We were lucky to catch up with Sabrina Tu recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sabrina, appreciate you joining us today. We’ve love to hear an interesting investment story – what was one of the best or worst investments you’ve made? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

One of the best investments I’ve made in my career is expanding past the mediums I have always used, like learning screen printing, digital art, and ceramics.

My experience in ceramics was inspired by a fellow illustrator, Wandy Cheng, who was creating incredible vessels and applying her beautiful illustrations on to them. From there, I went to Taiwan to learn how to make hand pinched tea pots and small vessels from a ceramicist in Kaohsiung, Fang-Lan Chen. I stayed with her for a short period of time and experienced a different type of education; one where I stayed in her home, practiced in a studio all day, learned about the culture, learned about tradition. There I spoke in my mother tongue almost exclusively, struggled and learned technical terminology and was exposed to a different ceramic culture than the one I’ve experienced in Canada. I got to see a wood kiln, and different firing techniques. I got to speak to seasoned ceramicists and learn about their unique practices.

This experience was so special. Exposure to so much tradition and intimate conversations with old professionals are not always easy to come by. Wood kilns are rare now and lots of professional ceramicists are unable to share their personal practices to people they casually meet because the unique processes of making in ceramics can often be so tied to the studio/work space.

On top of that, I felt a sense of returning to tradition; my family has always shared close conversation over hot Alishan oolong. Learning in my family’s language, making vessels so closely tied to home, gave me a moment to reconnect with the self after 3 grueling years in university.

It has also helped me build a community since. Graduating after my fourth year in OCAD University left me isolated. I had been burnt out and close friends were scattered across the farthest neighbourhoods of the GTA and beyond. Then, Wandy invited me to a studio, Secret Teatime, to practice ceramics again. It gave me space to be creative and a new community to be a part of. We continue to stay connected and support each other in our creative paths. All of this because I went and learned a skill, one that I would not use in school to earn good grades or reputation, but ultimately gave me a sense of self and helped me find a like spirited community.

Sabrina, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Sabrina (she/her), but you will find I sign most of my creative works off as Breetwo. I am a freelance illustrator in Toronto. My work currently consists mostly of traditional mediums like gouache and pencil crayon, some digital illustrations, ceramics and some murals. I went to school and have a degree in Illustration from OCAD University. On top of creating illustrations, I have worked in programming and workshop facilitation to create engaging visual art experiences.

I often include themes of nature such as plants and animals, exploring tradition and culture in my work, and enjoy using symbolic metaphors for storytelling. I aspire to create a sense of wonder for people who experience my work and take care in including fine details for subtle world building.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I feels as though I have been blessed with an incredibly creative upbringing. I was introduced to media that inspired imagination and my parents very openly supported my daydreaming. I hope my art can be the piece to open that world of imagination to someone. I aspire to create a sense of wonder and immersion. People often say that music can take you to a different place and I hope that for a moment my art can too.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Paying and respecting artists for their time is probably the most cliche but unfortunately prevalent concern I continue to see. This can be in different forms such as not paying artists enough or even asking artists to submit work or sketches without compensation. The solution can be as simple as allocating/negotiating a budget with an artist (asking for a quote is a great option if you aren’t sure where to start) or looking at an artist’s portfolio/body of work instead of asking for them to draw something without compensation for your consideration. Artists are, more often than not, excited that you want art to be a part of your project! We want to be a part of it! We just hope that however much you want our work makes it worth paying for and respecting the time and skills we provide.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.breetwo.com
• Instagram: breetwo

Image Credits

Sabrina Tu