The Struggle to Find Space
I haven’t been working on my embroidery or any sewing lately. I must admit, Christmas, came then we celebrated 2020 and we wrapped up January 2020 with the Lunar New Year (more food and parties). So, I am now sitting in front of my laptop, typing away and munching on celebration leftovers!
Gosh, the New Year definitely hasn’t started off very well for mankind - Australian bush fires, floods in Indonesia, volcanic eruption in the Philippines, earthquakes across the globe, and a global corona-virus outbreak. It was a very sad way to start the year - it looks like it’s a tussle between nature and man. Here we are trying to control it while nature fights back - we upset the balance and so there are consequences.
Fighting for Space
These events also got me thinking about how we are always trying to control the space we want to occupy be it building housing, razing a forest to the ground or even planting trees which are deemed aesthetically pleasing. We are shouting out loud, “It’s our space!”, but then nature fights back in a variety of ways as I have observed during my walks around the neighbourhood.
Wind, rain, sun and changing temperatures will put stress on any structure creating interesting (for me anyway!) cracks and textures. At the void decks below our flats the floor has been discoloured orange and brown. However, the colour is only found on the side where the floor is exposed to rain water - I often wonder what chemical reaction is going on to make such a beautiful pattern (rust maybe?). But it was definitely gorgeous enough for me to whip out my sketch book and do a bit of sketching - a bit of inspiration for my next embroidered textile piece perhaps?
Wild Plants of Singapore
Further along, I see interesting wild plants growing between the cracks and eventually flowering. In fact, towards the end of this year I noticed more flowering wild plants - I wonder if it was the intention of the Town Council to leave them alone? Were they actively encouraging more pollinators in the area? Here are just a few wild plants I saw in my neighbourhood!
Top left - Creeping Daisy (r). These are everywhere too. Unfortunately, this one wasn’t flowering, but they have a distinct yellow flower when they do!
Thyme-leaf spurge (l). I initially thought they were touch-me-nots but they didn’t clamp shut when touched.
Top right - Mazus japonicus. These plants are so tiny that you probably trodden on them many times. Their tiny purple flowers are less than 5mm in size and epitomise the resilience of these wild plants! Notice also the cracked tile.
Middle left - Common Vernonia. This is a common wildflower in Singapore, and is characterised by it’s purple paintbrush-like flower buds. These ones were still standing tall even though they were dried up.
Middle right - Coat Button. Standing slender and tall, its flowers are white and yellow. I loved how these were growing up against the fence and next to a bottle that someone had chucked out the window.
Bottom left - White Kyllinga. These looked like princesses ready to be taken to a ball - it must have been the white fluffy head and outstretched “arms” on either side that caught my attention.
Bottom right - Cow Grass. I just learnt that this is the most common grass in Singapore because of its low cost. I’m not sure I would call it a wild plant then but I found it interesting that it had overtaken the concrete slabs.
I’ve been documenting all these beautiful textures and growths in every nook and cranny of the neighbourhood. Here’s what I learnt:
Tips to Finding the “Invisible”
instead of turning the usual left, turn right. That’s right! Take the path less trodden and you’ll find hidden treasures. -
Stay off your phone. Put it down and only use it to take snap shots for documentation. You can get back to the internet later - you won’t miss much!
Look down and look up!
Ask questions or listen to people who do - I had never took notice of the rust-like colours on the void deck floor until my son had asked me about the difference in colours on the floor. Which leads me to my next point.
Do something different that’s not you. My son needed someone to help him with his football practice and so I reluctantly came along. Boy, I don’t regret it now - if I hadn’t come along, I wouldn’t have been there to answer his question about the coloured floor.
Do you have your tips on finding the “invisible”?