Tuesday 19 October 2010

Tuesday Thoughts

I have few designs in hand,
waiting to be carved into stamps.

:)

I can't believe I have been carving erasers for 3 years!
Learning from scratch, sacrificing my pocket money for materials and tools,
Learning how to design,
And learning to develope my own style of carving.

That time not many people know that we can make our own stamps from erasers
(I mean in Malaysia),
and most stamp carvers I found in the internet, are making stamps for decorations only,
I mean, no one made it into business stamp with logo and tiny details, telephone number, email and website address.

I had many scary attempts,
Eventhough stamp carving is still new,
but funny I have this ambition,
to be a professional eraser stamp carver.

I'M NOT KIDDING.

Actually, money is not the motivation for me to keep on carving,
Eventhough nobody order from me, I will still do it.
Because the passion is there.

Sometimes I feel a bit offended,
when people look at what I do as a way of making money,
and they are suggesting me to make a lot and a lot of it,
and sell it in consignment basis,
or make pamphlets, to promote my craft to attract more people.
If you noticed, I never even advertise in my blog
"How to Order Stamps",
(except lately when people start to drop inquiries in chatbox, comments, everywhere,
it makes me miserable trying to reply to everyone ~ so I had to display my email address in this blog),
because it's funny I take it so personal,
every stamp must be made from the heart,
I afraid if I'd be greedy
the passion is no longer there.

But you know in life,
Sometimes the road to success isn't parallel with the time for loved ones,
and sometimes when you stop and look back,
either it's you who have been left out, or it's them who have been left out of your life,
I don't want to miss a thing!

Recently,
I almost decide,
to stop taking custom orders and shut down this blog,
but then I think it all over again,
I still have a long way to go!
I'm still in the beginning.

Please don't get me wrong,
I'm not miserable at the moment,
just sharing some of thoughts.

My loved one,
eventhough my dream is big,
but I'm willing to trade my dream for your dream if that what it takes,
May our lives will always be
in the blessing of Allah,
and InsyaAllah, I will keep on carving
:p

Thank you to those who have always been supportive to Mangosteenskin!

7 comments:

Aneesah said...

You're very welcome. ;)

JoyC said...

I'm so waiting for what you've more in stored! Always inspiring looking at your creations because I can see you in them. :) Keep it up!

And maybe join art markets like Pipit or Art for Grabs. You'll love the people there. It's a chance to meet other artists and crafters. :D

Nijihanko said...

Dear, I can understand you.
But please dont give up, and keep going to do what you like.

Edi said...

sometimes the demand (of life and work) is overwhelming and we feel like we want to give up. i've been there, and i know i will be there again :P but when life is not as crazy, go back to your passion and u'll realize that nothing beats being happy doing what u love.

mangosteenskin said...

Aneesah,
Thanks so much dear, I'm humbled by you and the rest of talented and creative people out there. :)

Joyce,
Hm, if i know the event maybe a year or months in advance perhaps I can prepare for it. Those events look so tempting! I know I would love to be in such places. Hey Thanks a lot to you too, always so supprtive no matter what I do.

Gianni,
What a soothing and uplifting comment, Gigi...especially when you're a stamp carver too! Thank you very much :)

Kak Edi,
You're soooo right! I think it's going round and round like a wheel...sometimes it really makes me feel like giving up, but when things back to normal again...everything seems simple and manageable actually. Thank you so much for the endless encouragement kak edi, I really appreciate it.

Anonymous said...

hey babydoll! don't fret... it's bizarre how frustrating it can be to try to balance a day job, yet also try to fulfill our utmost potential all the while tending to family and friends. everyone wants a piece of you and soon enough you're afraid if you give all of yourself away that you'd have nothing for yourself... not to mention the lethargy. trudge on. somehow it's the only way. there's a reason why you got into this and in time you will realize what it is. as for now, don't hide the talent god granted you honeybunch. if you feel life's swiftly buzzing away, take a couple of day to do a breather and recap with family and friends and then set out again. this makes life wholesome in the 21st century :)

Anonymous said...

Your art is one of a kind and I love all your designs and appreciate the hardship behind each one. Like you said, this life is like a wheel, you get dizzy sometimes with the evolving motions. I know I do. I feel like giving up everyday when I see my work disrupts my time with the family. But if I do not do cakes, then the kids would not have food on the table. It is quite extreme in a way but that's the biting reality.

I wish you the best in your work. You have a wonderful talent and not to forget "patience" the size of the universe. I know I could never work with a canvas so tiny.

Take care!