Mahjong Tile Painting Workshop

Sparrow's Nest Studio is proud to host this mahjong tile coloring workshop featuring tiles provided by Hong Kong Mahjong artist Karen Aruba. We had the very special opportunity to travel to Hong Kong and experience mahjong craftsmanship, art & culture from Karen and her family - the story behind the scenes! We are now offering this creative workshop in partnership with her studio. This class is being exclusively offered in NYC, taught by our instructors who trained with Karen in Hong Kong. Connect with the history of mahjong and sample some of the techniques of the Hong Kong tradition of hand-carved tiles. Participants will receive their own set of custom engraved tiles to paint, finish, and take home.

Workshop attendees will:

• Take in a presentation about mahjong-related creative work and the challenge of preserving and perpetuating the cultural heritage of tile craftsmanship
• Learn about the tile carving process and its history in Hong Kong
• Color a set of their own tiles after instruction and demonstration of the process
• Have an opportunity to try out the hand-drilling tools used to carve tiles

All attendees will be able to select four Circles/Dots suit tiles - for example representing the year (2026) or a significant date (0425 - April 25th)

Tickets purchased before August 12th will also have the opportunity to select a specially designed custom tile from the following options:

• Charging Bull
• Happy Life
• Home Sweet Home
• Good Fortune

Tickets purchased after this date will still be provided a custom tile subject to availability, and might not be able to receive the tile chosen.

Attendees will receive to take home:

• Two (2) special design mahjong tiles
• Four (4) hand-carved Circles/Dots suit mahjong tiles
• One (1) hand-carved 'Sparrow' mahjong tile done by Craftsman Ricky Cheung
• One (1) gift box and greeting card

About Karen

Specializing in sketching and illustration related to cultural theme, Karen Cheung (Illustrator Name: Karen Aruba) is a self-taught illustrator who derives inspiration from everything she comes across by incorporating themes of energy, peace and happiness. Inspired by her family’s ties with the mahjong manufacturing industry in Hong Kong from 1963-2009, Karen built her art brand ‘Karen Aruba Art’ in 2016 and started to introduce her unique family ‘Mahjong Story’ through illustrations by featuring a creative mahjong design theme that combines family legacy with Hong Kong culture to revive the dying art of hand-carved mahjong tiles.

Karen’s father, Cheung Sing Chung, Ricky, is one of the well-known leftover hand-carved mahjong masters in Hong Kong with over 50 years hand-carving experiences. The joint-effort between the father and daughter duo has brought a lot of creative work from traditional mahjong into life and gradually bridged the gap between the game, craftsmanship and art.

With the setup of ‘Karen Aruba Studio’ in 2020, Karen continues to educate younger generations about this unique craftsmanship and the importance of intangible cultural heritage preservation. Karen has curated several exhibitions related to the Art of Mahjong theme that have received extensive media coverage. Her involvement in the design of mahjong also garnered a number of awards in Hong Kong.

Learn more about Karen at her website