Back in London

Starting school and already I feel so tired!
I have decided to join the swim training on Monday and Wednesday (to learn front crawl again) which I enjoy most of the time. Then there is jazz piano that should be finalise anyday now. Art activities on Tuesday... Gosh! So many things to do!

I came to Art horrified because I had no idea what I want to do for my new project, apart from the few artists and some ideas I jot down on the plane. My teacher had no idea how to help me either. Finally, I found Fred Kennet - a pen and ink based artist who produce exceptional detailed drawings. I want to do something similar to that. I want to depict the modern world today as being too industrialised and polluted with cities filled with skyscrapers and car honking on the busy road.

I thought it would be amazing but right now, with the load of work I am doing every night. I just find no inspiration to do anything. I am drawing buildings from photograph I have taken around Central London but it is so hard to sketch them out. I just don't know how artists can do this, sketching amazing buildings on a piece of paper. I am helpless.  Oh I need help!

Despite all these works are depressing me, I did went to see an amazing musical "Billy Elliot" at the Victoria Palace Theatre last week. It was part of our Drama course - to write a theatre review. The musical was fantastic it its set, lighting with the most talented young actor and the most moving plot. It was a magical night for me because this was the first proper musical I have seen. On Saturday, Mandy, Sharon and I went to the Saatchi Gallery where we found some amazing students sketching what they see in gallery. There were many artworks that were simply astonishing and some were at the average in my opinion.

This thursday, I am going to head down to Walton on the Naze in Essex for my Geography investigation. That should be fun!

Life is Awesome - Let Creativity Fly

HMMM! HERE IS PROOF THAT I DID LITERALLY PAINT MY SUITCASE RAINBOW!

Before, it was a dirty, broken handle suitcase with no desire to be taken with anywhere.

Now, bright and colourful, fulfilling the heart of the traveler!

Sometimes, all you need in life is a little makeover!

I'm leaving tonight, back to school in London. Sad!

I painted my old suitcase rainbow just to uplift my mood.

I miss my family so much already!

Here is goodbye to the awesome food, the stream of fruits and the hot sun on my skin!

"Yêu Sàigòn lắm! Sàigòn ơi!"

Final Piece for "War"

For the entire semester, I have been working and researching on Wars and in the end, it has come to this - my final piece!

My First Exhibition at Mill Hill

This above is my third final piece of Year 10.

(Better picture will be taken at some other time xD)

This project focused on War - especially the Vietnam war - and its consequences.

I'm quite proud with what I have done over the past 3 weeks and overall on the project.

Three of my final pieces were up for showing including my sketchbook.

I've received some comments too!

My first final piece - Secret Garden.

Second final piece to Secret Garden.

Spitalfield Market

 Exciting trip to the West of London, lies yet another dorms for the Art lovers.

Here you can find tons of Artsy and handmade things for sell, along with many unique stores on the backstreet. Every year, Universities around London held an exhibition for all graduated and degree students - FreeRange. You can find the best of street snacking here with a variety of cuisine from Mediterranean to Jamaican. 

It is definitely worth millions of trips down town!

Secret Garden's final piece

My final piece for "Secret Garden". It's not entirely finished yet because I didn't have enough time. The work summarise my entire project over the first semester at Mill Hill. I'm quite happy where it is going. It's great to see that the line patterns I've been using is helping me make something great!

Looking into Space

Something I have been working on for my Art final piece. The work is 3D and I'm going to draw on a ball!

Cheers!

Nowhere and in between

Mixed media on canvas

2010

My first final piece for Art and Design. This was done weeks ago and I'm on my way working on the next final piece with the same theme "Secret Garden". The girl represents isolation and loneliness. The patterns are meant to be a looking hole to the girl. She is lost and can't seem to find her way out. There is no escape. The white space is the reason she can't find her way because there is nothing where she is looking.

Farewell

Thurday was my farewell dinner. Tandoor served us superb dishes that still leave me drooling. It was a marvelous night and I get to spend it with all my dearest friends. There were laughters, hugs, kisses, teddy bears and cute drawings. I felt so grateful to know all these wonderful people. Later, we went over to Mojo where there was firework - Independence day!

There is more! Eunice had a sleepover at my house and we ate so much I thought we would never be able to breath again. Tea, shrimp rice crackers, cheetos, gummy and G-FORCE! The rest of that night and the next day we will kept to ourselves. Although, Paris Deli with Bobby and MLinh was something I must mention because awesome art was produced, left us feeling sick to our stomach for some reason.

It didn't struck me until the farewell dinner where I was a bit overwhelmed. Megan is really leaving. I left a few tears hanging that night and told myself - save it for saturday - because that's when she will be on the plane to Spain.

I've sewn together a book with all Megan's beautiful underwater photos a while ago. Last night, I can't stop staring at it and I thought to myself - if I'm just going to sit here and be upset, what good will it do? So I finally got my hand started on making a cover for it with whatever I have around. It's not the world perfect book but I'm happy that all my feelings are packed with it. I didn't cry and I'm so glad to see Megan's off to somewhere exciting with someone wonderful.

At Megan's bday dinner 21 August 2010.

See you soon Emu!

Drawing with Eunice

Drawing with Eunice from Ada Linh Nguyen on Vimeo.

At Paris Deli.

June 2010.

Special thanks to Megan for lending me the camera and Eunice for sitting half a day drawing.

Enjoy!

Recommended to watch on vimeo for high quality.

Downside of Summer

Surprisingly the reason I haven't been creative much is because of the summer!

I have managed though to play piano, practice drums, learn french/italian/spainish/chinese (seriously not as good as it sounds, read books, visa application, mostly just watch movies endlessly and this.

As always I started my drawing with strange lines and develop it into something with meanings. I was blue when I drew this. Death while the rest of the world is sound asleep.

Right now I appreciate school so much. Speaking of which, I've been wondering why I need to stick to high school when I'm not even good at it - academically. I accomplished to get good grades for most subjects but it's not inspiring, not stimulating and not exciting. As I was scrolling through -University of Creative Arts happens to offer Pre-degree courses for 16+.

You can get into a National Diploma or Certificate course - which get you to focus on Arts in general while still do your A level.

"So What's the Plan for Summer?"

(making "See You Again" cards for some of my favourite people!)

It's exactly 3 days left until I'm officially leaving little old AIS !
It's been 4 years with memories and changes.
It has been a happy-sad-exciting-boring-stress-hilarious-wonderful-and-horrible part of my teenage life.
I'm going to miss it! Miss my Eunice and everything we do together (I know you hate me but I still love you baby), miss my teachers (even the one I'm not very fond of), miss the little vintage-french-old looking school and miss my VIETNAM life so much.

Let's do this depressing thing in a few more days and in about 2 more months!

I'm also happy.
I'm moving to LONDON baby!
Yes! It's London and I'm attending Mill Hill School.
(Got accepted 2 weeks ago)
Okay. I admit, I've never been to Europe, let alone England.
BUT I'm excited to be in such a beautiful vintage old and new city.

There is heaps to do this summer in particular includes
-apply for visa
-stuff from school for the moving
-spend lots of time with Eunice :D
-shopping for clothes, shoes, uniform and such
-packing some books (can only bring little)
-finish Post-It project
-make Andrew and Megan birthday cards
-Cambodia for a week with Kais Village kids :)

I spent this weekend working on farewell cards.
Busy Monday and Tuesday rehearsing and performing for AIS Annual Arts and Awards Evening.

See y'all soon!

Saturday Live

Tell me I'm strange but I get high on camera.

They seriously cheer me up! haha

All photos above were taken with Meggie's wonder SLR.

I AM IN LOVE!

This is my best friend Eunice in one of our best photo together with her bookmark for me.

This is one person I will miss the most moving to London,

but of course I will survive.

My sweet Emu made this for a friend of her.

She made the most beautiful jewelry.

I noticed this the first time I came to Paris Deli.

Never capture the right mood for it.

You can also see a video camera right there and that's the process of Eunice creating my bookmark (back to the first pic and video will come up soon)

Everytime we land ourselves in Paris Deli, our creative minds embrace.

Eunice and I have been recording and taking photographs for the International HCM Choir - Music for a Summer's Evening on the 4-5 June at the Conservatory of Music. Later, we came back to school, laughing and going insane at our hiding corner while everyone else were enjoying their after party.

Ocean and Fishes - 100th Posts!

Hola ladies and gentlemen,

I'm so sorry I don't have much to give out to my wonderful blog stalkers except the warmly hello and thank you from these two strange sea creatures.

Saigon Pearl celebrates its International Children's Day. I had to go with mum because it's her work, but I did enjoy a delightful painting session by myself under the hot sun with cookie ice-cream!

Paris Deli again today with Eunice and a person (let's call her M)

A special handmade book order from Eunice arrived in her hand and I received many happy feedback. Serve the customer as God! hahha

Yup yup yup! Good laugh.

And then Eunice and I painted and drew stuff.

I was so inspired to draw and paint again, to make lots and lots of artsy things.

Although, the three of us got stuck in some sort of psycho loops of bad music, and had to declare today as "Bad Covers' day".

Artsy update:

-Currently organising all my past works into little heavy duty envelopes with photos taken for a digital one as well.

-Nearly done with "The 2 Person Book" - a collaboration paintings/drawings with Eunice on a handmade book made by me.

-Going well with "Little Bit" Project.

-Also working on another Art Diary.

-Getting the hang of photoshop. (as you can see!)

-Check out my photos on AISSAIGONPHOTOGRAPHY - I'm updating one every week.

-My apologise to "Post-it" Exhibition at Out2Studio - Eunice and I were going under a very busy and stressful time in the past few weeks with Exams and other school works.

With love to you all on our 100th Ocean and Fishes posts!

Catch the Little Bird!

I wondered what I should do today and this little birdy came to mind.

An inspiration from Geninne's Art Blog.

She drew the cutest little whimsical birds ever!

I'm hoping here that I'm not violating any copyright works of Geninne.

You can see though, that her's is much more sophisticated and beautiful.

She also uses acrylic ink for fine line.

p/s: The next post will be the celebration "100 posts" of Ocean and Fishes!

I'm planning on a give-away for a few Ocean and Fishes's stalkers.

Leave a message!

Sneak a Peak at "Little Bit"

Inspired: The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan. (only the coolest picture book illustrator!)

A Sneak Peak on what I've been up to with my artsy life.

Everything is done on acid free watercolor paper with black pen.

Small pieces of little drawings.

No name for the project yet. I'll just go with "Little Bit" for now.

Eunice and I thought of the same idea when she saw these doodles I've been doing:

I'm planning on making a continuous-story-collage.

Tu Linh

ps: Wonder of photoshop! Makes it look much cooler :)

"I made you from scratch!"

I'm oddly motivated to day. So I decided to read AS PSYCHOLOGY A - yup sometimes I do the strangest thing. I actually played piano for 4 hours! Also had a nice japanese dinner with mum and few of her co-workers. And I feel like I should write something of appreciation:

-------------------

My mother is a brave and strong woman.

I mean it! because anyone who have met her, could never forget her.

She is a brave and wonderful mum.

She is my mum.

I appreciate so much that she was very strict with me.

She let me and my sister to go alone to Hanoi for a dance performance when I was 6.

We took care of ourselves, we behave, we learnt to be independent.

Never would she let us see that she was so sad to be far away from us.

"You are my daughter. Do you see me crying?"

I always get myself hurt.

She tells me that it is my fault and I cannot cry.

I coughed at her face.

She locked me outside of the house.

I misbehaved.

I got smack

I got lost in Thailand.

When she found me, she was angry at me.

I wanted a toy.

She tells me I have to earn it.

She is brave for all the thing she did and still doing for me.

She is caring always and loving always.

She is my world.

She wanted us to become independent individuals.

We learnt to take care of ourselves.

We learnt to behave with good manners.

We learnt to really learn the price of money.

I learnt to be who I am today.

She made me from scratch!

Mum!

Thank you for not spoiling me. Thank you for scolding me.

Thank you for being brave with me. Thank you for taking care of me.

Thank you for making me an independent and strong woman.

Love you mum!

p/s: teacher card to megan, my wonderful emu :)

The Ocean

The ocean is deep

The ocean is blue

The ocean is wide

The ocean is clear

The ocean is where

I want to be to swim

With the fishes in the

Deep wide blue sea.

Changing of The Season.

So changing of the season. Everyone is getting sick, including me!

But I'm all better now.

Next week, my classmates are going on camp and I'm gonna be here, happily have a week off.

I feel exhausted even though I haven't been working that hard.

I need something motivating, something new and something exciting.

I did my entrance exam for next year yesterday.

Hoping for good news next week.

I'm going to be very supporting for Eunice - because it's exam week for her - BIG HUGE EXAM!

And she is moving toward a whole new step in her life - her future - she needs a support system :)

That and a lot of Exam-prep/Homework-I-haven't-finish/Essay.

I'm going to stop talking now and go do something else more... or less lifeless.

A beautiful monday in Saigon

It's a beautiful monday in Saigon.

Sprinkle of rain, soft breezes, quiet Saigon.

Eunice and I once again, planned to meet at Paris Deli.

At the last minute, Eunice called, asking whether it is okay to have Megan drinking tea/coffee with us. Of course I wouldn't mind!

I was running late, and when I did arrive, Megan, as the sweet and wonderful person she is, gave me a hug. And Eunice, as the funny and odd person she is, rubbed my head (yeah RUB MY HEAD...!)

We had a long-practically-non-stop-conversation and lots-lots-of-laughter, accompanied by some stopping for bathroom time...

I longed for this kind of conversation to happen (well, of course Eunice always do this to me... but in any case, this is different) It went on for 5 hours. The thing is, it's not the kind of boring listening exam. It was a perfect one where you sit back on the comfy chair and sip a hot tea, being just yourself and completely relax!

I've been terribly sick these past couples of day, but today, today has been wonderful.