3 March, 2012 (Saturday)
10am- 12pm
RSVP to Suen Tan 012 388 7343
or email RSVP to manager@tmsart.com.my

RM50 per entry (includes refreshment)

Special offer only RM25, if you are an early bird (before 15 February 2012) or a myBatik Magazine subscriber.

- register and purchase your ticket online at www.buybatik.com.my

Add Colour to your Wardrobe with Batik

Programme

10am – arrival of the participants & breakfast

11am – talk

12pm – finish

The highlights of this 1-hour talk will be:

The Versatility of Batik:
a) Adding a touch of batik is adding a touch of class;
b) Using batik to showcase our tradition and our culture.
In the richness of our culture, batik speaks louder than words.
Batik as a clothing language;
Using batik for all occasions;
See the transformation of batik into dress tops, head-bands, tie-scarves and more.
A 10-minute make-over using batik and hands-on experience.

About the speaker
CHERRISE TAN, SWET IMAGE PROFESSIONAL
SWET Senior Image Professional Cherrise Tan comes armed with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Huddersfield University, United Kingdom.  Cherrise is well known for her flair for style and dress and her famous skills in make-overs, make-up and hair-dos.   Her grooming tips were well received by her workshop participants from Carlsberg, the Maybank Group, OCBC, Allianz Life, Tokyo Marine, Dell, Tiffany & Co., Korman International, Amanah Raya, Jones Lang ,Wootton, MAA, Philip Wain, Uniten and others.
Her achievements involve training more than 500 Carlsberg sales professionals and speaking to 1000 beauty consultants at Mary Kay. Her other experiences include training catwalk models and beauty contestants for Mrs. Malaysia 2010.

]]> http://mybatik.org.my/2012/01/add-colours-to-your-wardrobe-with-batik-by-cherrise-tan/feed/ 0 http://mybatik.org.my/2011/12/issue-16-mybatik-out-now-cover-icon-ambassador-of-european-union-h-e-vincent-piket/ http://mybatik.org.my/2011/12/issue-16-mybatik-out-now-cover-icon-ambassador-of-european-union-h-e-vincent-piket/#comments Tue, 06 Dec 2011 02:12:29 +0000 admin http://mybatik.org.my/?p=3317

NOVEMBER DAN DISEMBER 2011

PROGRAMMES IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE TEXTILE CARNIVAL AT NATIONAL TEXTILE MUSEUM. NOVEMBER & DECEMBER 2011

LAUNCH OF WEARABLE ART EXHIBITION

AT GALERI PETRONAS

GALERI PETRONAS will launch IRRESISTIBLE WEAR, an exhibition about clothing the human body with art.

It showcases 48 new works created by 12 textile and fashion designers artists: Datuk Radzuan Radziwill, Datin Sharifah Kirana, Edric Ong, Faizal Abdul Hamid, Adnan Hassan, Akma Suriati, Asliza Aris, Zainol Salleh, Eddie Yap, Fion Poon, Associate Professor Hasnul Jamal Saidon and Abdul Hamid Hassan.

All of the designers and artists injected their expertise, creativity and imagination into their respective creations through the perspective of fine art.

and Jailani Abu Hassan. The exhibition explores the full potential of watercolour as a medium of art through new approaches and ideas, challenging the on-going misperception that watercolour is not only meant for painting quaint and pastoral sceneries but can also be applied to current and contemporary images. and Jailani Abu Hassan. The exhibition explores the full potential of watercolour as a medium of art through new approaches and ideas, challenging the on-going misperception that watercolour is not only meant for painting quaint and pastoral sceneries but can also be applied to current and contemporary images.

The launch will be officiated by Seri Paduka Baginda Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Nur Zahirah.

GALERI PETRONAS cordially invites representative(s) from your esteemed organisation to the official launch.

Details of the event are as follows:

Date    : 14 October 2011 (Friday)

Time : 2.30 pm – 4.30 pm

Venue : GALERI PETRONAS, Level 3, Suria KLCC

Attached is the programme of the event for your kind reference.

Thank you.

Issued by

GALERI PETRONAS

11 October 2011

For more information, kindly contact:

Rashidah Ali, Manager, Marketing & Visitor Services: +6 03 2051 5634 / rashil@petronas.com.my

Juhan Kamaruddin, Marketing & Communications: +6 03 2051 5930 / +6 012 2276503 / juhan_k@petronas.com.my

Haslizan Jemeli, Marketing & Communications: +6 03 2051 0901 / +6 017 2449948 / haslizan_jemeli@petronas.com.my

EVENT PROGRAMME

EXHIBITION LAUNCH

IRRESISTIBLE WEAR

14 OCTOBER 2011, FRIDAY

2.30 petang            Arrival of guests and media

3.10 petang            The Arrival of Seri Paduka Baginda Raja Permaisuri Agong

Tuanku Nur Zahirah

3.40 petang            Welcoming Speech by Dato’ Mohammad Medan Abdullah,

Senior General Manager of Group Corporate Affairs Division,

PETRONAS

3.45 petang            Seri Paduka Baginda Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Nur Zahirah launches exhibition

3.50 petang            Fashion presentation

3.55 petang            Seri Paduka Baginda Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Nur Zahirah walks through the exhibition with Curator, designers and artists

4.05 petang            Refreshments

4.30 petang            The Departure of Seri Paduka Baginda Raja Permaisuri Agong

Tuanku Nur Zahirah

Event ends

International Cultural Exchange Center of Henan Province & Yinbing Hotel of The Yellow River Henan

cordially invite you and your friends to the exhibition entitled

马来西亚创价学会、马来西亚国际现代书画联盟、河南省国际文化交流中心与河南省黄河迎宾馆

诚意邀请您与友人参加

which will be officiated by

His Excellency Mr. Chai Xi,

Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Malaysia

on October 15 (Saturday), 3.00pm

at Ground Floor, Soka Exhibition Hall

Wisma Kebudayaan SGM

Exhibition period: 15 to 30 October 2011

Opening hours: 11.00am to 6.00pm

Admission: Free

谨订于10月15日（星期六）下午3时，

在SGM综合文化中心1楼创价展览厅

恭请中国驻马大使柴玺阁下主持开幕仪式

展览日期∶2011年10月15日至30日

展览时间∶每日上午11时至下午6时

China’s 1911 Revolution was one of the most important events in contemporary history of China. Ending the feudal system that ruled China for over 2000 years, the revolution was best remembered for turning China into a republic, earning praises and imprinting deep memories for the future generations. In memory of the 100^th Anniversary of the Revolution, Mr. Zhou Junjie, a renowned calligrapher from China, together with Dr. Foo Yong Kong, a renowned calligrapher and painter from Malaysia, will hold a joint exhibition of calligraphic works in Kuala Lumpur, to commemorate the spirit and wisdom of China’s 1911 Revolution through the unique expression of calligraphic art.  This is truly an exceptional and significant event, which will definitely open up a beautiful chapter in the history of the calligraphy exchange between Malaysia and China.

Mr. Zhou Junjie is currently holding the post of Honorary Chairman for Calligraphy Association of Henan Province and Vice General Director for International Cultural Exchange Center of Henan Province. Zhou Jun Jie, a scholar from Central China, has a rich cultural background and is resolutely and industriously committed to the art of calligraphy. He has initiated efforts in building both the creative and theoretical aspects of calligraphic art to new heights. He has been being commended as not only the representative of Henan calligraphy, but also the representative of calligraphers of the whole nation.

Dr. Foo Yong Kong is the President of Malaysia Contemporary Chinese Painting & Calligraphy Association. His creative calligraphy can be basically divided into three categories: Firstly, the Neo-Classic style; secondly, the Contemporary Little Verse Scripts and thirdly the combination of ink and rich colours style, resulting in a signature style of his own.  The boldness and innovation in his calligraphy reflects his efforts to enhance the universal visual expression.  He believes that “artist should interpret creativity with contemporary perspective.  It is necessary for the artwork to be imbued with contemporary style and colour as this will arouse resonance with others and lead us to continue our exploration together.”

From the 60 over calligraphic works of Mr. Zhou and Dr. Foo to be on displayed, the commonality of their works is the combination of traditional skills with bold and unrestrained spirit, richness, vitality and personal styles. They are also contemporary artists who epitomize the senses of life of present times. With these credentials, they present to the viewers the wisdom, culture, history, tradition, aesthetic, temperament and interest of the calligraphy of present times.

On the opening day, there will be an art talk entitled “The Study and Creation of Calligraphic Works” at 5.00pm, delivered by Mr Zhou Junjie.  Besides that, there will be two guided tour sessions and live calligraphy demonstration by Dr. Foo Yong Kong on the following dates during the exhibition period:

Guided Tour by Calligrapher & Live Calligraphy Demonstration

1^st session    : 22 October (Saturday) at 3pm

2^nd session   : 30 October (Sunday) at 3pm

For activities registration, kindly contact Ms. Lee Miin Yee from SGM Public Relations Department at 03-2141 2003, Email: sgmpro@sgm.org.my or visit SGM website at www.sgm.org.my.

辛亥革命是中国近现代史上最重要的历史事件之一，它以结束两千多年的封建制度，将中国引向共和的伟业而为后世所铭记和歌颂。2011年值辛亥革命一百周年之际，中国著名书法家周俊杰先生与马来西亚著名书画家符永刚博士在首都吉隆坡举办书法联展，以书法的独特艺术形式，表述辛亥革命的精神与智慧，实属意义非凡，必将为马中两国书艺交流史上掀开绚丽的华章。

周俊杰先生，现为河南省书法家协会名誉主席、河南省国际文化交流中心副理事长。周氏数十年来，以其丰厚的文化底蕴、满腔的创作热情和异常的勤奋，划动起书法创作和理论研究的双楫，在创、研两方面均取得了为世瞩目的成就。他曾被评为不仅是中国河南的代表书家，也是整个书坛的代表书家。

符永刚博士，现为马来西亚国际现代书画联盟总会长。他的书法创作包含了新古典、现代少字书及墨与浓郁色彩混融的表现形式，独创了他个人的艺术语言,也展现了书法性的现代艺术。他在书艺上的大胆尝试与创新，是他融入国际主流艺术的努力的体现。他认为：“艺术家要以现代眼光诠释创作，作品当中必须要注入当代风格、色彩才能引起共鸣，有了共鸣，这条路才不会寂寞，而且继续发展探索下去！”

纵观即将展出的周俊杰先生与符永刚博士60余幅的书法作品，他们作品的共同特征是豪放、博大而充满灵气，具有坚实的传统功力，又具强烈的时代感和独特的个人风格。相信将带给观者一次集智慧、文化、历史、传统与具时代感的书法审美情趣。欢迎各位书艺同好与爱好艺术的社众踊跃拨冗出席观赏和不吝赐教。

展览开幕当天下午5时，将举行一场题为“书法的学习与创作”艺术讲座会，由周俊杰先生担任主讲。此外，展览期间，符永刚博士也将亲自为参观者导览和现场挥毫，导览媒介为华语，日期与时间如下：

书法家导览暨现场挥毫

第一场：10月22日（星期六），下午3时

第二场：10月30日（星期日），下午3时

有关活动报名，请联络SGM公关部李敏瑜小姐。电话：03-2141 2003; 电邮：sgmpro@sgm.org.my；网站：www.sgm.org.my。

managed by TMS Art Marketing Sdn. Bhd.

business location: 26, Jalan Sultan Hishabuddin, 50050 K.L.

Tel: +6.03 2693 5154

Fax: +6.03 2694 5154

Web: www.tmsart.com.my

Business Hour: 9am – 6pm Daily

Hi, myBatik fans,

This is to hereby notify you that the current office of TMS Art Marketing Sdn. Bhd & myBatik Magazine at Taman Malawati will be closed by 31st of August 2011. We are relocating to a new place near Pasar

Seni Putra LRT Station, behide the Daya Bumi Building & inside the National Textile Building. Please note down our new address as follows:

Company Registration Name:

TMS Art Marketing Sdn. Bhd.

New Address:

Shop & Cafe @ National Textile Museum Malaysia

26, Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin, 50050 Kuala Lumpur.

Our contact numbers will be changed too.

For the time being you can call on the same numbers and the calls will be automatically diverted to our new numbers.

With effect from 1st September 2011, our new contact numbers would be:

Tel   : +603 2693 5154

Fax  : +603 2694 5154

Kindly update your records accordingly. Please also note down our Post Box Number for mail coordination.

P.O.BOX : 11529, 50748 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

If you have any concerns and queries you may get in touch with us on the below numbers.

–

Regards,

Ms.Emilia Tan

Managing Director & Publisher

Ms. Jern Yong

Personal Assistant to Emilia Tan

assistant@myBatik.org.my

+6016 765 0550

Mr. Umair

Administrator ( TMS Art Gallery, BUYbatik & myBatik )

manager@tmsart.com.my

+6012 388 7343

Ms.Kim

Project Manager (myBatik)

project@tmsart.com.my

+6 012 339 7115

Ms. Lucy

Marketing Executive ( batik raw material supply )

marketing@tmsart.com.my

+6 016 263 5939

Mr. Bob Daniel

Administrator ( art cafe )

sales@tmsart.com.my

+6 03 2693 5154

shop & cafe location in the National Textile Museum Malaysia

 Schedule  :

DATE            :        27 July 2011 (Wednesday)
TIME            :        10.30 a.m.
VENUE        :        Galeri Saindera, Level 2
SPEAKER    :      Cedric Tan
 
Cedric will examine  the socio-historical development and multi-cultural influences on batik sarung among the various communities in Malaysia and the variations in the style of tying this tubular skirt.
 
Who is Cedric Tan ?

Cedric Tan is a 6th generation Baba from Malacca and is actively researching and promoting Baba & Nyonya culture in Malaysia and Singapore. He has been a culture consultant in most Baba & Nyonya events in Malaysia, amongst which include the promotion of Nyonya Kebayas by the late YABhg Datin seri Endon Mahmood and various Peranakan exhibitions in Muzium Negara, Kuala Lumpur. He is reviving the traditional Baba wedding and actively shares his thoughts and articles on the culture in the quarterly Peranakan newsletter issued by the Singaporean Peranakan Association.  He is also the Honorary Secretary of the Peranakan Baba Nyonya Association of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.
 
Admission:

RM38 per person.

This includes a tea reception and a batik sarung as your momento.

Registration:

Please register by replying to this email address:  asmah@jmm.gov.my;  or call Nor Asmah at 0193667275

Greetings!

Goethe-Institut is opening yet another Cityscapes Exhibition on Kuala Lumpur, the fourth in sequence after “Mapping Invisible Cities” (GI SEA), “Creative Economies”(ASEF), and ” Beyond Our City: Lights and Myths”, this time by the title of “Metaphorical Garden”.

This exhibition is showcasing the works from a group of photographers calling themselves The Shooting Stars. Under the expert guidance from their mentors Azrul Abdullah, Eiffel Chong, Alex Moh and Khairul Azril, these photographers are in search of gardens, metaphorically speaking. The exhibition of 50 photos can be seen at the KL City Library Gallery (next to Dataran Merdeka) from 26 May (Official Opening at 8.30pm) to 26 June accompanied by a Sound installation on 25 June at 8.30pm by Marc Behrens.

In short:

What:

Photo-Exhibition “Metaphorical Garden” by the Shooting Stars and their mentors  Azrul Abdullah, Eiffel Chong, Alex Moh, and Khairul Azril Ibrahim.

When:

26 May (Official Opening at 8.30pm) to 26 June 2011

Where:

Kuala Lumpur Gallery, Perpustakaan Kuala Lumpur (next to Dataran Merdeka)

Extras:

The MPO High Wind Ensemble under Joost Flach will play at the Exhibition Opening (8-8.30pm on 26 May); Marc Behrens will present

A Sound Installation in the Exhibition space with the help of Goh Lee Kwang on June 25^th at 8.30pm

Everybody is invited to come, entrance is free; for more info contact:

Kuala Lumpur Library

Mohd Khairul Adly B Abd Kader |  603-2612 3500 / 3542

Goethe-Institut Malaysia

Ms.Patsy Ng | 03-21642011 | info@kualalumpur.goethe.org

Nikon Centre Kuala Lumpur

Lim Thian Leong | 016-5221024 | thianleong.lim@gmail.com

Website: http://metaphoricalgarden.wordpress.com/

A later coverage is welcome too as “Metaphorical Garden” Photography Exhibition will be shown again in the Nikon Photo Gallery, Nikon Centre in August and September (1 August – 31 September) at Berjaya Times Square.

Thank you!

As low as RM50* Per Metre :-

1 – 9 metres – RM 95 per metre

10- 49 metres – RM 85 per metre

50- 99 metres – RM 75 per metre

100-499 metres – RM65 per metre

500 metres above – RM 50 per metre

* the above pricing is valid until December 2011

* Fabrication cost: ( what we can print for you, as following )

RM35 per metre  silk material

1-Silk Crepe /  Code: ZP101 / width:  45”

2-Silk Satin / Code:  ZP102 / width: 45”

3-Silk Jacquard / Code: ZP103 / width: 45”

4-Silk Habotai / Code:  ZP104 / width: 45”

5-Silk Chiffon / Code:  ZP105 / width: 45”

6-Nature Silk Fabric / Code:  ZP106 / width: 54″

RM 15 Per meter for cotton materials

7-Cotton Spandex  / Code: ZP107 / width: 50″

8-Pure Cotton /Code:  ZP108 / width: 54″

9-Pure Cotton / Code: ZP109 / width: 45″

10-Pure Cotton / Code: ZP110 / width: 36″

Please email your enquiry to tmsart@tmsart.com.my or call +6012 2388 7343

visit our showroom today to collect your fabric sample,

TMS ART CENTRE

301, Jalan Bandar 11, Taman Melawati, 53100 K.L. Malaysia.

Tel: +603. 4107 5154

Fax: +603 4108 5154

Tentative Schedule

First In – House and International Handicraft Surin Junction

18 – 23 January, 2011

at Lanchang Hotel, Surindra Rajabhat University, (SRRU)

Surin Province, Thailand

************************

January  18,  2011

08.00 – 09.00 -  Registration.

09.00 – 12.00 -  Demonstration and workshop for 3 handicraft’s products

(Silver, Silk, and Wickerwork)

1.  Wickerwork  Group

Venue : Meeting Room 1 Lanchang Hotel, SRRU.

2.  Silver Group

Venue : Meeting Room 2 Lanchang Hotel, SRRU.

3.  Silk Group

Venue : Meeting Room 3 Lanchang Hotel, SRRU.

12.00 – 13.00 -  Lunch Break

13.00 – 14.00 -  Opening Ceremony

-  VDO Presentation of Local wisdom to International by SRRU

-  Welcoming Address by Mr.Serm Chainarong, the Governor  of Surin Province.

-  Report on 1 ^st International Handicraft Surin Junction by  Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ajchara  Panurat : the president of SRRU

- Opening Remarks by Mr.Kunyapun RangKum : the director

of Center Arts and Crafts International (Public Organization)

14.00 – 16.00 -  Wai Kru Ceremony

-  Chairperson and Honorable guest visit demonstrative

wickerwork, silver and silk display area of each country, community  products of provincial bureaus and academic institutes.

January  19,  2011

Demonstration  and  Workshop

January  20,  2011

Demonstration  and  Workshop

January  21,  2011

Demonstration  and  Workshop

January  22,  2011

08.00 – 09.00 -  Field trip registration classified by handicraft’s Product

09.00 – 12.00 -  Field Trip

-  Silver Group

Venue : Silver Center (Khu Puan) Ban Chok Kwow – sinarin

District, Surin Province

-  Wickerwork Group

Venue : Wickerwork Center Ban Bu – tom, Muang District,  Surin Province

-  Silk Group

Venue : Silk center, Ban Tha – Sawang, Maung District, Surin

Province

12.30 – 13.00 -   Lunch Break

Venue : Elephant Village, Ban Ta – klang, Gapo Sub – district,

Thatoom District, Surin Province

14.00 – 16.00 -  Elephant Show

18.00 -  Travel back to SRRU

18.00 – 19.00 -  Dinner

19.00 – 22.00 -  Fashion show from Products of silk, silver and wickerwork

Venue : lanchang Hotel, SRRU

January  23,  2011

08.30 – 12.00 -  Training and demonstration of each product

12.00 – 13.00 -  Lunch Break

13.00 – 15.30   -  Summarize of Knowledge exchange

15.30  – 16.30 -  Report from the President of SRRU

-  Closing Remark By Mr.Serm Chainarong, the Governor of Surin Province

more photo please log on to www.facebook.com/mybatik

ARCHETYPOS

Swiss-born but a longtime Colorado City resident, Dr. Claudine Jeanrenaud is a Jungian psychologist with many years of academia and practice behind her.  She is also well-known in this area for her “Unconscious Art” and her courses in dream analysis.  Her own personal dream, however, has long been to create a space for the exploration of Art in all its myriad forms, a safe area where art can be experienced as it ought to be, both through exhibition and through practice.  To this end, she is opening “ARCHETYPOS EVENT GALLERY”, an exhibition space to fill a void in Colorado City, a non-profit organization to encourage the Arts in the area and a place where artists and supporters of the Arts can connect with one another.

Claudine declares:

“As a child, I always had a dolls house with the most precious objects I owned in it and to me, it felt like a Fairyland in my bedroom.  As an adult, I founded ARCHETYPOS in Denver as an Art and Dream Study Center and the new gallery is an extension of this in the Greenhorn Valley”.

The first exhibition at ARCHETYPOS will be “Four Eyes on India”, a collection of the unique and original Batik Paintings of Beth and Jonathan Evans, as well as beautiful imported fabrics that the Evans’ have brought back from their travels and which they normally sell under the business name “Shalawalla Imports”.  The paintings are all created in and about India and feature portraits of local villagers, landscapes and studies from the North Indian Himalayan area.

Jonathan and Beth Evans have long had a home in Almora, a hill station high in the Kumaon Foothills of the Himalayas in Northern India.  The recent and on-going freak torrential Monsoon rains have flooded and destroyed villages in their area with great loss of life and the deaths of close personal Indian friends. Avalanches and mudslides have swept houses away and buried entire families.

Says Beth:

“The current tragedy in our village and the reported damage to our house has put us in a quandary. We have discussed returning to India immediately and trying to help out in the village.  But we have now decided to send the considerable amount of money that our air fares would cost, to Almora to help out our friends and we will donate any proceeds that we make from this exhibition of our work to helping our friends to rebuild their houses and lives.  Jonathan and I have decided that we can be more effective by raising money at this end and sending it over to help our friends and neighbors in India.  Please come and see our exhibition of Batik paintings of India and help to support a good cause.  Sadly, in this world, it always seems to be the poorest areas that suffer the most in these climactic disasters; anything that we can do, as a much more affluent country, can help these poor people”.

The grand opening of the new Gallery will be at 4pm on Friday, October 8^th and will feature live music from Antonio Arguello on percussion and Patrick Valdez on guitar. Refreshments will also be provided.

There will be a Drum Workshop on Saturday October 9^th, the following morning, at Archetypos.

ARCHETYPOS EVENT GALLERY, 3710, East Colorado Blvd, Colorado City 81019

For further details, call 719 676 3844

October 2010: Batik Tiles Competition

Business Hour: 3pm – 10pm

Enquiry call: 03-41075154

myBatik Bazaar Ramadhan, 11 August - 11 September 2010

JUNIOR CHAMBER INTERNATIONAL JCI President, Mr. Hong

PJ JCI Advisor in Taiwan, Miss ManHua

JCI group photo

Fame has its moments but it blinds the soul,
The tube wants to save a child but it wrecks the home,
A mistress enters and grabs all that is to a child,
Children of the world, are you there?
Two minutes and a message appears,
It’s the tube again with its famous friends,
Seduction is the game that rules the world,
Saving a child with nothing but lip service.
It leaves a child rootless and without much hope,
Children of the world, are you there?

The light of tomorrow is here to stay,
Mistresses who came, gone and forgotten,
A child who reads holds deep faith,
Faith blooms and the Maker enters.
Waking up to witness flowers and butterflies,
The child sits and composes a song,
The first verse contains suffering and love,
Children of the world, are you there?
No longer is the child sad and lost,
The second verse speaks of Heaven and Earth,
All that’s lost, found and treasured,
It’s a beautiful and sweet relief..

Image Courtesy: David Kibuuka

If you are a parent, you are probably wondering if art education is good for your child. The facts are that art education makes a tremendous impact on the developmental growth of every child and has proven to help level the “learning field” across socio-economic boundaries. Here are a few points why your child needs art education:

• Art has a measurable impact on youth at risk in deterring delinquent behaviour and truancy problems while also increasing overall academic performance among those youth engaged in after school and holiday programmes targeted toward delinquency prevention.
• It strengthens student problem-solving and critical thinking skills, adding to overall academic achievement and school success.
• Art helps students develop a sense of craftsmanship, quality task performance, and goal-setting—skills needed to succeed in the classroom and beyond.
• It can help troubled youth, providing an alternative to destructive behavior and another way for students to approach learning.
• It provides another opportunity for parental, community, and business involvement with schools, including arts and humanities organizations.
• Art helps all students develop more appreciation and understanding of the world around them.

Looking at the points above, what then can a parent do to become an art advocate? One suggestion for parents is to collaborate effectively with other parents, teachers, principals and the local community to build, support and sustain ongoing arts instruction for all children.

Tell us something about your work and we will feature it on this blog. You don’t have to be an artist or art practitioner to participate in this project. It’s more like a “work-in-progress” thing and you are free to submit a work anytime. No time limits, and the main purpose is to encourage creativity and channel that creativity into something fulfilling. Inspired moments. Uninspired moments. We welcome both. Do you have what it takes? Email us your work at editor@mybatik.org.my 

On the other side of the street. We are in the midst of producing the 9th issue of myBatik. Looking smooth (though not forgetting occasional hiccups) and we can’t wait for it to be published. It is scheduled to be out early February and if you happen to drop by Kinokuniya or MPH, don’t forget to get a copy of it.

The Gallery @ Starhill has been around for more than 15 years. Located in Starhill Gallery, and as you may have heard, Starhill Gallery is a luxury shopping mall, this gallery was founded by an interior designer, named Chin Chin. At first glance, it looks like it might be just another gallery that sells paintings and miniatures to tourists, the art gallery has apparently made a 360-degree turn from other shopping mall art galleries by actually holding art talks and exploring new ways of engaging the public through blogs and YouTube videos.

How successful modern art galleries in Malaysia, very much depends on how receptive the public is towards art and their willingness to view money invested in art as cultural capital – something that is capable of providing enjoyment for the human soul and soothe a troubled soul as per art as stocks or bonds.

The uncompromising demands of work, play and after-work dinner appearances mean your chances of getting to Starhill Gallery by 6.00pm after office hours are slim. Knowing this, The Gallery @ Starhill stays open until 9:30pm, Monday-Sunday with music to complement the Monets.

Review Your Existing Advertising
If you haven’t kept a formal list of your advertising efforts, now’s the time to start. Knowing what works, what doesn’t, and when you last tried it will help you avoid making the same mistake twice. It can also help you decide when it’s time to re-test something that didn’t go so well the first time.

Evaluate your history
Let’s start with an inventory of everything you’ve tried to date to market your batik business. Record any action you’ve taken in the past year, jotting down all the information you have regarding that activity (cost, time invested, dates, duration of advertisement, etc.). Now, think about each of these efforts and be honest about what’s not working. Is it because you haven’t been able to dedicate enough time to it? Is it too costly? Or is it just truly not working for your audience? Be ruthless and drop anything that’s not yielding a return – especially if it’s costing you money. You can always try it again later.

Now that you’ve shortened your list to just the things that are working, pick one or two to expand through 2010. Decide how much time you’re going to dedicate to this activity each week, and if there’s a cost associated with it, budget what that will be. Make your goals as aggressive as you like, but make them do-able. Here are a few examples:

Increase Awareness with Business Cards
Carry business cards with you at all times. Share them with anyone you meet who shows an interest in your business, whether you’re at a client meeting, or a party where the topic of what you do for a living comes up in conversation. Give each person multiple cards, one for them and another one or two to share with someone they know who might also be interested in your services.

Place Online Banner Ads
This project involves several phases. 1) First you’ll need to identify potential sites that might refer sales-worthy traffic, determine their pricing/trade policies, and decide how much you’re willing to pay and for how long. 2) Then you need to create your own banner or pay a graphic designer to create one for you. 3) Once you’ve posted your banner, watch the results – you want to know how much traffic the site gets, how many clicks your banner receives, and how many sales or new customers you got as a result. 4) Use these numbers to determine the return on your ad investment (Total cost of banner advertising ÷ number of new customers gained = Cost Per Acquisition).

Promote Your Business with Email
Create your own electronic newsletter that speaks to your target audience and shows them how your products can help them. Email once a week or once a month – whatever fits into your schedule and makes your audience happy.

Once you’re done with your advertising review, celebrate! You’ve completed a task that all successful business owners do routinely to keep their businesses on track.

Some ideas for batik practitioners to keep batik alive. It is our hope to see amateurs and professional artists from various backgrounds practise their social responsibility to develop their local communities, capitalizing on the learned values of tolerance, peaceful co-existence, and social cohesion through artistic expression and teamwork.

The strategies are as follows:

• Become an umbrella for artists through facilitating camps, forums, seminars, and meetings to help artists realize the value of their talents and encourage usage of their talents, and also to motivate the public to understand the real value of arts and media.
• Facilitate art workshops for talented people to learn how to create batik in a creative manner.
• Prepare and arrange two libraries (physical and electronic) to be available for the artists.
• Facilitate Art Reach trips to different countries, where arts play a role in community development and building different kinds of bridges.
• Support the use of artistic multimedia at workshops
• Establish arts centers in different cities which will provide academic artistic teaching for artists and help build bridges between the artists and their communities.

We invite you to submit your thoughts and ideas on how to keep batik alive.

The contributing writer will need to be capable of expressing complicated concepts in simple, practical language, and write for both academic & non-academic audiences. Writers should have previously done batik, possess a deep interest in batik or be experts in art, craft, fashion or cultural affairs. Intellectual thinking, critical thinking and a sense of humour are qualities we look for in writers. We value freedom of speech and writers are free to say what they want to say in written form – we accomodate differing thoughts and opinions. In short, many voices in one magazine.
 
For the 2010 Editorial Calendar, we are planning to feature write-ups on the following topics:
 
~ New Year & Batik in Love & Romance
~ Family business (batik or craft enteprise)
~ Batik in performing arts (music, dance, film or theatre)
~ Batik in interiors
~ Batik in commerce/business
~ Batik in schools/universities
~ Batik in politics
~ Design trends
~ Criticisms on current issues or trends
~ Cultural travels and observations of batik-making in Asia, Europe, America or the UK
~ Personal thoughts on issues related to batik
~ Creative/Artistic process (for batik art)
 
Since articles can be very visual, it would be good if writers include images whenever possible.
 
Requirements
 
1. Length of article:  A minimum of 2 pages in Microsoft Word format
2. Photo & image captions/courtesies are clearly indicated in the article
3. For images of paintings, writers are required to include the title and size of painting and the media used.
4. For photos of people featured, kindly include the full names of the people featured.
 
Things to Avoid
 
Please make sure not to duplicate content that’s already on any websites or published books. Avoid using language that is intimidating to novices. Plagiarism, copyright violations, racism, bigotry and anything that promotes violence are not tolerated.
 
Benefits of Being a Contributing Writer
 
The publication of your work will give you a “voice” in the batik community. You will also be contributing to the preservation of batik art and craft. For your participation:
 
~ Your biodata, email and website address will be included in myBatik and this will help you establish visibility as a writer, artist, and scholar. 
 
~ You will also receive 2 free copies of the issue that your work is published to pass on to relatives, friends, or put in a file to build your portfolio to assist you in securing other creative assignments.
 
~ You will become a part of a growing network of professional writers and creative artists.
 
Interested? Email the editor at editor@mybatik.org.my and let us know what’s on your mind. We are currently accepting submissions. The deadlines for submissions are as follows:
 
Coming Issue, 9th Issue: 20 December 2009
10th Issue: 28 February 2010
11th Issue: 31 May 2010
12th Issue: 31 August 2010
 
Many thanks and looking forward to hearing from you!

mybatik Presentation to Minister Defence Malaysia, Datuk Seri Dr. Ahamd Zahid Hamidi, in Dubai, togather with Mr, Lee Hwa Cheng, Ms. Emilia & Mr. Seak

myBatik Presentation in Dubai Mall

Ms. Emilia with Dubai Police General Capt. Masoud Ibrahim Al Hammad

mybatik on the Dubai Street

mybatik for Marrybrown Manager in Dubaieveryone loves to read myBatik magazine

Malaysia Embassador in Dubai

7th issue Icon: Tun Dr. Mahathir Bin Muhammad, Malaysian Former Prime Minister

Emilia Tan present the token appreciation to Tun, witnessed by Wairah Marzuki (right) & Raja Fuziah (left)

myBatik was privileged to meet with former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Mahathir Bin Mohamad in June 2009 where we had a delightful discussion on the subject The Unique Batik Malaysia.

We are proud therefore to share with our readers Tun Mahathir’s insight on the subject and his advocacy of the task ahead. This article reflects on the issues discussed with Tun Mahathir and we record herewith our impressions:

The Unique Batik Malaysia

Developing batik as handcrafted textile – hand-printed and hand-drawn, has made us all acutely aware of the importance of three essential elements in producing a new product. They are, namely, Design, Colour and Technique.

We need to pay attention to all of the three above elements giving emphasis to Design which requires the most and urgent attention.

Secondly, Malaysians love bright colours and batik in bright colours has become a manifestation of that expression. However, we need to think of the market and the consumers we are targeting. Therefore, we need to study how they perceive colours and their receptivity to our selection of colours.

And thirdly, the need to take an aggressive approach in R&D and to engage in experimenting new technologies that can expedite and enhance batik production process as well as to solve problems related to attaining quality production. Learning from the experiences of other countries such as Japan and Korea, and adapting their practices to meet our needs would indeed be a real asset. Another aspect of R&D, relates to acquiring knowledge about the characteristics of fabrics in order to appraise their appropriateness for making batik.

What makes Batik Malaysia unique is that we have been able to develop it through innovation by observing and learning from the tradition of batik–making of other countries, and successfully creating our own indigenous batik–style.

We must therefore continue to challenge ourselves to develop the product further and aim for excellence.

From Batik Sarong to Batik Yardage

In the last 50 years, batik has gone through an evolutionary process. Originally, the traditional batik cloth is the batik sarong, a functional cotton wrap to cover the body worn mainly by women and some men at home and at work.

Its transformation from a two meter patterned cloth to batik yardage (1960s) indeed had posed a serious challenge which demanded and involved extensive support in design and product development.

The task and challenge to innovate batik design has continued until the present day where the business of batik-making has reached the level of a highly competitive industry with producers ranging from that of a single-operator batik entrepreneur to that of an atelier/factory type of production vying for the discerning consumer.

Trends in Fashion

The world of fashion has created an immense consciousness with the designers and batik – makers who recognise the need to constantly innovate and produce new designs, introduce  new range of colours as well as to experiment with new production techniques to meet with the fast changing consumer taste and fashion trends. As a result, batik crafted from a variety of materials such as silk, cotton and linen of varying texture  have emerged in the market – place.

Batik as an Art form

Malaysian artists have made an inroad with their innovative adaptation of the batik technique on canvas. Henceforth, a new genre of batik as an art form was born. Batik paintings depicting images of Malaysian flora, fauna, forest, food and fiesta themes are providing a glimpse into the rich diversity of natural and cultural heritage of Malaysia through Batik Art.

The Design Challenge

A good design should create a pleasant virtual experience: the customer should perceive the product as aesthetically pleasing.

In this respect, batik designers should develop batik design to respond to the particular needs of the consumers thereby promoting the concept of special design for specific usage, such as batik for school wear, batik for uniform, batik for daily wear, batik for formal day and evening attire and batik for special occasions. Each particular design with special motif, pattern, colour and fabric created would therefore give batik that exclusive look and this would impact on batik not only as a versatile textile for clothing but also in popularizing it to a wider market.

Malaysia’s natural environment offers limitless source of inspiration from which new ideas, patterns, motifs and colours could be derived. At the same time, the uniqueness of each community in Malaysia, the people and their living traditions and cultural heritage are yet another source for design input.

Towards A Design Solution

Batik has to be taken seriously if it were to achieve the status of brand excellence.

Towards this end, designers, batik-makers and all concerned would have to work together in meeting the quality standard specified. Whether batik is for the domestic market or for export, criteria such as finishing, presentation and packaging are important in determining the quality of the product.

One positive way would be for the local institutions who are already working in the development and promotion of batik to jointly cooperate and collaborate in their R&D efforts. Hence, to consider the idea of establishing a Batik Design Laboratory aimed at making a strategic thrust forward in research and product development envisaged for batik. This could be either as a programme or project. The lab should steer the direction and harness the best of all human, professional and technical resources made available to it by the collaborating institutions.

This institutional framework should act as the tool responsible in realizing the agenda to develop further the unique identity of Batik Malaysia.

6th issue myBatik cover

Confusion to Strength

To anybody’s imagination, the very man who held Daimler Chrysler Malaysia at the helm for years contributed only to the automotive industry or knew only business, or a combination of both. That albeit being a reality, showed only a fragment of his life—one that burst with the colors of Malaysian art.

“I only know how to look at things from the business side.”

Dato’ Frank Steinleitner insisted that he was nobody in the fashion scene; his blue eyes revealed his broiling discomfort when he touched the fashion topic. It would not be at all comical had it not come from the lips of one of the first people who established the prestigious Malaysia International Fashion Awards (MIFA). He subsequently moved on to witness the growth of other influential fashion bodies Malaysia Official Designers Association (MODA) and Stylo.

By right, if a man confessed that he had little life apart from his work, it could only mean one thing: he did have little life apart from work. But, the very man who helped nurture the growth of Malaysian fashion arena was also the one of the leading sponsors of Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre. His passion for beautiful things did not stop at pre-dawn antique shopping on the dark streets of Beijing. He also visited rural villages in Terengganu to see for himself the tedious production of Malaysian traditional dye-print art.

“I’m not a fashion icon,” he stressed again, “I’m not even fashionable to begin with.” Yet his lips curved upwards whenever he spoke of the growth of local fashion as well as performing arts industries. “I just like to create things and make things happen. I believe [that] development isn’t about majestic architectural, but more on education.” To him, education meant two types of platforms: one, for young people to express their thoughts and ideas; another, exposure—in short, a stage basking with spotlights and flashlights.

Dato’ Steinleitner watched local star designers, namely Khoon Hooi and Melinda Looi, emerged from the platforms he helped erect. That was only two success cases. To him, there were thousands more aspiring art students who would one day shape the fashion world and these young people deserved to be seen. “Malaysia is a vibrant country. Unlike Europe, here, you can do Indian fashion, Islamic fashion, Chinese fashion and so much more!” The possibilities were endless. That was the major reason why he got himself involved in the leading fashion events.

Although happy for Khoon Hooi and others who had made a name for themselves via the MIFA platform, he was disheartened that not many batik designers seized the opportunities to showcase their works in the annual event. “Batik is not something every country has.” All the more, batik had to be treasured and promoted. Despite colossal efforts by the government, its mark in the international fashion scene was still minimal. Batik’s confused status explained its lack of success.

“Somebody must make a decision. Batik either has to be handicraft or fashion,” he said. The rationale, simple business strategy: “If [batik is] handicraft, it can afford to retain its current image. It can be hand drawn, individually produced, expensive… But if batik is to be more [towards] fashion, then it has to be mass produced, made younger and affordable. Fashion isn’t about couture only. It has to reach the mass.”

“To the younger generation, batik looks old… boring… something people wear to formal functions…,” he sighed. Batik had not permeated deep enough into the Malaysian society as a fashionable wear. To be fashionable, batik must rise to the frontline of everything trendy. To do that, it must first be competitive enough to survive the mass’ ephemeral tastes. “That means, it must be produced efficiently,” he declared, “and that will make it affordable.”

“I can only speak from the business point of view,” he said again. And it was the lack of business views that limped the progress of the batik industry. Many batik designers were not business savvy. Many were poor farmers or fishermen—people who relied heavily on government’s subsidies and financial assistance—trying to pocket some extra income dyeing cloths. These people just did not have the capital to mass produce.

The development of batik into something synonymous to the national identity had been discussed for too many years, and yet the results were disappointing. He believed that the core issue was not lousy marketing, nor was it horrid quality. “Really, someone… like the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Heritage… should decide how they want the world to see batik. A re-positioning would give batik another beginning on a new footing.”

Repositioning required smart business thinking. “It’s worth thinking (on how to improve the batik industry). I will think about it and we can share more next time,” he promised. But, before that, batik must know whether it was handicraft or fashion.