Issue no. 3 July 2019
memorabilia of
14.90 MYR
“
Memories warm you up from the inside. But they also tear you apart. Haruki Murakami
�
Written & Design by
nicole janet jovita
memoribilia of leaves issue no.3 July 2019
contents foreword
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leaves 101
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memoribilia
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stories: memoribilia of leaves Krawu: My Hometown Dish
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eco-prints
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The Sacred Leaf Herbs To Cook Ezen’s Experiment A Child’s Play The Aesthetic One
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*prints for leaves
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post cards
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foreword Leaves are part of the nature and it’s presence is evident in our daily life. Either it’s up on the tree, laying low on the ground, or sold in the local market. Noticed or unnoticed, leaves’ do mark its existence in our memories. May it be your childhood memory or a favorite herb with a unique scent. How about you? Do you have a certain type of leaf that reminds you of a certain memory? No worries if don’t have any, yet. Flip on through the next pages and you’ll get to hear stories, touch, as well as smell some types of leaves. And it might remind you of a leaf that personally connects with you. So, get ready to explore!
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leaves 101
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When talking about leaves, vegetable is part of the conversation. Salads, sauteed veggie dish are originally leaves. Theres also herbs, which may not be the main ingredient of a dish but plays significant part in either adding flavour or as a garnish. Herbs like rosemary, basil, thyme, and oregano. As an example, say rosemary, it has this tiny leaves and its woody kind-of smell. It adds flavour to steaks or soups. Vegetables in local market
Meanwhile, coriander has this mix of citrusy, also sweet taste. The smell itself is stingy and it’s rarely a people’s favorite. Chinese and Thailand cuisine frequently use this herb as garnish purposes.
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Other type of leaves, is those brownish dried fallen leaves. Sometimes it has the green ones, or with dark spots on it. Fallen leaves exist through the process of abscission. It’s an act or process of “cutting of”. It naturally happens due to factors as the climate (too hot or too cold), water conservation, and insect-damaged or diseased leaves. It’s a survival method for the trees to survive. But, it’s also a beautiful process to see the leaves naturally fall.
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memorabilia definition wise, “memorabilia is things that are remarkable and worthy of remembrance� Merriam-Webster Dictionary
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Memories that leaves a great impression to us, can be the happiest or dreadful moments in our life. Those happiest and dreadful experiences are close to us personally because of the emotions contained in it. It could be a birthday party when you were six years old, and your big family was celebrating with you. You were able to remember it till now because it wasn't just a happy moment, but you were with the ones dearest to you. That’s what makes it special. Story by Felinia Halim
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A sad childhood memory might be when you feel lonely. Loneliness that occurs due to your parents busy working and you’re left alone to play by yourself. Sometimes you try to find reasons to make your parents stay with you. But.. In the end, they still go. And you’re left alone again. “The saddest memory is when the one who make me sad is my parents.” Story by Elfina Joewonowati
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“Emotional events are often remembered with greater accuracy and vividness (though these two characteristics do not always go together) than events lacking an emotional component� (Reisberg & Hertel, 2005)
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Memories which are connected to personal experiences can be evoked or triggered by a certain smell. An example could be the smell of a lilac flower that reminds someone’s late mother. Or when you pass by somebody that smells like a fabric softener, you remember the childhood days when your mother uses that product to keep everything clean.
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stories
memoribilia of leaves
samples of leaves available to touch and smell
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Krawu: My Hometown Dish
Story by Ibu Sumi
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A vegetable dish named “Sayur Kerawu” is very close to Bu Sumi as it is her favorite dish. It reminds of her hometown in Indonesia where she frequently made this dish. The dish is healthy and also economical. She picks up various kinds of vegetables from her backyard, such as kenikir, citrus leaf, bean sprouts and kecipir. Mix those fresh leaves together with traditional spices and coconut shreds, which is the main ingredient of sayur kerawu. The dish is perfect with homemade chilli. The dish leaves an impression on her until now she’s all the way in Malaysia.
Salam leaf is an ingredient in an iconic Javanese dish, which is “Sayur Asem”. The leaf reminded her of an unsual situation, when she was doing her work. An area at her workplace was covered with a whole lots of salam leaves. It was surprising and a hilarious moment for her.
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The Sacred Leaves
Story by Teh Li Sian
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Teh’s mom favors sacred fig leaf (菩提树), she believes that the tree can bring good luck, because according to Buddhist legend, Siddhartha became buddha under that tree. When Teh was young, she did painting on a sacred fig skeleton to make a bookmark. She thought of creating a skeleton fig leaf as a gift for her mother during mother’s day, as it is her favorite leaf and she loves to read. And the fig leaf itself resembles a heart shape, which is a symbol of love. The process of creating the skeleton leaves was challenging, since its so thin. But then it shows her dedication to show her love to her mother. “It’s a good gift to show love.”
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Herbs To Cook
Stories by culinary art students
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Abygail would say that her favorite herb is parsley. It’s because, parsley isn’t only used as a soup ingredient or garnish, suprisingly it can be enjoyed as tea.The smell is aromatic and refreshing as well. That what makes her enjoy drinking parsley tea. To make a parsley tea, you just need to soak fresh parsley in hot water. And you’re ready to enjoy.
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As a culinary art student, Morine has chosen thyme as her most favorite herb. So, why is thyme the most appealing herb for her? Thyme has a strong aromatic that is usually used as a seasoning and stuffing, especially for seafood. It covers up the fishy smell that comes from the seafood. Thyme doesn’t only add flavour, it plays as a garnish, and make the dish more juicy. It can be added in soups such as mushroom or cauliflower soups. Or in sauces, like mushroom and butter sauce. An example of dish is seafood chowder, which a soup made of fish, prawn, mussels, and vegetables. The thyme leaves will be sauteed together in with the seafoods.
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Ezen’s Experiment
Story by Ezen Lim
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Ezen has done a lot of experiments and explorations with leaves. One of it is to preserve the leaves by dipping it unto a heated wax for three seconds and dried it out. She also spray painted the leaves, created skeleton leaves, and incorporate leaves on her artworks. The leaves are collected from her house and also the roadside or parks.
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Child’s Play
Story by Mom & Dad
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I asked my mom, “Did you ever played with leaves when you were a kid?” And she answered, “You mean climbing up trees?” So, when my mom was a kid she used to climb up the coffee plants and pick the coffee cherries. And she also likes to take other types of leaves, including the big ones. She mentioned that kids her age use brown and orange leaves to naturally paint their nails. Back then, nail polish was expensive and using leaves was a smart alternative. To paint your nails with leaves, 1) crush the leaves, 2) put it evenly on your nails, and 3) just leave it until the color appears.
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Meanwhile, during my father’s time, kids used leaves to create bubbles. The leaves were crushed and soaked in the water. Ater that, take out the leaves squeeze the water out of it. Amazingly, the solution functions as the same soap solution which can create bubbles.
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The Aesthetic One
Story by Maureen Rahadiani
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As someone who loves flowers and has an eye on aesthetic decoration, Maureen choses mini eucalyptus as her favorite type of leaf. She says, the leaf is suitable for flower bouquets and it also has a gorgeous color. The leaf can be mixed with any kind of flowers to complete a bouquet. These mini eucalyptus is also the perfect decoration for simple-rustic theme.
During her childhood, Maureen likes to play with betel leaf, soursop leaf, and star fruit leaf. Each leaves has an aromatic smell, and she crushed the leaves into tiny pieces with a mortar. She did that and play it as if she’s operating a restaurant with her friends. She also symbolises the star fruit leaf as the money. It was very creative of her. The funny thing is that her neighbor scold her because she stole those leaves for her to play.
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eco-print
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materials needed
fresh green leaves
water colour paper
string
*dried leaves are not recommended because the colors doesn’t appear much
alumunium sulphate powder
vinegar
basin
pot
*to soak the water colour paper in
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jug/bowl
*to soak the leaves
1. Prepare a jug or bowl and dissolve alum powder into the water. Then, soak in the leaves you have collected. Let it be for an hour.
2. Take out the leaves from the water
3. With the used water from the leaves, use it to soak in the water colour paper.
4. Place the leaves unto the half part of the paper. Then, spray with a bit of vinegar. And fold the paper in.
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5. Stack the folded paper you have and tie them tightly together with a string.
6. Prepare a pot and pour in the used alum water from before. Add in more water, alum powder (1 tbsp), and vinegar (1 tbsp).
7. Put in the papers and let it boil on medium heat for about 30 - 45 minutes.
8. Turn off the heat and let it cool down for an hour or more. Then, take out the papers and you’ll be able to see the eco-prints!
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*prints for leaves
This is an alternative way to create prints from leaves (fresh and dried)
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1. Prepare the dried leaves.
2. Crushed some of the leaves and put all the leaves together in a pot.
3. Put it on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Let it cool down before transfering the print unto paper.
4. Transfer the print unto paper. And there you have it! *Crush the leaves to make the colors appear more.
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post cards
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tear and write down memories that you hold dear to.
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credits Thank you for contributing the beautiful stories. Abygail Campbelliem Elfina Joewonowati Ezen Lim Geralda Maureen Rahadiani Ibu Sumi Maria Felinia Halim Morine Agnes Teh Li Sian Finally, Mom and Dad