Showing posts with label book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book. Show all posts

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Birthday Princess

I celebrated my Birthday greatly with my close friends on Tuesday. A friend of mine reserved a table at a Chinese hotpot restaurant. Because it was Tuesday, the restaurant was empty, when I came in. I felt special, as if my friends had reseved the whole restaurant for me. 
Every year on my birthday I miss my Mum so much. I wish she was by my side and we would cook something and eat at home like we used to do, when I was younger.
I believe, it doesn't matter, how old I am, I am always a little princess to my Mum and every year on my birthday she will surprise me with an unique present - her love but always in a very different way.

To my Mum: 
Thank you for loving me unconditionally!


To my friends:
Thank you for making my birthday a sweet one!


 

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

A used book

Yesterday I found a used book, published in the year 1912. The book looked ordinary, nothing special about it. Somehow it caught my eye. The old deep indigo blue of its cover is lovely. 
I bought it, brought it home and found some pretty pressed flowers inside. I wonder, how long these flowers had to wait until someone would leaf through the book and find them. What a nostalgic feeling!


Tuesday, May 22, 2012

A perfect lonesome tea party

I'm my own woman. I enjoy my own company and my own tea party.
All we need for "a perfect lonesome tea party" are tea you like, good books, delicious cakes, a lovely vase of your favorite flowers, beautiful gentle music and no one else except ourselves.


Friday, February 3, 2012

I-HEART-POLAROID


One of my Christmas presents was a Polaroid 300 Instant Camera . I've been addicted to it. Since it's great to be able to make photos again as it used to be in the good old days. Each picture is unique and will be cherished.
This is a small drawing that I created with pen to use as the profile picture for my facebook.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Alice and the smoking Caterpillar


On 3rd August, I visited a Vietnamese family having lived in Vienna, Austria for years. When the people there were chatting and making dinner, I-who are bad at small talk and not really fond of preparing a meal for a big family- asked for paper and pens to make some doodles of the mushroom garden decors. While drawing these ceramic things, I remembered the smoking Caterpillar in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
I finished the raw sketch in Vienna and started to color it, after I went back home in Germany. Ink and colored pencils were used to create this drawing.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Planting a good thought

 

Directions for planting a good thought:
You will need seeds labelled "Good Thoughts", some clean water, fertilizer, anti-bug spray and a glass bell jar (optional). You are supposed to read some books or talk to your "Good Thought" sprout. Conversations bring joy and make your sprout healthy.
Good luck!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

"Dr.Dolittle's Practice" postcard set

As a child, I read a Russian book named "Doctor Aybolit", writen by Korney Chukovsky, told stories of a vet living in a jungle in Africa to help sick animals. Many years later, I heard of  Hugh Lofting's "The story of Doctor Dolittle" and found out, that "Doctor Aybolit" is an adaption, although its poems are original works.
Few days ago, I sent a postcard to a Taiwanese studying Phd veterinary medicine in Japan. She asked for postcards with pictures of animals of all kinds. It somehow reminded me of Dr. Dolittle and my favourite Russian children book. Although  I prefer the character Dr. Aybolit and the book's Russian cultural aspects, I named my postcard set "Dr.Dolittle's Practice" because of the popularity of British children's literature.

Bear: I tried to get honey from a beehive on a high branch of a tree.
Rabbit: I was deep in thought of my grandpa's race with a turtle and fell into a hole.
Dog: Hey, it was an accident that I trod on your tail while being chasing after a bumble-bee.
Cat: You startled me. I didn't intend to bite your neck.
Hedgehod: I'm fine. When I got up and found this apple on my back, I thought of the doctor and wanted to give it to him.

Because I really liked Rabbit's scarf, I wanted to draw it again. I thought to myself, why don't create a postcard set which shows what the animals had done, before they went to the practice.

"On the way to Dr.Dolittle's practice"
Rabbit loves colourful daisies. "They smell nice and taste good in salad"-he said. In a field of daisies, he has always forgotten the time. His Mum told, his Grandpa had the same preference for these flowers. Who knows, years ago he might have discovered some daisies with a rare colour in the race with the turtle and also absolutely forgotten the time, then later lost to the turtle.

"Breakfast before seeing Dr.Dolittle"
Bear loves honeys. His Mum has always told, that he should use a spoon while eating. Bear doesn't think, this way of civilisation makes fun. Eating honey from jars by hands is the best. "Don't tell Mum!"-he said and smiled.

 "Reading while waiting for Dr.Dolittle"
Hedgehog loves to read. He'll read everywhere. In this morning, he woke up and found a beautiful apple on his back. Hedgehog thought of Dr.Dolittle and how kind he was to him last week, when Hedgehog had a terrible throat sore. Therefore, he wanted to give this apple to the doctor so much. While waiting to be called, he is reading. 

As you can see, Dr.Dolittle is very busy. Of course, he must be very busy. Because... how many people in the world can understand  animals' languages?
(These stories are made up by me, Thao Mai)

Friday, January 14, 2011

Moomins

I'm now reading the Moomin series by Tove Jansson, a Finnish illustrator and novelist, and bewitched by the fantastic world of Moomins.
This is a piece of fan art I made.
 
In this picture:
The blue Moomin House built by Moominpapa
Snufkin playing a harmonica
The Snork Maiden swaying with flowers
Too-Ticky watching a bird in the sky

In this picture:
Moomintroll, Moominpapa, Moominmama and their ancestor- A Finn Family
Little My chasing Sniff
A Hemulen examining a bug
Hattifatteners, creatures without emotion

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Lyra, her Iorek and Kaisa

I started reading "The Golden Compass", the first novel in Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy in May and can't help continuing to read the second and the third.

"Lyra, her Iorek and Kaisa"
(Ink and watercolor on paper, 10x10cm)

(In case you don't know, who these three are:
  • Lyra, the protagonist, is a 12-year-old girl, who grew up without parents at Jordan College in Oxford, a fictional college created by Pullman for his trilogy "His Dark Materials". She travelled later to North Pole to rescue her best friend Roger, who was kidnapped for a cruel experience, and to meet her father, Lord Asriel.
  • Iorek, the polar bear king, was outcast by his bear society, before he met Lyra. Thanks to her clever idea, he won an important fight and became the King. Since then, he named her Lyra Silvertongue.
  • Kaisa, the gray goose, is a witch's Dæmon.)

Friday, May 14, 2010

In Memory of "The Adventures of Nezaika and His Friends"

Nikolay Nosov's "The Adventures of Neznaika and His Friends" (Title in Vietnamese: Cuộc phiêu lưu của Mít Đặc và các bạn) used to be one of my favorite books, when I was a child. When I drew these tiny pictures, I remembered how I enjoyed the story and adored its beautiful illustration. For old times' sake...

Lily of the Valley. Ring the bell to wake the Spring.

A song for You. The sun sets in the sky, rises in our hearts.
Summer blowball. Boys are all stupid.

A Flight to Remember. Friends, we're going to land in the Wonderland.

Fishing alone. You never know which fortune life could bring you.