The Last Surviving Copper Tooling Artist in Peninsula Malaysia

www.kopihangtuah.blogspot.com

This form of art is not commonly found as only a handful of people are still keeping this dying art alive today. Among them is Haji Osman Arshad and his son Haji Hisham Osman

Copper tooling is an art sculpturing technique using copper foil and embossed with designs on it. This form of art is not commonly found as only a handful of people are still keeping this dying art alive today. Among them is Haji Osman Arshad and his son Haji Hisham Osman. A retired teacher, Haji Osman learned the art in the 70's through his friend and over the years, he perfected the technique via various form of tools. He later passed on the knowledge to his son Hisham, who further improved it with better tools and preservating procedures.

 

Unlike water colour and oil painting, copper tooling is truly a labour intensive hobby done truly out of love for art. The beauty of coppper tooling is that it is hand-made and no two pieces can be the same. One can imagine any designs possible and create a copper piece. The intended design on the copper has to be precise as one mistake cannot be corrected as once an identation is applied onto the copper foil, it starts to take shape. Meticulous planning is required when starting a project. For beginners, one usually have their designs drawn onto a tracing paper before tracing the design onto the copper foil but for practitioners like Haji Osman and Hisham the designs are derived from images in the head and quickly sculpture the design into reality.

 

Copper tooling requires specific tools to create and the end product needs to be polished and coated for a long lasting view. Oxydisation is the main culprit to copper as without coating the copper foil itself will slowly turn dark brown until a greenish patina will appear. Polishing will undo the oxide on the surface but without a proper coating, it will turn brown again after a few weeks. Coating usually consists of a translucent resin based varnish to prevent oxygen from coming into contact with the surface, thus preserving the art piece for decades. It requires patience and careful planning when embarking to do a copper tooling piece.

 

Unlike water colour and oil painting, copper tooling is truly a labour intensive hobby done truly out of love for art. The beauty of coppper tooling is that it is hand-made and no two pieces can be the same

Interested parties can contact Hisham Osman at 0172292951 or at his email - shamosman01@yahoo.com for any request for copper tooling work. Islamic verses can also be ordered depending on length. Attached are some copper creations up for sale for your perusal:

Copper tooling description - Tepak Sireh
Measurement- 22inches (H) x 35inches (W)inclusive frame
Time taken to create - 2 weeks
Created by Haji Hisham Osman
Price - RM7,000

Copper tooling description - Surah Al-Qadr
Measurement- 22inches (H) x 36inches (W)inclusive frame
Time taken to create - 3 weeks
Created by Haji Hisham Osman
Price - RM8,000
 

Copper tooling description - 9 Koi Fish
Measurement- 26inches (H) x 37inches (W)inclusive frame
Time taken to create - 2 months
Created by Haji Hisham Osman
Price - RM8,000

Copper tooling description - Peacock in a Vineyard
Measurement - 36inches (H) x 26inches (W)inclusive frame
Time taken to create - 2 months
Created by Haji Hisham Osman
SOLD

Copper tooling description - Wau Bulan
Measurement -36inches (H) x 28inches (W) inclusive frame
Time taken to create - 2 months
Created by Haji Hisham Osman
Price - RM8,000

Copper tooling description - Two Traditional Wayang Kulit dancers
Measurement - 30inches (H) x 17inches (W) inclusive frame
Time taken to create - 1 month
Created by Haji Osman Arshad
Price - RM3,500






* kopihangtuah



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Alkisahnya Melayu

www.kopihangtuah.blogspot.com

Sempena Pilihanraya baru-baru ni, aku sering termenung memikirkan nasib Melayu. Ada juga rasa yang Melayu ni akan jadi hamba lagi sekali kat tanah "Melayu" itu sendiri dan seringkali apabila difikirkan, memang Melayu itu sendiri mempunyai negativiti yang banyak sekali sehingga merosakkan bangsa sendiri. Tetapi, Melayu itu juga banyak benda-benda positifnya. Aku ingin mem'blog' mengenai Melayu tetapi kajian yang tidak mencukupi menghalang keinginan. Terserempaklah pula dengan sebuah puisi yang sangat releven dari konteks Melayu. Sebuah puisi nukilan Dr Usman Awang bertajuk 'Melayu'; seperti berikut:

Melayu

Melayu itu orang yang bijaksana
Nakalnya bersulam jenaka
Budi bahasanya tidak terkira
Kurang ajarnya tetap santun
Jika menipu pun masih bersopan
Bila mengampu bijak beralas tangan

Melayu itu berani jika bersalah
Kecut takut kerana benar
Janji simpan di perut
Selalu pecah di mulut,
Biar mati adat
Jangan mati anak

Melayu di tanah Semenanjung luas maknanya;
Jawa itu Melayu
Bugis itu Melayu
Banjar juga disebut Melayu
Minangkabau memang Melayu
Keturunan Acheh adalah Melayu
Jakun dan Sakai asli Melayu
Arab dan Pakistani, semua Melayu,
Mamak dan Malbari serap ke Melayu
Malah, muallaf bertakrif Melayu
( Setelah disunat anunya itu )

Dalam sejarahnya
Melayu itu pengembara lautan
Melorongkan jalur sejarah zaman
Begitu luas daerah sempadan
Sayangnya kini segala kehilangan

Melayu itu kaya falsafahnya
Kias kata bidal pusaka
Akal budi bersulamkan daya
Gedung akal laut bicara

Malangnya Melayu itu kuat bersorak
Terlalu ghairah pesta temasya
Sedangkan kampung telah tergadai
Sawah sejalur tinggal sejengkal
Tanah sebidang mudah terjual
Meski telah memiliki telaga
Tangan masih memegang tali
Sedang orang mencapai timba
Berbuahlah pisang tiga kali

Melayu itu masih bermimpi
Walaupun sudah mengenal universiti
Masih berdagang di rumah sendiri

Berkelahi cara Melayu
Menikam dengan pantun
Menyanggah dengan senyum
Marahnya dengan diam
Merendah bukan menyembah
Meninggi bukan melonjak

Watak Melayu menolak permusuhan
Setia dan sabar tiada sempadan
Tapi jika marah tak nampak telinga
Musuh dicari ke lubang cacing
Tak dapat tanduk, telinga dijinjing

Maruah dan agama dihina jangan
Hebat amuknya tak kenal lawan
Berdamai cara Melayu indah sekali
Silaturrahim hati yang murni
Maaf diungkap sentiasa bersahut
Tangan dihulur sentiasa bersambut
Luka pun tidak lagi berparut

Baiknya hati Melayu itu tak terbandingkan
Selagi yang ada sanggup diberikan
Sehingga tercipta sebuah kiasan;

Dagang lalu nasi ditanakkan
Suami pulang lapar tak makan
Kera di hutan disusu-susukan
Anak di pangkuan mati kelaparan

Bagaimanakah Melayu abad kedua puluh satu
Masihkah tunduk tersipu-sipu?
Jangan takut melanggar pantang
Jika pantang menghalang kemajuan
Jangan segan menentang larangan
Jika yakin kepada kebenaran;
Jangan malu mengucapkan keyakinan
Jika percaya kepada keadilan
Jadilah bangsa yang bijaksana
Memegang tali memegang timba
Memiliki ekonomi mencipta budaya
Menjadi tuan di negara merdeka...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Kita cuba tenungkan ya......






* kopihangtuah



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The Garden of Evening Mists - A Magnificent Touch of Malaysia's Tan Twan Eng

www.kopihangtuah.blogspot.com

This is a story of a life struggle. This is a story of sadness. This is a story of dignity, purpose and love. This is telling us how much we as human beings are fragile but yet, with such realisation, we still roam the Earth with greatness along with the confusion that we carry with us forever ...

Title: The Garden of Evening Mists
Author: Tan Twan Eng
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 978-1-78211-018-7
Publisher: Myrmidon Books Ltd
Year: 2012

TAN TWAN ENG is the pride of the nation (Malaysia) when his masterpiece, The Garden of Evening Mists, got shortlisted for The Man booker Prize. Not only am I proud for what he did for the nation, I am also thrilled to know that he is my fellow statesman, the beautiful island of Penang. Tan writes beautifully. Justice is not done if Tan's work is read in a rush and pages turning fast like what one would expect from a Dan Brown's book. His requires patience. Readers should take their time and indulge in the slow but substantially composed storyline. The appreciation of such steady digestion simply pulls you into his world. Almost analogous to wine tasting where you let the liquid linger enveloping your tongue rather than a forceful gulp.

 

... between the sad memories of her late sister and her passion to prosecute Japanese occupation war criminals, her attention focuses on being an apprentice of this Japanese gardener. The apprenticeship proves to be an adventure uncovering many surprises ranging from her inner feelings to the gardener, communist attacks, to war secrets that involves Japanese spies and treasure hunts ...

 

The Garden of Evening Mists, as the name suggests, mostly revolve around a Japanese garden in the cool ambience of Cameron Highlands in Pahang. Set in three (3) different snapshots of the life of a Chinese lady, Yun Ling, the journey begins with a dark past of Japanese invasion of Malaya. Like many Chinese, women in particular, the Japanese occupation was nothing short of a living hell. Yun Ling and her sister struggle through the war in a godforsaken civilian camp deep in the rainforest. Of course, the Japanese did not stay long. The moment Hiroshima was bombed to pieces and the prospect of the same happening to Tokyo was apparent, the army of the rising sun surrendered. Yun Ling got her life returned to her but it is never the same. She lost her sister, her dignity and some fingers!

 

Such traumatic experience leaves a deep hatred towards Japanese. But!, ... despite the despise she has, Yun Ling later (the 2nd snapshop) finds herself enveloped with love and care for a Japanese gardener living at the fringe of a tea plantation estate. What is worse, this aged Japanese gardener was formerly the Emperor's (of Japan) gardener. All facts and feelings intertwined giving confusion to Yun Ling. She is playing tug-of-war between love and conscience. Her family and friends, mostly Chinese, looks negatively towards her like what Kunta Kinte would have felt if another black falls in love with the white colonial masters. Between the sad memories of her late sister and her passion to prosecute Japanese occupation war criminals (now that she is in the Malaya judiciary system), her attention focuses on being an apprentice of this Japanese gardener. She has to fulfil her promise to her sister. She has to build a Japanese garden in her (sister) memory. The apprenticeship proves to be an adventure uncovering many surprises ranging from her inner feelings to the gardener, communist attacks, to war secrets that involves Japanese spies and treasure hunts.

 

This is a story of a life struggle. This is a story of sadness. This is a story of dignity, purpose and love. This is telling us how much we as human beings are fragile but yet, with such realisation, we still roam the Earth with greatness along with the confusion that we carry along with us forever. Yun Ling is no different. She, like any other human beings, went through the exact template of a life saga. It is as if life is pre-ordained - or, perhaps, life is indeed pre-ordained anyway - leaving Yun Ling alone again in her old age (Snapshop 3) abandoned by her sister, her friends and her beloved mystical Japanese gardener lover. The pain Yun Ling feels gets unbearable when everything in her (memories), surrounding her (the surviving Japanese Garden of Evening Mists) and "on" her (a full body Japanese tattoo, Horimono, crafted by the gardener) are the legacy of the one and only lover she ever had.

* kopihangtuah



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