My Perfect Weekend with Botanical Art Society Singapore’s Carrie-Ann Lee

Who: Ms Carrie-Ann Lee is the marketing lead (Asia-Pacific) at WS Audiology, which designs and manufactures hearing-aid devices and solutions. The 49-year-old mother of a 13-year-old boy is also president of the Botanical Art Society Singapore (Bass), which co-organised the Flora Of South-east Asia botanical art exhibition at the Singapore Botanic Gardens in November 2022 and is working towards an exhibition featuring botanical artworks of orchids.

“My weekends are almost as hectic as weekdays as they are filled with activities.

I started becoming interested in botanical art in 2018. One of my first botanical art teachers is from Indonesia and I travelled to Jakarta in 2018 to attend her workshop. She introduced me to some Singaporean botanical artists and that was how I got to know the members who started Bass in 2019.

Bass has more than 120 members and our activities are usually held on weekends. I was the vice-president of the society when it started, before I took over as president in 2020. 

The activities we organise include sketching outdoors, sharing sessions and workshops.

Recently, we spent a Saturday morning at the Woodlands Botanical Garden sketching and painting. Our member artists, including myself, will be painting selected plants that can be found at the garden for its 2024 calendar. 

On weekend mornings, I will spend time at the National Equestrian Centre, where I also go for horse-riding lessons on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. I’ve loved being around horses since I was young but did not get the chance to formally take lessons.

Now, even if I am not riding, I will go down in the mornings to spend time grooming or hanging out with Stoneleigh Eddie, the horse that I ride. Sometimes, I go on weekday mornings before work too. This helps me to build a trusting relationship with the horse. 

During weekend afternoons, I am like a typical mum who sends her child for lessons. My son sails on the Optimist, a type of single-handed dinghy. He has been sailing since he was nine.

He sails for about four hours, so instead of waiting around for him, I have recently started taking golf lessons at the nearby National Service Resort & Country Club. My husband is an avid golfer and my son also takes golf lessons weekly. So, now there is a common sport in the family where we can spend time together. My son and I hope to be able to get our handicap soon and join my husband on the course.

We usually have our meals at the club after my son ends his sailing training and I have finished my golf lesson. We then head home to get as much rest as possible before the new week begins.”