A programme of Singapore Design Week 2019.

The closeness we feel between ourselves and a loved one can be an outcome of our interactions with each other. As creatives, how can we use design or artistry to uplift these interactions? How can crafting help us to connect better?

An informal talk by two creative entrepreneurs, sharing their experiences and their perspectives, and culminating in a panel discussion between two.

You are also invited to visit the studios where the creatives work ‐ and interact first‐hand with them and their work.

Telling Stories to Build Bridges

By John J. Mathis, Tatsu Maker Works
Linocut Printing

"This is the tale of how my daughter and I have deepened our relationship during difficult times by reimagining her stories through printmaking.

I am a single father, widowed, to a young daughter. Being so young and having experienced what she has, it isn’t so easy to articulate what you are thinking and feeling, but being young also means having a wild imagination.

Isabelle was four when she lost her mother, and a little under a year later my father passed away as well; Izzy has grown up these past few years with a mature understanding of life and death and the in‐between, and we’ve held on to each other through the disorienting heartbreak. Talking about Izzy’s dreams, stories and characters in her imaginary worlds, and bringing them to life through art became the therapeutic bonding force, the light and comfort that brought us even closer together and helped each other heal.

I started to illustrate her stories as a bridge between us to help explore her emotions and concerns, and to guide me through her discoveries and growth. Her characters and adventures flow and journey from stark conflict tinged with loss, to discovery and wonder, to hope and redemption.

From early pieces in watercolor, colored pencil, and collage, I migrated to linocut printmaking, where I’ve found a medium where we can keep telling her stories together, and hopefully share them with a wider audience at the Tatsu Maker Works studio."

About John

John Mathis moved to Asia from America in 2003, and then to Singapore in 2009.
Through the years he worked in meats, in plastics, and in oil & gas across dozens of countries, making, fixing, or selling something or other. Most recently, he spent ten years in advertising, directing campaigns and guiding creative communications across Asia‐Pacific.

John has the most wonderful daughter, Isabelle. Tragically, her mother passed away in 2016, and he and Izzy, along with their dog, Tatsu, continue together in Singapore.

John and Izzy found a form of therapy in transforming her stories into images, which eventually developed into a love for printmaking. Tatsu Maker Works is the studio project that has come from these prints where they can keep telling her stories together, and hopefully share them with a wider audience.

Tangible Love

By Chen Chen and Hui Lian, Craft Atelier
Learning Space, Studio, Community

Love can be expressed in so many ways ‐ including spending precious time to create something meant for the person.

Hand‐weaving is perhaps a great example of that ‐ it takes hours and dedication to create something that can be easily purchased in a store, and yet it is about the process and how it is able to capture one's stories, memories, feelings and messages in a single piece of item.

Craft Atelier has seen many mothers and mothers‐to‐be pour their love into the baby wraps they hand‐weave at their studio. Come hear the stories behind two such mothers, and how crafting, as an experience, has helped made a difference to how a mother loves her child.

About Craft Atelier

Founded by Chen Chen and Hui Lian, both ex‐teachers, Craft Atelier may not be Singapore’s only craft studio, but it is definitely her first weaving and spinning studio that is open to the public. Besides looms and wheels, they have tools and resources for a wide range of paper and fibre‐arts crafting, for both the casual crafter and the project‐oriented individual to flex their creative muscles.

About BRAVE:DIFFERENCE

How Design Is Making a Difference
From The Heart of Joo Chiat

Design and artistry have impact.

On we contribute to sustainability.
On we connect as humans.
On how our kids learn.
On how we honour and remember cultures.
On how we realise our dreams.
On how we form and challenge perspectives.

Real stories from people who are in the game. A community exploration of how design can be impactful, even in the smallest areas, BRAVE:DIFFERENCE is a series of informal talks and panel discussions featuring creative entrepreneurs from MOX, and their stories.

BRAVE:DIFFERENCE is a key programme of Singapore Design Week 2019, and part of BRAVE ‐ a series of events by MOX to celebrate the spirit of creative entrepreneurship.

wwww.themox.co/brave/difference