If you’ve ever had a hand at art jamming in Singapore, you’d know that Singapore is home to numerous social art jamming studios. So, we thought, what a better way to spend our weekend with the SUSS alumni than in a fun, social and creative way at a unique art jamming studio?
The First of Its Kind
In the quietness of a Saturday morning in July this year, our group of 19 alumnus gathered at a quaint little corner along Beach Road, where the studio was located. Artistra Studio, being the first of its kind in Singapore, specialises in guided sneakers art jamming.
Unleash Your Inner Picasso
Artistra Studio provides individuals with a platform to express their creative freedom and personalities via a very unique way of personalizing your own pair of sneakers. For folks who love a good art jam and are confident of their skills, they can choose to draw freehand. On the other hand – if you aren’t as aesthetically inclined – fret not as the studio provides some default stencils you can work with. You could also request in advance for a stencil to be made and that’s what our alumnus did! While half of us chose to draw freehand on their sneakers, the other half of us went ahead with pre-made stencils.
Moreover, the All-inclusive Package accounts for all the materials you’d need, including the sneakers, stencils, and paint. With the sneakers being gender neutral, the stencils like butterflies, Kaws or even flowers, you’re bound to find something that will suit your needs.
So with the arsenal of tools like sneakers, paint and stencils all laid, our alumni were pretty much ready to let their creative juices flow. And with that, you could hear waves of laughter and silence as the session went on and everyone got focused on their respective crafts. It wasn’t till long after that the session’s participants noticed how much time was invested in decorating a pair of shoes and you could feel everyone’s drive to perfect their designs.
Koh Ee Lin Kate, BSc Business with Psychology, Class of 2015, says “This is a liberating creative process, yet organised at the same time. We could select from an array of templates or source our own preferred designs with ample time given. Plus, I was also very thankful that the Artistra folks were very accommodating.”
Nonetheless, we noticed that there was a limitation in the stencil designs as it did not account for the outlines for the details. This made it slightly challenging for participants who are not able to draw with just the outlined stencil. The session was also three hours long and hence there were alumni who finished earlier than expected, while those who had more details to their design took the full three hours or even more to complete their creations.
When asked if she’d recommend other alumni to join this event, Kate says, “Considering Artistra is Singapore’s only sneakers art jamming — this is a novel, therapeutic and practical workshop experience, as you get to strut your stuff truly!”
This was indeed a truly fresh group bonding idea and served as a good self-care activity for our alumni. It does take a bit of time to create and execute but is definitely a rewarding process. Plus, if you’re a sneakerhead, remember you can never have too many pairs of kicks and it’s gratifying to bring your craft home.
