NO ONE likes a nosey neighbour but then again, curiosity doesn't always kill the cat. For Datin Mazlynda Nezri, 36, her curiosity about the contents of her neighbour's basket led towards a creative vocation in porcelain painting.

Looking back at the seemingly casual encounter 12 years ago, Mazlynda, who hails from Kuching, Sarawak, said that she was then a student at Oxford University in Britain, studying interior design.

"I can still remember asking my neighbour where she was going with her big basket.

"When she replied that she was going to do porcelain painting, I followed her to her house and that was when I learned the art.

"That was when I discovered my creative side,' revealed the single mother of three.

Lucky are those whose jobs are also their hobbies. Well, Mazlynda would later turn her newfound artistic skills into a business.

The beginnings of this would be as subtle as the delicate petals gracing Mazlynda's ceramic plates.

Penwork was used to illustrate the heliconias on this plate.

"I'd do gifts for my friends' birthdays and soon the word got round about my porcelain paintings," said the soft-spoken artist who is of Melanau descent.

But the go-getter realised that word of mouth advertising would only take her so far. So she decided to take matters into her hands.

"I struggled in the first year, going door to door and from post box to post box slotting pamphlets at the condo where I lived.

"I remember how at 3pm every afternoon, my penthouse would be full of people coming to learn porcelain painting.

"At that time, my start up capital was only RM450," she recalls.

Well, her small venture would eventually grow over the years. Today, her company's accounts show a turnover of a few million ringgit.

But rather than dwell on those figures, Mazlynda would rather speak of how porcelain painting helped to heal her troubled soul.

"When I begin painting, the porcelain and the brushes become my best friends. I don't have to talk to people but I can talk to my plate," she said.

Mazlynda brought out a vase with the image of an eagle's face whose eyes seem to stare menacingly.

"I titled this piece 'I Hate You'. It was done one day last year, at the exact moment when a disturbing thought came to my mind.

"Someone had remarked that I couldn't paint and that had hurt me very much because it implied that I was not a real artist.

The menacing eagle conveys the artist?s feeling towards her critic.

"What you see in 'I Hate You' is an expression of my feelings at that moment," said Mazlynda, explaining how she found porcelain painting cathartic and how she 'talks' to her ceramic pieces. However, she also reveals that her art has also allowed her to express joy.

"It was during a New Year's Eve party with my two girls at Le Meridien hotel that I made a wish for 'My Destiny Is You'," said Mazlynda of her latest hand-painted porcelain collection which is scheduled to be launched at Istana Hotel.

And in complete contrast to her painting of the angst-ridden eagle, the 'My Destiny Is You' collection which features majestic images of hornbills amidst a backdrop of flora and fauna seems to speak of a happier and more positive character.

"I realised that I need to put my problems behind me. There is no point in looking behind. This has also been the advice of my godfather (the Sultan of Johor) who told me not to bother about what other people have said about me.

"In the end, I am here, still painting while I know for sure that my critic can hardly draw. So, I am going to put the hostility behind me and continue painting because this is what I have always wanted to do," said Mazlynda.

Her main motivators, she proudly reveals, are her teenaged daughters Natashya and Syaifa.

"When I think I cannot go on, I look into their eyes and that gives me strength," smiles the doting mum who loves nothing more than having an all-girl outing with her daughters, going shopping or exchanging fashion tips.

And though both girls are well into their teens, Mazlynda still caresses them and whispers to them as they sleep.

"I tell them that I love them and to be good girls," she said.

Next in line, are her two Persian cats.

"I never refer to them as cats. I refer to them as Pearl and Rooney. From experience, I can tell you that it is better to talk to animals because they don't answer back.

"I love the way they look at me with their expressive eyes and how they rub against me when I need cheering up," says the cat lover.

Mazlynda's 'My Destiny Is You' collection will be launched today at 3pm at Istana Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. The collection will be auctioned and proceeds from which will benefit Rumah Ibu-ibu Tunggal Sarawak.

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