Inspiration from Malaysia

Inspiration from Malaysia

In February, David and I chose to do a fairly last minute trip to the Western side of Malaysia, without too much knowledge or planning. 

My ideal travel, for me, is where I get a balance of cultural - be it art, ancient buildings, different religions etc, all which feed my curiosity and creativity.  Balance that with some good weather and stunning landscapes, and the odd beach or two, good food and I am sorted!  On returning from our trips to India, it was a WOW, FANTASTIC, STIMULATION, CREATIVE IDEAS.  Malaysia didn't quite get that level of capital letters, but nevertheless, it was really interesting and diverse, and we would return to see more!

So without boring you all with pictures of me at the beach, or some of the more mundane touristy photos, I am sharing just the bits of the trip that touched my creative side!

First off, give me a brightly coloured wall and I am happy.  In Malacca, the river front was faced with multicoloured buildings, and were instantly Instagramable!

three houses, one bright pink, one acid yellow and one bright blu
Even the exposed bit of brickwork on the pink building had potential for some social media, the building work carefully contrived rather than being dilapidated.

And in George Town, Penang, which is a bit of a hipster boutique meats backpacker town there were many streets in the historic (and more touristy) area with fabulous wall tiles.

a compilation of five images of decorative floral wall tiles

Decorative carvings on buildings are often starting points for my mosaics, especially birds, but also on grave stones.  In Malacca, there is a viewpoint with an old derelict church with massive headstones from European colonialists, with some fantastic carvings on them, and the Buddhist temple in Penang had beautiful bird carvings. 

composition of four images of carvings including a dolphin, a heart with wings and a santa-claus like figure
a compilation of six mages of carvings and wall art, and one sign saying the meaning of Forest

I enjoy the various ways that people get their message across.  I was amused by the one (above) about not hitting your head on the low rock!

I am always a sucker for street art and graffiti.  In George Town, there is an art trail of metal art pieces, created by Sculpture at Work, which told the story of the streets.  A good summary of them can be found on the Time Travel Turtle site. 

compilation of six images, four are of metal cartoon signs indicating street information. Two are painted murals
There are also many painted murals, some fairly faded, but the two above were really impressive.

The humour in this one got me! It is in Kuala Lumpur.
graffiti of a person with a big nose, reading a book, and spiralling arms and legs

And who doesn't love a bit of Islamic art?  The Museum of Islamic Art in Kuala Lumpur is really impressive.  Bringing decorative arts from around the world, and putting them into context within the Islamic faith ticked lots of boxes for me. Again, mosaic inspiration. 

composed of four images of ceramics and textiles of islamic designs

Any anything quirky that I would take inspiration from, though in reality, I don't think the weather in Scotland would be a good fit for this one:

the end section of a vintage blue car in a wall, surrounded by plants (inside and out)

But there were moments of relaxation! this was at the Ombak Villa Hotel in Langkawi, a stunning island.

view over a plate of fruit to a swimming pool and the sea beyond

 

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