Za Ba Lang

There are many thoughts this week, but they are all over the place, therefore I shall take on the phrase my lovely assistant used “Za Ba Lang”, in Hokkien, meaning a mixture of many things.

Little Lamb Art
How did we first come across this word in my chat with my colleague? We were discussing whether we should go do something else, rather than sitting in the office drawing and designing? Such as selling sweet beancurd, chicken rice, etc. A common nonsensical topic that we would casually bring up at times. She came up with the idea, why not I go develop on the little lamb series and create all sort of products and she would go and sell them, that is, to create a series of “Za Ba Lang” items. In fact, the name “Little Lamb” has already been used by a shop, so we may have to change name… or why not use “Za Ba Lang” as the name? Anyway this was just a casual chat… though I have entertained this thought before.

My Mom
Today I brought my mom to see a doctor. She has not been feeling well for the past few days, feeling giddy. As I brought her there, I held her hand, and suddenly I realized that my mom is old. In the past, it was always the other way, when she would reach out her hand to hold mine, when crossing the road, etc, and even when I was older, in my secondary school, there were even times when I felt shameful, to be seen by my friends that my mom held my hand. How time passed. Now it was the other way around, who would have thought that now I would hold her hand to cross the road… a heavy feeling hit me. My mom has indeed grown older.

Crazy Thought
Pondering on the thought that maybe one day I may truly publish the little lamb series just like what we discussed earlier, I was suddenly hit by the fact, the lamb has no name, no other supporting characters, except itself and its Shepherd. As I dwelt on this further, a crazy thought came over me, I better start evolving the little lamb, to have some identity, and again to reexamine whether this present image of the little lamb is what I want to portray. Just like Mickey Mouse, it truly has evolved, from black and white, to coloured with eye balls, to the present computer generated form. So all at once, I drew quite a few, to sort of search for an identity? Plus I have identified its friends, etc…

So below was what I drew, and after looking at it for sometime, I felt actually it looks more like a slimming advertisement rather than choosing the desired look, A, B or C. Please don’t be mistaken, it is NOT a slimming cartoon…. I want to clarify again. Anyway, my conclusion is, I still prefer image C. In fact, I have finished the illustrations for all its friends, but I will publish it later in the week or next week, while I ponder a little more.

Name: No name yet (Any suggestion?)
Date of Birth: 30 May 2005
Age: 1+
Gender: Female
Country of Birth: Dreamer Land
Owner: Shepherd
Friends: Sunflower, Elephant and Giraffe (name for the friends?)
Hobby: Daydream, taking naps, taking vacation
Favourite food: Chocolate and ice cream
Character: Blur, playful, tend to roam away unknowingly on its own until the Shepherd has to go and find it.
Favourite place: Near the Shepherd, because that is the place where food can be found, and it is warm and peaceful, no worry of wolves.