Peranakan Printing & Japanese Alumni Friends

What happens when you get a group of Japanese alumni friends and neighbours together in Singapore? Lots of fun and laughter, and some beautiful Peranakan inspired prints!

I really enjoyed creating my very own design. The workshop was lots of fun!
— Yoko Oshima
Working out how to create my own design and colour combination was enjoyable. I found the workshop was not too easy or difficult - a great fit. Thanks very much!
— Kaori Aoyama

Peranakan Cultural Ambassadors - the Next Japanese Generation

The next generation of Peranakan culture lovers! A group of budding Japanese artists recently produced some gorgeous work in a private printing workshop. With English up their sleeve, these kids may well be future ambassadors for Peranakan culture in ways we can't imagine. 

Also a mother, I love seeing the confidence and sense of wonder on my kids' faces when we do art together. I recently held a private workshop for parents and kids to learn some Peranakan inspired printmaking. It was lovely to see parents designing and creating with one or even two of their children! 

I enjoyed being able to work out my design and choose my own colours. The content of this workshop was just right for my 8-year-old child and he enjoyed it.
— Eri Kitagawa, Japan

Affordable Art Fair Spring Singapore

Some students, friends and I recently checked out Affordable Art Fair Spring in Singapore. We enjoyed chatting to the directors of  Artify, Tokyo Gallery and the Tolman Collection. See some photos from a fun morning!

Peranakan Art Corporate Team Bonding Workshops

Great to see a corporate design team getting creative at one of Singapore's oldest Hokkien temples! Yummy Kueh sweets and local coffee powered our enjoyable carving and printing session. Surrounded by Peranakan floor tiles and the nearby Peranakan Tile Gallery, there was lots of inspiration! 

Learn how a creative workshop can benefit your team!

It was a relaxing environment to get to know colleagues outside of work context. I had a fun time with them :)
— Edalene Tay 
We had tons of fun, and it was interesting to see one another’s masterpieces in process. I enjoyed myself very much.
— Lim Li Li

The Next Generation - LASALLE College of the Arts

Love teaching the next generation! I recently enjoyed teaching Fashion Diploma students at LASALLE College of the Arts in Singapore. Seems like just yesterday when I was printmaking student at university! It's great to see students from Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, China and Singapore learning together.

It was really interesting to see what kind of motifs the students came up with. Some also used my Peranakan tile inspired rubber blocks along with their own blocks, and the results were amazing. I hope the overseas students learn all they can about the various cultural influences behind modern day Singapore while they are here. I look forward to seeing the fashion lines that they produce in the near future! 

Chinese New Year Printing

I always enjoy running my Chinese New Year printing workshops in January. Students recently enjoyed a special series of seasonally inspired printing sessions to make decorative table runners. Students used a library of Peranakan tile designs, Chinese auspicious flowers and Chinese written characters to create gorgeous personalised designs.  Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Missed out? Check out upcoming workshops.


Tile Trade Series - New Work Coming Soon

The latest print in the Tile Trade series is on its way! Wealth & Luck was the first print I made almost a year ago after discovering a connection between Singapore and Japan in the form of wasei (Japanese made) majolica tiles. It seems that these relief tiles were customised to feature auspicious fruits, flowers and symbols commonly seen in Chinese culture.  

This 'sibling' block also has a terrific story that I unearthed after making some amazing discoveries about my family history in Singapore. It was inspired by a tile I discovered at a temple built with donations made by people including my great grandfather, Lim Nee Yam. The original tile is from Holland and is also a design popular among Japanese visitors. 

Take a peek at the process behind making my first block!