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She
goes on to say that the thought of exhibiting her work excites her. And yet,
her mind remains focused on the common goal of the 12 young artists working
hard, but enjoying every moment of it ".
..to help the elderly." With
the dawn of the new year and the sound of crackers ringing in our ears,
these 12 little children will launch their first art exhibition on January
11 and 12 at the Lionel Wendt. Tehara Moonemalle (6), Rashmika Pandithage
(8), Avishka Jayasuriya (8), Thavina Wijenathan (8), Razia Esufally (8),
Joshua De Silva (9), Senuri Jayasekera (9),Cheyenne De Zoysa (10), Sara
Thurab (11), Mariah De Silva (11), Sheshadri Kottearachchi (11) and Shezna
Salim (12) are all students of Lathifa Ismail. Ismail
herself is an artist of no mean repute spanning over two decades of
nurturing young minds to appreciate the beauty that surrounds them,
encouraging little beings to transfer their innermost thoughts and feelings
onto paper and canvas. She takes great care in creating the right kind of
relaxed atmosphere to foster creativity and make certain that each child
maintains his or her individuality when painting, guiding them, yet never
interfering in their " expressions of art" as she so aptly
describes them.. The
little artists have spent the past six months working steadfastly on this,
their big project - Little Touches, an art exhibition in aid of the elderly
at Helpage. " Aunty Lathifa told us that all the money from the sale of
our paintings will go to help the old people" piped in little Tehara
Moonemalle at a recent art class. And what does the youngest of the 12
artists have to say about the exhibition? Pat comes her answer with "
Please, please buy my paintings for lovely old people, who have no one to
help them." At just six years old she is a lady with a purpose, her
inherent marketing skills rising to the fore to aid and abet the common
cause. Eight
year old Thavina Wijeynathan from Methodist College has a persuasive
mouthful to add, "This is my way of showing my appreciation towards the
elders. When you buy our paintings at the Little Touches exhibition, you are
helping the needy elders". Flowers and fish, butterflies and gardens
adorn the canvases surrounding her. As do the paintings and sketches of her
companions. Wild
life and scenes of " out in the open" are the subjects chosen by
Joshua De Silva. Joshua specialises in sketches. And what was his source of
inspiration. " Aunty Lathifa" he responds without batting an
eyelid. " She helped me sketch a duck and it looked alive. I wanted to
keep on sketching after that." Joshua and Mariah make up a brother and
sister combination taking part in the art exhibition. " I'd like to
make elders smile, because I enjoy my own grandparents company," says
Mariah. Who doesn't? Let us give back a little of what we have gained from
the wisdom of years is what these little children seem to say. Oh...
Please please buy my paintings for lovely My
paintings are nice, Please buy them to help the old. I
hope I can sell all my paintings to help the old people I
enjoy painting. Colours fascinate me. The thought of exhibiting my work
excites me. I also want to help the old people. This
is my way of showing my appreciation towards the elders. When you buy our
paintings you are helping the needy elders I'd
like to think that all old people in Sri Lanka are provided for. This is my
own little contribution. I
wish others too will share my pleasure in creating beautiful pictures I
love to paint because it is fun and the proceeds from it will bring joy to
the old. An
inspiration for colour and paint to bring out joy and happiness for my
grandparents and elders I'd
like to make elders smile, because I enjoy my own grand parents company I
like drawing and painting. I hope our pictures will bring in something for
the elders. Paintings
and elders inspire us. It makes me happy that this exhibition involves both. Human
Christmas decor! BY
LAKSHMAN DE SILVA Bing
Crosby brought out an unique style
in
singing. His was a voice
admired not only
in
the US but in other countries as well. Specially in England, where there is
a Bing Crosby Club as in the US and Australia where these clubs are
functioning now. Of
course during the Christmas season, Bing becomes a part of that atmosphere
because of his Christmas songs, mainly White Christmas. Among his other
songs during this season are Silent Night, God rest Ye merry Gentlemen,
Adeste Fideles, Jingle Bells, Santa Clause is Coming to Town, Faith of Our
Fathers"and other hits. In
the movie A Christmas Story can be heard the songs Jingle Bells, Silent Nigh
and "Santa Clause is Coming to Town. Between
1915 and 1980 Bing was the only motion picture star to rank as the number
one box office attraction. Bing
Crosby was born on May 3, 1903. His parents were Harry Lincoln Crosby and
Catherine Helen. Bing was the most successful recording artiste of the 20th
century with over 300 hits to his name. Bing recorded with many stars of
Hollywood including the Andrew Sisters, Fred Astaire, Louis Armstrong,
Rosemary Clooney, Bob Hope, Grace Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Frank Sinatra. Bing
also starred in concerts in many states in the US as well as in England and
Ireland. Bing's last public engagement was at Brighton England on October
10, 1997. Bing
was one of the most successful stars in films. Among his films were Going My
Way for which he won an Academy Award for best actor. Among his other films
were Bells of St. Mary's and The Country Girl. In all Bing appeared in 104
films. Among
his other films are White Christmas, Anything Goes, High Society among
others. His last major film was Stagecoach in 1966. He also starred in seven
Zany "Road" films. From
1956 he also appeared in films made for television. Bing will also by
remembered for his Christmas TV specials during the festive season. Bing
was one of the greatest singers of all time and his songs will always live
on. Let's
Jazz things up... Dave
O'Higgins Jazz Quintet
with the JazzCotech Dancers from
London are to perform in Colombo, Kandy and Galle The
tour is sponsored by the British Council and SriLankan Airlines in
association with the Galadari Hotel Colombo, Lighthouse Hotel Galle, Suisse
Hotel Kandy and electronic media sponsors are Yes FM and Channel 1 MTV. Dave
O'Higgins, one of UK's top jazz saxophonists, his five-piece jazz band, and
his JazzCotech Dancers will entertain local audiences with performances and
workshops. Performance
Schedule Colombo Saturday
10 - 9.30 p.m. onwards & Sunday
11 - 9.30 p.m. onwards 'Boom'
Galadari Hotel - Tickets Rs. 400 (ladies free) Sunday
18 January- 5.00 p.m. onwards British
Council Garden Tickets
Rs. 300. Kandy Friday
16 January from
8.30 p.m. onwards Suisse
Hotel - Kandy Tickets
Rs. 300 & Rs. 150 (students) Galle
Tuesday
13 January from
8.30 p.m. onwards Lighthouse
Hotel - Galle Tickets
Rs. 300 & Rs. 150 (students) Workshop
schedule Colombo
Saturday 10 - 3.00 - 6.00 p.m. Galle
Tuesday 13 - 2.30 - 5.30 p.m. Kandy
Friday 16 - 2.30 - 5.30 p.m. The
workshops are for young musicians and dancers. Some of them will get an
opportunity to perform with the band and the dancers during their gigs in
Sri Lanka. The
workshops are open to guitarists, drummers, saxophonists and
keyboard/pianists. Pre-registration at the arts office of the British
Council, Colombo or British Council Kandy. The
Dave O'Higgins Jazz Quintet comprises Dave on saxes, Mike Outram on guitar,
Tom Cawley on keyboards, Sam Burgess on bass and Simon Lea on drums. The
quintet illuminates their mastery through more than just jazz. The versatile
band combines aspects of rock, funk, soul and Latin in their repertoire that
includes O'Higgins' innovative originals - the fusion of genres appealing to
a much wider audience than just that of jazz JazzCotech
Dancers are a UK dance group specialising in the untapped art form of Old
Skool Street-Fusion Jazz Dance, a dance style which developed in the UK
clubs in and around the 70's and 80's. It
is unique to the UK and JazzCotech are the only Dance group currently
teaching this style, both to adults and children. Call
of the real Modern
Indian painting came into its own when artists began to fuse traditional
approaches with the bold experimentation of the West. Indian subjects are
treated in startlingly different ways as these 11 artists from Bengal evoke
through symbol, myth, colours and lines, the rich and complex aspects of
this amazing land. Green
landscapes threaded by gleaming rivers, mysterious and lovely Radhas rising
from beds of purple lotuses. Durgas astride lions, business men with rolled
umbrellas, women working and dreaming, leaves and water, gods and beasts,
are caught in colours and shapes rich enough to make one see the world in a
fresh, glinting light. The eldest of the painters represented in this volume
was born in 1918, the youngest in 1965; the time span is the 20th century,
and the style modern, but these Christs and Noahs and Krishnas speak of
realities as old as the hills, as permanent as the plains. The paintings
simply stun one into silence. This volume reaches out to a public that may never see these paintings, may never have been to Bengal, never thought of the intricate design that lies under the plethora of phenomena. We hear them speak; we learn about their lives by the river, or in the city, or the small town; we see how passion drives them to paint, and we catch something of that flame.
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