasant).

A bit of History:

In 1779 the Scottish born Archibald Sterling built the Hampden Great House located on the border of St. James and Trelawny. At the time, the ground floor served as a rum store until the early 1900s when it was remodeled and the spacious verandahs were added. Indeed, Hampden is beyond impressive. The unusually shaped three storey white washed structure boasts dark timbers both on the exterior and interior surfaces and an incredible mansard roof which from the rear seemingly floats above amidst the greenery that has almost taken over the house. The Estate is firmly set in Jamaican history as it established the Hampden Presbyterian Church, circa 1824, the first of that denomination to be established in Jamaica. Also, they have donated land for schools, housing and other purposes, further marking their importance on the northern side of the island.

In 1955, the old boiler house was donated by the owners of Hampden Estate to Her Royal Highness Princess Alice, who was the Chancellor of the University of the West Indies Mona Campus at that time. She arranged for it to be dismantled, block by block. Each building stone was meticulously numbered, then transported to the Mona Campus and reassembled. It took about three years to complete the task. When it was done, this beautiful Georgian building, made with finely dressed limestone from Hampden Estate, was reborn as the University Chapel, which is today considered an architectural gem and is often used for weddings and other special events. (Interesting!!!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Information compiled with the help of: http://www.hampdenrumcompany.com/history.html

Also, check out this blog post if you want a better idea of what goes on at the factory: http://www.therumcollective.com/2012/01/past-and-present-tour-of-hampden-estate.html

Photos taken in the summer of 2011 – The exact date now eludes me but I thought they were nice enough to share from a past adventure .

SEVEN of many memorable moments …

… That made April 7, 2012 FANTASTIC!

1. Waking up feeling happy and overly excited as opposed to ‘bawling’ down the place like I usually do. I purposed that I would have a great day no matter what (n’ that I did – wasn’t hard either)!
2. The people who took the time to remember my special day without having Facebook to put it on blast *Noted*
   a. Errol calling me at 12:00 am
   b. The ‘Whisper’ Happy Birthday Song by Chelle … and the louder one by mommy
   c. The text from auntie at 12 hehe and running to her room to find her ‘sleeping’ with her glasses on. So BUSTED. 
3. Grandma Singing me Happy Birthday and adding a third verse: and what are you now? then asking “So what you wishing me?’ hehe
4. *Grandma making noise in her room which turned everyones focus from ME* to which I retorted: “No grandma today is not your day! These three (Mom, Chelle, Auntie) are at my beck and call, if I have a booger to be picked …” MU-HA-HA-HA 
5. My nails being fancied up by Chelle’! Thank you! Really love them. 
6. Bacchanal Beach Jouvert! (cheating a lil)
   a. The vybing with Richie n ma ‘sis’ Can’t believe it though ..no pics with you Richie .
   b. The paint fiasco …. 5 seconds after hearing ‘Paint time’ , I was greeted by a shower of yucky orange. Didn’t get well painted up though- just enough for my liking.
   c. K.T. You made my night dear! Wukked up a storm
   d. The green hat-purse
   e. MACHEL’s 2 Hour high-energy performance…. danced right though the stitches I started to get DWL
   f. Gentlemanly drunk men! 
7. The ride home! Thanks Daddy! You’re the bestest!

There are so many more things I could talk about but this number holds a special place for me so I felt it fitting to use it. The Weekend in general turned out to be one of the best I’ve ever had, thanks Kerri n her wonderful friends … so now … back to my regular and boring schedule called life Stay tuned!

P.S. Big Up to all the people I shared my day with! [Uncle Ken, Ombretta, Gavin, Chrisandra!] Yup, Yup …Hope yours was as AWESOME as mine was

And forgive my abuse of  Emoticons and Exclamation Marks !!!!!

All WOOD I Love!

 I had the pleasure of hanging out in the workshop one day [some time ago :S]. As I walked around I felt inspired by the pieces of wood that were strewn around me. I started taking photos and then these thoughts came to mind, think of it as an ode to the unknowing wood that has no idea that soon it will be transformed into something for the world to behold:

I watched you motionless, waiting to be molded,

Chipped, shaped then carved to my liking-

Usual stuff, but you seemed different

Somehow …

I fell for the way you coarsely caressed me

As you wondered what I’d have you be

O that you could forever rot so beautifully

But not so my love, history dictates another -

Truly you were fated for greatness

 

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Art work by Laura Facey [Cooper].  Be sure to check out her site and like the Facebook page
P.S. I miss my camera *BAWL*