Emila Yusof

Happy Independence Day to all Malaysians wherever you are.

A sketch of Sultan Abdul Samad Building from my sketchbook. Ink & Watercolor.

I was too busy that I almost forgot the storytelling program at the Petronas Gallery, KLCC scheduled for yesterday. My slot was 10.00am to 11.00am. So, on Friday I was madly on the quest looking for the invitation letter. I have to hand it over as without it I won’t be getting my honorarium. After searching high and low, I found it sitting nicely amongst my lil guardians’ paintings.

It was fun despite the fact that I had no experience telling story in public. Yeah, I have the thought of not attending the program too but when I thought hard, I need to attend. I need to break the nervous habit.And so, I did.

After my part of telling Diya & Biji Durian story, I stayed on for the next storytelling session by fellow illustrators Encik Shukri Edrus (Kisah Pak Kaduk) and NurAzmi Moktar (My Space Mission). Chin Yew was supposed to  be my partner for the first session but he could not make it and his slot was filled by Muhamad Faizal Abdul Jalil with his story “Di Mana Kawan-Kawan Saya?”

I brought Yassin along to the storytelling program and he had a blast! Should bring him more to event like this.

Pak Shukri telling ‘Kisah Pak Kaduk’ to children

Pak Shukri later taught how to draw a rooster

My son, Yassin followed the drawing class eagerly

He drew more than Pak Shukri! Hehe. He added coconut tree, vegetables bed and birds.

Later it was a drawing competition conducted by Nurazmi Mokhtar. Children were asked to draw their own spaceship.

Yassin was amongst the Top 5 and he won an Anak Seni Galeri Petronas’s t-shirt! He put it on right away and wore it until it was time for shower at the end of the day.

Few months back, my niece, Wanda, told me that there will be a carnival organised by her school in order to raise money for the school funds. She wants me to join in and take a spot. So, I am participating and paid for a spot. And now I am taking my time off until Friday from doing drawings and illustrations. I need to print some of my greeting cards, sew some felt creatures, do some simple original collector’s item cards etc. Frankly, I am quite excited. I have so many things in mind to make but with just two hands, the production is limited. Wanda? She’s not the creative type but she helps around spraying keychains!

My printer failed on me so I did an illustrated poster for Wanda to stick on the school’s notice board.

If you happen to be in the vicinity of Ampang, do drop buy! My niece told me there will be a haunted house! I bet my son would love to see them ‘ghosts’!

Karnival Tasik 2010
Venue: Sekolah Menengah Taman Tasik, Ampang
Date: 31 July 2010 (Saturday)
Time: 8am – 3pm

Went to the Floria Festival 2010 at Putrajaya last Saturday. It was the last day, so most of the flowers were drying and quite some gardens were left unmaintained. Typically, every garden has heliconia or crane flowers or strelitzia or bird of paradise. This was because they were the theme flower for this year. Nonetheless, there were other local flowers as well.

The feeling was not that great compared to the one I attended in KL Lake Garden back in 2008. I kinda like the 2008 one better as the individual gardens were quite big and constructed as if they were there to stay.

crane flower bouquet

periwinkles

The French Marigold

Hibiscus

Wooden pavement. I like this idea, kinda suitable for my wooden house.

Yassin playing at the the playground field just in front of the Millennium Monument.

We missed the march band.

Please take note that due to insufficient quorum, the Batik workshop that is scheduled tomorrow has been canceled.

My blogger friend, Ken Ong, who is an interior designer, is going to be at The Strand’s Bazaar for the weekend to promote his Living Tapestry designer’s products.

Through Living Tapestry, Ken aims to provide your home with designer’s cushion/throw that complement to your comfort living environment. Cushion forms an integral part of soft finishing that provides a practical and yet aesthetic conducive environment to your home. With a great field experience in the interior design industry, our designers offer solutions to add finishing touch to your home.

Please come and feast your eyes on Living Tapestry’s beautiful cushions and throws:

Date: 24th/25th April 2010 (Saturday Sunday)
Location: The Strand, No.59, Jalan PJU5/21, Kota D’sara, P. Jaya
Time: 11am – 8pm

I have been wanting to attend a batik workshop at Gajah Gajah’s Studio since last year but have put it on hold as I have so many things to do. But I know, everyday is going to busy day for me and so I decided that I MUST go. But it’s no fun to go alone. I want you, you and you to join me and enjoy the fun of learning batik-painting!!!

The batik-painting teacher is Puan Zakiah Md Isa or better known as Mama Gajah. Mama Gajah is the wife of Yusof Gajah, our renowned artist and award-winning children’s book writer and illustrator. Mama Gajah is a skilled instructor in the traditional art of batik.

Here are the details of the workshop:

Fee: RM50 (inclusive meal)
Date: 15th May 2010 (Saturday)
Time: 10.00am
Duration: 3 – 4 hours
Place: Gajah Gajah Studio, 24, Jalan Berjaya 5, Taman Berjaya, 681000 Batu Caves, Selangor.

I am hoping to gather bloggers and friends alike to join and this will be a great fun to get to know each other while getting crafty!

If you are interested, PLEASE leave a comment and email address  in the comment form or e-mail directly to me: emila@emilayusof.com.  Payment is to made directly to Mama Gajah on the workshop day.

Here’s a picture of one of batik workshop from Mama Gajah’s blog:

Datuk A.Samad Said or better known as Pak Samad or Bapak is having his 2nd solo exhibition entitled Kata Luhur at Balai Seni Lukis Negara, Kuala Lumpur. There are about 100 drawings (ink on papers) being exhibited.

The launching of the was held last Friday (9th April 2010) to commemorate his 75th birthday on that day.  I was there amongst hundreds to celebrate the special day.

The exhibition was launched by YBhg Datuk Syed Ahmad Jamal.
From left: YBhg Dato’ Hj Mohd Rozali Isohak (BSLN), YM Tengku Elina Tengku Azidin (Pelita Hati) and Datuk A. Samad Said.

The exhibition will be from 9th April until 10th May 2010 at Gallery 2B, Balai Seni Lukis Negara, Kuala Lumpur. Opening hours of the gallery is 10am to 6pm (Monday to Sunday).

More pictures of the launching can be seen in Bapak’s Facebook Fan Page.

Alhamdulillah!!!!! I won the Grand Prize for BLOG4FT contest!! Really, I did not expect to win as the competitors are all very strong! When I arrived at KLIA this morning and switched on my mobile phone, I saw two messages; one from my husband and one from Bain. As I read them, I was jumping to joy and Linda Tan who was walking with me curiously asked why I was jumping. I told her the good news and she jumped along!

Congrats to all winners!

PUBLIC

First
Peugeot 308 VTi
Nor Emila Mohd Yusof
Entry: KL: A to Z Fun Things To Do & Places To Visit With Kids

Second
Naza Prisma + 1 Dell Studio Hybrid + 1 MacBook
Nigel Sia Ling Wei
Entry: Thankful

Third
1 Dell Studio Hybrid + 1 BlackBerry Bold + RM500 Bubba Gump voucher
Loke Seng Hon
Entry: History, Heritage & Architecture – All in KL & Putrajaya

Fourth
Tan Keat Eng
Entry: Spread Your Wings – reaching out – KL Bird Park

Fifth
Khairunisa bt Abdullah
Entry: Aku dan P. Ramlee

MEDIA

First
Kia Optima Novus
Cheong Peck Beng
Entry: My Bangsar

Second
Naza Prisma + 1 Dell Studio Hybrid + 1 MacBook + Piala
Sonny Ikmal Bin Ahmad Kamil
Entry: Pasar Chow Kit, Pasar Satu Malaysia

Third
Dell Studio Hybrid + 1 BlackBerry Bold + RM500 Bubba Gump voucher
Azizul Fahmi Ahmad Zabidi
Entry: Cerita kemasyhuran Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad

INTERNATIONAL

First
Flight tickets for 2 to Kuala Lumpur  + Hotel Stay (5 stars) for 3 nights + Air Asia flight ticket to Penang + Hotel Stay at Naza Hotel in Penang for 2 nights + 1 Dell Studio Hybrid + Certificate
Barbara Mckay (Australia)
Entry: The Magic Hour Show @ Annexe Gallery

Second
Flight tickets for 2 to Kuala Lumpur  + Hotel Stay (5 stars) for 3 nights + Air Asia flight ticket to Penang + Hotel Stay at Naza Hotel in Penang for 2 nights + Certificate
Keith Jenkins (Holland)
Entry: Ten things to do in Kuala Lumpur

Third
Flight tickets for 2 to Kuala Lumpur  + Hotel Stay (5 stars) for 3 nights + Certificate
Dhanya Parthasarathy (India)
Entry: rock solid on the precarious edge

JUNIOR

First
1 Dell Studio Hybrid + 1 Sony PlayStation 3 + 1 Sony PSP + 1 iPod Touch
Yeow Minyi
Entry: 350! 350! I say 350!

Second
1 Dell Studio Hybrid + 1 iPod Touch + 1 Sony PSP
Gloson Teh
Entry: My Most Enjoyable Holiday in KL in Dec 09

Third
1 Dell Studio Hybrid + 1 iPod Touch
Sharifah Hani Yasmin binti Syed Abdullah
Entry: Kuala Lumpur: The Lost Art of The “Serunai Burung”

The prize-giving ceremony was yesterday 28th March 2010 but since I was on a flight back to KL from Italy, I missed it. But I did send my two handsome guys to represent me.

A BIG THANK YOU to the organiser of BLOG4FT, Kementerian Wilayah Persekutuan especially the minister himself, Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin, BLOG4FT team members especially Hakim, Syahriman, Nazim and Sheila, the public as well as professional judges, namely Tan Sri Datuk Sri Elyas Omar, Tan Sri Dato Dr Lim Kok Wing, Dato’ Tony Fernandes, Dato Seri Wong Chun Wai and Datuk Ahiruddin Attan (Rocky) who have made it possible for me to be the Grand Prize Winner!

A VERY BIG THANK YOU to the sponsor as well; NAZA Group of Companies for the great prize!

A VERY VERY VERY BIG THANK YOU to all who voted for me for the post!!

Here’s Yassin posing with his dad and uncle Bain!

Update:

Toot has posted a link in The Malay Mail in my blog comment: http://www.mmail.com.my/content/31641-graphic-illustrator-wins-ft-competition. Thanks toot!

Here’s the article, I copy-paste for my record:

Graphic illustrator wins FT competition

Mum blogs her creations and is awarded a Peugeot 308 VTi car

Shahrim Tamrin
Monday, March 29th, 2010 10:23:00

A pleasant surprise this morning at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport when she met her husband, Mohd Za’im Mohd Tahet, 47, and son Mohd Yassin, 7, upon her arrival from Italy.
From them, she learned that her blog entry KL: A to Z Fun Things To Do & Places to Visit with Kids was declared the best by judges of the “Blog for FT” competition and had been awarded the grand prize of a Peugeot 308 VTi car. (Picture caption — CREATIVITY: (From left) Za’im with his son, Raja Nong Chik and S.M. Faizal Nasimudin of Naza at the prize-giving ceremony. Pic by ASHRAF SHAMSUL AZLAN)

Her husband told The Malay Mail last night: “The organisers told Emila to attend the awards ceremony tonight as her entry was listed in the top three.”

However, she was not able to do so as she was in Italy for the Bologna’s World Children’s Book Fair.

It was only when Emila was on a flight back that the announcement was made. On her behalf, Za’im said:

“This is definitely  one of the highlights of Emila’s life. “She decided to quit the corporate scene three years ago to spend more time with our only son. She also wanted less restrictions on how to express herself as an artist  and writer.

“I think her creative style to include illustrations in her write-up on KL’s positive lifestyle and environment garnered the attention of the judges.

“She is very creative and likes to blog about almost anything. Emila’s knack for writing as well as her love for illustration and graphics was expressed well in her blog emilayusof.com.”

The inaugural competition was mooted last year by FT and Urban Wellbeing Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin after an informal discussion with a group of bloggers.

Since its launch in October, the competition had attracted 4,278 entries with 300,000 page views recorded during the six-month time frame of the competition.

“I can say this was a success,” Raja Nong Chik said at the ceremony last night. “I am happy with the quality  and scale of responses from the blogging community as well as the international participation which reached as far as Australia, Belize, Tanzania, Kazakhstan, Netherlands and India.”

The competition had four categories — general, teens, international and media. The teen winner was Yeow Minyi, Australian Barbara McKay topped the international entries while Cheong Peck Beng bagged the media prize.

Raja Nong Chik said he wanted to capitalise on the impact of new media and create a positive Internet buzz among bloggers about the Federal Territory as well as promote it at the same time.

“Blog for FT is one way to reach out to the public. I also actively interact with my Facebook friends to listen to their suggestions, comments or complaints about the Federal Territory.”

Credit: The Malay Mail