Events & Workshops
Ban Rom Sai Children's Home, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Visual Literacy For The 21st Century
Project Singa Launch @ Funa The IT Mall
Singa the Courtesy Lion was born in 1982. That means Singapore's little courtesy campaign icon is in his late 20s! One reason I became a teacher was that I didn't like some bad habits some Singaporeans displayed. Not giving up seats for old folks. Not saying thank you when someone held a door for you, or cleaned your table at the hawker centre. Using handphones during a movie screening. I used to tell my students: "if you can't give up your seat to old folks or pregnant ladies, don't tell people I am your teacher."
Many teachers must've said the same to their students over the years. And I'm happy to see seats being given up regularly on public transports. There's of course much work to do, so Singa is still very relevant today. That was why I said YES when I was invited to draw at the Funan IT Mall launch of the new Project Singa Friday. Singa is an old friend, and that's my way of contributing to better grace in Singapore.
Mid-Autumn Festival is about mooncakes. It is also about a Chinese tradition wrapped around an old, old mythology: Chang E, wife of folk hero Hou Yi, swallowed an elixir and floated off to the moon, unable to reunite with her husband. The elixir has also made her immortal, so she was doomed to live out an eternity alone. She is accompanied only by a rabbit.
For this new workshop I devised, the students are taught to design and draw their own bunnies. As part of the Chinese Cultural Festival, the school also requested that I present the workshop in Mandarin. It was the first workshop I conducted in full in Mandarin!
The students did a smashing job of creating about 80 bunnies. I am in turn inspired that there are 80 different ways to draw a bunny! That will most certainly enrich Sir Fong Book 4!
Mid-Autumn Festival Workshop
Wonderful Sec 4 ladies helped out at Kinokuniya's Sir Fong's Adventures book promo! Promoting books are never easy, but these great girls tirelessly talked to parents and kids, and for every parent or kid who stepped forward and gave a new local comic book a chance, I am blessed!
Sir Fong's Adventures In Science Book 2 Sales Promotion at Books Kinokuniya
Singapore Science Festival
ComixJam 2012
Popular BookFest 2011
Sir Fong @ Google
A bunch of spectators made my afternoon memorable. I happily drew some Tottos for students. And this group of primary school kids from Ngee Ann joined me in my drawing! They gave suggestions ("Can you draw a bunny with Manga eyes?", "Can we draw too?"), and as you can see, I listened!
Another cool aspect of the show was that each participating comic artist was given a complete set of the new Singa Action Figures! ALL 50 DESIGNS!!! Singaporean toys are few, so that made these extremely collectible and triply awesome!
Each Singa comes movable heads, arms and legs!!! AND each design has its unique accessory! For example, Cyber Bullying Singa comes with a notebook! These figures are sure to become collectors' items in the future!
