To all those who have taken time to read this blog entry, I urge you to pray for my friend Tara Bosch-Santelices.
Tara is the guitarist of Stormy and Saffron Speedway, and also sessions for my band Scarlet Tears. She was shot in the head yesterday in a violent hold-up incident and is now in a coma.
She is currently confined at the ICU of Medical City (along Meralco Avenue at Ortigas). Today also happens to be her birthday. Please, please, please pray for her.
Below is a really interesting series of photographs forwarded to me via e-mail. These were taken by British photographer Carl Warner. Aptly called foodscapes, which is a union of the words food and landscape, the photos depict underwater caves, forests, beaches at sunset, and even waterfalls using fruits, vegetables, cheese, cold meat, pasta, and other grains. The three-dimensional sensation of the photos is achieved by composing each scene on a 1.2 x 2.4 m. square table.
 In this forest, trees are made of broccoli, with peas hanging as fruits and the highways are paved with cumin. The grass is made of herbs and the mountains, of bread. Clouds made of cauliflower, decorate the sky.
 The edible ingredients in this rural scene of Italian inspiration include a small wagon made of lasagna slices, fields of pasta, and clouds of mozzarella. Trees of pepper, parsley and basil complete the scene, in the small distance, a small village made of cheese.
 This cavern is made of marine crustaceans. The rocks are made of bread, but, at the deep of the sea, they are made of cauliflower.
 Rice, coconut, many grains, and a sky made of purple cabbage compose this bucolic landscape.
 Trees made of cabbage leaves, rocks of sweet potato, the narrow canyon made of bread, and the sky made of purple cabbage.
 The red sea of this beach, at sunset, is made of salmon slices. The rocks are made of potato and bread. A small boat made of beans completes the scene.
 Shitake mushrooms, sesame, and other grains.
 Cheese houses, awnings and baskets of macaroni, grains and vegetables form this small village set.
 Italian culinary delight with many vegetables and pasta. Houses (through the window) are made of cheese.
 Mountains, in this landscape, are loaves of bread.
 Balloons made of fruits and vegetables, trees made of broccolis, rocks of potatoes, farm fields of corn and cucumber, city of cheese, and a carrot tower at a distance to complete the view.
 In this alpine scene, Grissini biscuits and Parma ham turn into a wheelbarrow that will be along a road of salami, with trees of bacon around it.
 Sky, mountains, waterfall and river made of ham, rocks of bread, house and trapiche of Grissini biscuits, and salami brickworks comprise this scene.
 Another alpine scene with a sky and mountains of snow made of cold meat, smoked turkey, and Bologna. Grissini biscuits and Parma ham turn into a sleigh, with pine trees of Parma ham.
 On July 12, 2008 at 6 in the afternoon, Habi Home Interiors Gallery, with its charming interior and intimate ambiance, proudly opens its door to the public as paintings in various media grace its vibrant-hued four walls. Artists AARON BAUTISTA, RODEL FIDELIS, KATRINA PALLON, and MARNELLI PUYOT collaborate in a group exhibit entitled “In The Absence of a Common Ground.”
In this open-themed exhibit, the artists were given the freedom to indulge in his/her chosen subject and/or theme with a very distinct feeling and experience resonating from each collaborating artist’s collection. Thus, in “In the Absence of a Common Ground,” one is treated to four unique voices communicated through the different perspectives of each collection. It can, therefore, be said that this is not just a single exhibit but four simultaneous exhibits in unison.
AARON BAUTISTA is a professional painter and art teacher from Angono. Working mostly with mixed media on canvas, he has established a style in abstractionism which currently comprises his body of works. Aside from being a member of Angono Ateliers and Neo Angono Artists Collective Inc., as well as being part of numerous group exhibits, Bautista has had a total of 7 one-man shows to date. Mounting a collection of his colourful canvasses, he once again adorns the walls of Habi Gallery with his vibrant palette of colors and lines, and layers of undulating paint. With his easily perceivable forms, daringly-manipulated spaces, and exuberant play of colours that seemingly burst out of his stretched canvasses, Bautista, yet again, displays and allows the beholder to appreciate the non-objectivity of his brilliant abstractionism.
RODEL FIDELIS’ foray with the visual arts started out by being an assistant to master painter Mario Parial. Keen in learning more about composition, lines, and color, Fidelis juggled his thoughts from making perfect stretchers and priming canvasses to working on actual paint – doing collages. He also learned the fine art of framing. After his stint with Parial, Fidelis moved on to work for the Heritage Gallery. To date, Fidelis remains to be a framer by trade to many contemporary as well as up-and-coming artists. In this exhibit, Fidelis showcases a series of mystical landscapes in oil on canvas.
KATRINA PALLON is a visual artist working with the medium of paint, photography, and masks. She also works as a freelance graphic designer and writer, participates in spoken word events, and sings for an independent rock band. Highly influenced by the intricacies of French art nouveau, Asian textile prints and patterns, Venetian masks, flora, circuses, and carnivals, Pallon’s artistic works attest to her love for elaborate designs and her knack for romanticizing even the simplest of subjects. Her works are mostly about women, of dark and melancholic, sometimes mystical figures and tales, of the fleeting beauty of things, of masks and mystery – oftentimes using warm, vivid tones to translate these images into paintings and/or photographs. In “In The Absence of a Common Ground,” Pallon fuses ornate Pan-Asian motifs, exquisite blooms, and female figures to present a collection of images and stories of women in acrylics, ink, and water colour.
MARNELLI NACION PUYOT once heard from a friend that humans choose to lead one of the two kinds of life: a life of meaning, constantly obsessing on the future and masturbating on the past, and; a life of happiness, which is concerned only with the present. Since then, she has asked herself everyday which life she would choose if ever the time for that should come. She is always conscious of the fact, perhaps even only on the personal level, that, rather intuitively, objects can be beautiful without having to have meaning, this quality itself is reason for their beauty. Ironically with this guiding principle her works explore ideas behind the nature of existence, and the capacity of the human intellect to hegemonize the world and everything contained in it. Marnelli is a 3rd year Art History Major at the UP College of Fine Arts. She is 21 years old and this is a first for her to exhibit her works. She also plays the oboe.
“In The Absence of a Common Ground” is scheduled to run until August 4, 2008. In between the opening and closing dates, one may opt to visit Habi Gallery at any day of the week as it is open daily from 12 noon to 8 in the evening. Habi Home Interiors Gallery is located at Unit C-235 Serendra, Fort Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines. For inquiries and more information, you may call (632) 909.7050 or email artepinas@gmail.com.
 A pack of Marlboro reds. Pizza from a convenience store. Necklaces from a loved one. A pair of Chucks. Glow-in-the-dark bracelets. They may mean nothing to you or me, but to writers and artists Evan Tan and Katrina Pallon, who maintain a poetry blog, The Poetry of Things, there’s art in the everyday.
“Everyone has a special thing. There’s a story behind that special thing, which is why it means something to us,” says Evan, a freelance writer with an OFW magazine. It may be funny or sad, he says, but along the way, we make it magical by the way they endear themselves to us.
So they write about the Chuck Taylors that remind them of the “near-death madness,” an experience that taught them to “Love, of course–but never too much.” We can only guess, but along the way, we reflect on the broken lamp that an old boyfriend gave us, or the DVDs an old love who moved abroad left at our doorstep. They don’t mean anything to anybody, but they hold memories of the past we’ll cherish forever.
What’s your most treasured possession? Send your images and poetry to thepoetryofthings@gmail.com.
SSENSES
A Group Painting Exhibition
Featuring the works of:
Benedict Abigan
Aaron Bautista
Buds Convocar
Ediefer Gutierrez
Derrick Makutay
Piaget Martelino
J. Crisanto Martinez
Kin Misa
Katrina Pallon
Dick Jose Santos
Erman Santos
Kristine Sioco
Deo Villoria
(Taken from the press release, dated 06 May 2008)
Habi Home Interiors Gallery will showcase a series of varied format-sized artworks in mediums of oils, acrylics, collages, and assemblages. The show is titled Ssenses (a derivative of the word and pronounced as "essences").
The title revolves around the idea of art appreciation that is intended for senses other than sight. This innovative exhibit is mounted by professional artists who were confronted to think beyond the canvas and outside the box to fashion art pieces that stir up the senses other than vision.
The artists were challenged to explore relations between the senses, of how we recognize with our senses, and how these senses might be interconnected in as far as art appreciation is concerned. The artists in the exhibit include Benedict Abigan, Aaron Bautista, Buds Convocar, Ediefer Gutierrez, Derrick Makutay, Kin Misa, Piaget Martelino, Katrina Pallon, Dick Jose Santos, Eman Santos, Kristine Sioco, Deo Villoria and JCrisanto Martinez.
The customary characterization of art is the cognitive arrangement or assembly of forms, colors and other elements in a way that affects the aesthetic sense. One of the greatest values of Ssenses is its ability to open doors to a greater understanding of art appreciation, presentation, curation to students, artists and gallery visitors. In this way, it truly illustrates the conventional definition of art.
The exhibit opens on May 15, 2008 and will run until June 4, 2008. Habi is located at Unit C-235, The Shops@Serendra, Fort Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City.
The most notable place I've been to during my first trip to Bacolod for my thesis research (July 2006) was the house/studio of Rex Cuenca, one of the original and famous mask-makers of the MassKara Festival since the time it started back in 1980. It is located at Manokan Country, a certain place where restaurants serving Bacolod's specialty - chicken inasal which goes best with beer - are lined up. Rex Cuenca has made about 500 masks, excluding headdresses, for barangays competing in the street dance competition of the MassKara Festival. His home/studio at Manokan Country, called New Paz, is the current haven and place of gathering of members of the Art Association of Bacolod (AAB). The place abounds with colourful happy masks in various renditions – from wood carvings, to intricately decorated terra-cotta, to the traditional papier-mâché masks painted ever so ornately with his fine detailing, to oil and/or acrylic on canvas as a popular subject matter in his numerous paintings depicting peaceful country life or the simple joys of awaiting the most blissful festival time.
 The place is just la-la-la-love that I had to go back to it the second time I went to the City of Smiles. Pictures above were taken during MassKara 2007.
Every nook and cranny of New Paz is filled with paintings and mask art of different media and proportions. These beauties are not just works by Rex Cuenca. Also adorning the walls of New Paz are the works of other artists and maskmakers of the Art Association of Bacolod. True to its being an artists' hang out, the place looks more like an art gallery than a restaurant. In Rex Cuenca's words in his interview for the December 2007 issue of FHM: "Artists from all over the Philippines are welcome here."
 New Paz was still undergoing renovation the last time I went there in October of 2006. Last month, when I went back to Bacolod, I decided to drop by before the flight back to Manila. The place is more astounding than ever! Above: Huge masks and paintings done by other AAB members. The framed painting at the middle is by Rex Cuenca. More of Rex Cuenca's detailed paintings in oil and water colour. His paintings reflect the radiant colour palette he uses for the festival masks.
A complete meal, which consists of chicken inasal, rice, and a beverage of your choice, costs less than a hundred bucks. Meanwhile, the artworks and masks are available at reasonable rates. The masks, in particular, vary in design and are very much good for a collection. With that said, New Paz is one place you should definitely see should you travel to Bacolod.
**New Paz is the last establishment in the row of restaurants at Manokan Country.
KABUWANAN SA CUBAO EXPO: An Artists’ Fair
Experiencing Cubao Expo through Music, Poetry, Painting, Photography, Film, Fashion
Cubao Expo pays homage to the Artist on Saturday, April 5, 2008
during the KABUWANAN SA CUBAO EXPO: An Artists’ Fair.
Poets, musicians, painters, sculptors, photographers, filmmakers,
art lovers, art students, patrons of the arts – all converge in Cubao Expo
to celebrate Art in its diverse forms through activities suited to the theme.
KABUWANAN signifies several facts;
1) that Cubao Expo (formerly known as The Marikina Shoe Expo),
is in its final throes of reemerging from its former shoe-store mecca identity
into that of an Artists’ Village;
2) that the time of the Fair signifies the height
of artistic inclinations of our participating artists; and
3) (as an allusion to a particular southern expression), it is a time where certain modes of communication between parties sensitive to unvoiced emotions are given right of way, and born are moments made more spectacular because they are just as unexpected.
Here are glimpses of what the day has to offer:
A Poetry Competition will be judged by noted Artists of the Pen
Jose Wendell Capili, Danny Sillada, & Sonny Villafania. The performance of the entries will highlight the Poetry Reading Program that begins at 3pm on the day of the Fair.
A street fair will dominate the Entrance driveway of Cubao Expo,
where participating local noted & recreational artists are given free rein
to display their artworks in a no-wall free-form manner. Some of the artworks as well as handicrafts made by the artists themselves will be sold.
A PhotoWall by LOMOMANILA will be specially arranged for the Artists’ Fair,
featuring the collected works of participating LOMOMANILA members.
A Photo-Op stage will be erected where all aspiring models & muses can pose to their hearts’ content, as well as get their pictures taken, of course.
A FILMFEST sponsored by Mogwai Restaurant will feature films
specially selected for the Fair, starting at 7pm.
A FASHION WALK-OFF will have models fully coiffed & made-up, wearing the designs of participating up & coming designers, walk around Cubao Expo starting 5:30pm.
On the exit side of Cubao Expo, a carefully selected exhibit of Functional Art as embodied by vintage Volkswagons, Vespas as well as bicycles will dominate the scene.
Participating Artists will donate signed artworks & other valuable items to a Silent Auction, where 75% of the proceeds will go to the family of the late Noe Tio, musician (of Joey Ayala’s group); the remaining 25% will be given to the Cubao Expo Night Light Fund.)
An “Installation Art Parts” Repository will be set up where people are encouraged to deposit their CLEAN or cleaned-up junk for artists of that noble discipline can pick what they want to create into fantastic pieces of absolute beauty.
These activities coincide with the tenant art galleries’ exhibits & workshops that will be held simultaneously on the day of the Fair.
Finally, and most importantly, there is the KONSYERTO, where 20+ bands of diverse disciplines are geared to perform for the audience starting 5pm.
These activities are an opportunity for artists to meet & greet each other, to learn from each other, to be exposed to art of different disciplines. It is also a venue for the common Juan to see, up close & very personally, what art is really, and should be, about.
For the Artist, by the Artist, Cause: the Artist.
KABUWANAN SA CUBAO EXPO ORGANIZERS’ CONTACT DETAILS:
SANDY ALLAN / 0917-5222100 / soulcardreader@gmail.com
TRICIA DATA / 0906-3105815 / info@oohwables.com
HALMEN VALDEZ / 024738474 / haloproducts@yahoo.com
SPONSORED BY:
YAMAHA / SENNHEISER
LUMINARE MINERAL MAKE-UP
THE SHOPS of CUBAO EXPO
PSYKEYS INC., ATTY. ARLENE ROURA, DR. MYT GUPIT, MICHAEL CAASI CPA
In Memory of Maximi Capuli & Noe Tio
If you were asked what colours can you see in the photo below, you'd most probably answer: a bit of periwinkle, orchid violet, olive green, raw umber, etc. I'd give those same answers myself. As a friend has put it: It's as if the "colour swatches" that one would most probably have in mind are formulated thanks to using Crayola as a kid.
 I was in 2nd grade the first time I got hold of the 48-pieces Crayola crayons. I couldn't stop sketching and colouring in my drawings after I got it as a birthday gift with a set of Reynold's coloured pens. But the first time I set my eyes on the 64-pieces Crayola crayons, I couldn't stop begging my mom to buy me that. And so on Chistmas of 1994, I finally had my very own box of 64 Crayola crayons. It wasn't just happiness that I felt, it was euphoria!
I bet everyone would agree when I say that Crayola has always been every child's very first weapon of choice. I refused to stop using it even when I discovered the wonders of oil, acrylic, and water colour during my later elementary years. When joining poster making contests back then, I painstakingly did my entries using crayons while other contestants would render their works using Cray-Pas which, by the way, I never learned to use.
Without further ado, I am sharing one of the case studies we had for Marketing class I was able to find while deleting files in the PC. This is for every child at heart who still loves Crayola as much as I do. Enjoy!
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CRAYOLA CRAYONS:
A LONG AND COLORFUL LIFE CYCLE Binney & Smith Company began making crayons in Bushkill Creek near Peekskill, New York, in 1903. Partner Edwin Binney’s wife, Alice, named them Crayola crayons- after the French craie, meaning ‘stick of color’ and the Spanish ola, meaning ‘oil.’ In the 90-years since, Crayola crayons have become a household staple, not just in the United States, but in more than sixty countries around the world, in boxes printed in eleven languages. If you placed all the Crayola crayons made in a single year end to end, they would circle the earth four-and-a-half times. Few people can forget their first pack of ‘64s’ – sixty-four beauties neatly arranged in the familiar green and yellow flip-top box with a sharpener on the back. The aroma of freshly opened Crayola Box still drives kids into a frenzy and takes members of the older generation back to their fondest childhood memories. Binney and Smith, now a subsidiary of hallmark, dominates the crayon market. Sixty-five per cent of all American children between the ages 2 and 7 pick up a crayon at least once a day and color an average of twenty-eight minutes – 80 per cent of the time, they pick up Crayolas. In some ways, Crayola crayons haven’t changed much since 1903, when they were sold in an eight-pack for a nickel. Crayola has always been the number one brand, and the crayons are still made by hand in much the same way as then. But a closer look reveals Binney and Smith has made many adjustments in order to keep the Crayola brand in the mature stage and out of decline. Over the years, the company has added a steady stream of new colors from the original eight in 1903 to forty eight in 1949, to sixty-four in 1958. In 1972, it added eight fluorescent colors - with hot names like Laser Lemon, Screamin’ Green, and Atomic Tangerine; and in 1990, an additional seven fluorescents, including Electric Lime and Razzle-Dazzle Rose. Most recently, it created a new line of Silver Swirl Colors – Cerulean Frost, Cosmic Cobalt, Misty Moss, Rose Dust and twenty others. In all, Crayola crayons now come in 103 colours and a variety of packages, including a 72-crayon attaché’-like case. Over the years, the Crayola line has grown to include many sizes and shapes. In addition to the standard 3 5/8-inch crayon, it now includes flat, jumbo, and ‘So Big’ crayons. Crayola Washable Crayons were added in 1991. Binney & Smith also extended the Crayola brand to new markets when it developed Crayola Markers and related products. Finally, the company has added several programs and services to help strengthen its relationships with Crayola customers. For example, in 1984 it began its Dream Makers art education program designed to help students capture their dreams on paper and to use artistic process to make the dreams more tangible. In 1986, it set up a toll-free 1-800-CRAYOLA hotline to provide better customer service. And it recently implemented a national recycling effort. Each store now has a crayon collection bin- the collected bits and pieces of crayon are melted down and used to make the most-used hue – black. Not all of Binney & Smith’s life-cycle adjustments have been greeted with open arms by consumers. For example, facing flat sales throughout the 1980s, the company conducted market research which showed that children were ready to break with tradition on favor of some exciting new colors. They were seeing and wearing brighter new colors and wanted to be able to color with them as well. So, in 1990, Binney & Smith retired eight colors from the time-honored box of sixty-four - raw umber, lemon yellow, maize, blue grey, orange yellow, orange red, green blue and violet blue – in to the Crayola Hall of Fame. In their place, it introduced eight more modern shades – Cerulean, Vivid Tangerine, Jungle Green, Fuchsia, Dandelion, Teal Blue, Royal Purple, Wild Strawberry. The move unleashed a ground swell of protest from loyal Crayola users, who formed such organizations as the Raw Umber and Maize Preservation Society and the National Committee to save Lemon Yellow. Binney & Smith receive an average of 334 calls a month from concerned customers. Company executives were flabbergasted: ‘We were aware of the loyalty and nostalgia surrounding Crayola crayons, a spokesperson says, ‘but we didn’t know we would hit such a nerve.’ Still, fans of the new colors outnumbered the protestors, and the new colors are here to stay. However, the company did revive the old standards for one last hurrah in a special collector’s tin – it sold all of the 2.5 million tins made. Thus Crayola brand continues through its long and colorful life cycle.
KABUWANAN POETRY COMPETITION
The KABUWANAN SA CUBAO EXPO: A Full Moon Artists’ Fair, to be held on April 5, 2008 (Saturday, 1pm onwards) is calling for poetry submissions with the theme “Kabuwanan” or full moon.
The competition is open to Filipino citizens of all ages. The entry must be submitted on or before April 1, 2008 to:
Sandy Allan: soulcardreader@gmail.com
Danny Sillada: dsillada@gmail.com
MECHANICS
Phase I:
Submit a poem no more than 24 lines, minimum of 18 lines with the theme “Kabuwanan” (full moon) related to art, culture and Filipino values. It must be written in English or Filipino, and can be rhymed, in blank verse or free verse.
The entry must be the individual work of the author. The name, e-mail address and contact numbers must be indicated below the poem.
Phase II:
Among the entries, there will be chosen 10 finalists. These must be recited or performed, not read*, by the poets on April 5, 2008, at Cubao Expo.
The judges will choose only one winner who will be awarded with a cash prize, as well as a plaque or trophy. The other 9 finalists will receive a certificate of recognition.
All poems will be published at Dalityapi, an online literary publication.
CRITERIA OF JUDGING
Phase I:
1. Relevance to the theme
2. Style and originality
3. Coherence of form and structure
4. Clarity of imagery and language
Phase II:
1. Stage presence and presentation
2. Poise and spontaneity of recitation
3. Intonation, poetic expression and a clear insight into the poet’s intention
4. Clarity of spoken words and diction.
*A workshop conducted by Mr. Danny Sillada will be given to give pointers on poetry reading/performance skill enhancement (date, time & place to be announced).
THIS IS A REPOST, THE ORIGINAL LINK IS
http://oohwablesco.multiply.com/journal/item/42/Calling_all_talented_designers
In line with all the activities we have for the
Kabuwanan Artists' Fair at the Cubao Expo on April 5,
we would like to invite all talented fashion designers to showcase their most prized creations through a fashion walk-off on the day of the event.
Details are as follows:
- Clothes should be an original creation or design of the designer
- No specific theme
- Designers should provide their own models (maximum of 2 per designer)
- Designers may bring 1-4 outfits they wish to showcase
- Fashion Designers for Men and Women are welcome to join
- Clothing designers may partner with accessory designers, shoe and/or bag designers as long as they coordinate with each other and enlist as one group
- Designers will shoulder their models' hair and make-up (models may come already dressed and made-up, Ailyn's beauty parlor, located within Cubao Expo, may be an option for the designers to have their models prepped, I will post their number here within the next days so you can inquire about their fees/services)
- A basic dressing area shall be provided
- Models shall carry signs of the designer/s' name/s while doing the walk-off
For any other queries or concerns,
kindly contact me via PM, email (info@oohwables.com)
or Call/SMS at 09063105815. :)Showcase your talents and inspire!We welcome all amateur to professional designers. Those who do it for a living or as a hobby. This is open for students as well.Support the artists' community!Cheers!
It has almost been a month since I was blessed with the chance to meet these three, unbelievably supportive and kind women -- Ms. Sandy, Ms. Halmen, and Ms. Tricia -- who were so eager to have me hang my works in their respective shops. A week later, I brought several paintings to be put up at three lovely, lovely shops at Cubao Expo: The READING ROOM, Halo Store and Cafe, and Oohwables (soon). I can never thank these ladies enough for their support on my art. And it's never too late to do a little promotion about this.  So when you come to The READING ROOM to have your soulcard read by Ms. Sandy herself or to shop/window shop for trinkets, bags, clothes, and other yummy finds, do not forget to take a look at my Mask Art. Three of which are currently gracing this cozy little shop's white walls. And I will be adding more in time for the Kabuwanan Festival which is scheduled on the 5th of April. Meanwhile, the yellow walls of Halo Store and Cafe are now home to several of my water colour paintings.  The next time you drop by at Halo for a cup of coffee or a taste of their scrumptious organic treats, be sure to check out my stuff. And if you're feeling generous enough, purchase a painting or two. :-)
**The Reading Room, Halo Store and Cafe, and Oohwables are all located at Cubao Expo, Araneta Center Cubao, Quezon City. Cubao Expo is the former Marikina Shoe Expo which is between the Araneta Bus Terminal and Puregold, and is behind Alimall & the former Rustan's building (which now houses Automatic Superstore & Advanced Contact Solutions Call Center).
Alrighty, I am just too excited to wrap up the photo series I have started more than a month ago after a long hiatus in photography. And because posting a single picture at my DA as a teaser doesn't seem right (not while the series still remains unfinished), I am posting one from the second part of this self-project of mine here instead.  On photo is the lovely Trixee Ibañez.
The photo was shot at UP Lagoon last Bonifacio Day. Come to think of it, I missed taking photos within my alma mater. More from this series shall be posted immediately when I get done with it. I'll be reserving "Summoning of the Muse," which happens to be one of my favourite Dead Can Dance songs, as title for the finale in this freshest batch of photos. Cheerio!
Marvelous Maiden Voyage
By Ruel S. De Vera
Inquirer
**Article may be viewed at its original url. MANILA, Philippines―There is a fine tradition of realistic fiction in Filipino literature,” Neil Gaiman explains. “We wanted to encourage unrealistic fiction.” Those words, appearing in “The Sandman” author’s Foreword, exemplify the dark heart, and considerable soul of “Expeditions: The Philippine Graphic/Fiction Awards Vol. 1―Comics” (Fully Booked, 2007, 110 pages) and “Expeditions: The Philippine Graphic Fiction Awards Vol. 1―Prose” (Fully Booked, 2007, 190 pages). And any reader will recall that Gaiman had no idea what awaited him in the Philippines: “What I knew of the Philippines could have been written on the wing of a small butterfly.” Boasting a terrific cover by “New Avengers” artist Leinil Francis Yu and helped by a healthy heaping of horror, these books shine with potent talents. Seeking out new talent in both fiction and comic-book work, the awards were first handed out last year and these books feature the winners in the two categories as well as the honorable mentions. The winners―and, by extension, the selections in these collections―were chosen by the formidable judges: Gregorio Brillantes, Peque Gallaga and Tony Perez for Prose; Arnold Arre, Dean Francis Alfar and Fully Booked’s Jaime Daez for Comics. The stories in the Prose volume are just superlative, gathering the chosen stories of science fiction, fantasy or horror. While some may be abrupt or uneven, all are well-written and imaginative, polished with a quality echoing the words of Ian Casocot, one of the first-prize winners in his story “A Strange Map of Time.” He writes: “There was no vocabulary to seize possession of the sudden unknown that engulfed him.” Casocot’s tale is a time-lost meditation on words and destiny, employing folkloric elements from the Negros islands. The other first-prize winner is Michael A.R. Co’s “The God Equation,” a gripping, gritty and tense account revolving around an actual angel sent to eliminate a Filipino mathematician who may have found proof of God’s existence in an equation. The second-prize winner, “The Great Philippine Space Mission” by Philbert Ortiz Dy, is a rousing romp, with the Earth in danger and the only people who can save everyone is a Filipino scientist and Kris Aquino, the Kris Aquino. See, Eric Bautista has invented a metaphysical engine, powered by chismis (gossip), hence, Aquino becomes the most potent source of energy in the world. “Atha” by Michaela Atienza, a plaintive reflection on the wages of one man’s madness and genius, is the third-prize winner. Like the winning pieces, the other stories mix Filipino and foreign elements with aplomb and are surprisingly contemporary. Authored by Kim Marquez, Ma. Cecilia Estrada, Yvette Natalie Tan, Ma. Ana Micaela G. Chua and Wincy Ong, they feature everything from a manananggal who wants to become an artista to white cockroaches with a secret.
Dark comics
If anything, the Comics volume is actually darker than its Prose sibling and is laced with more horror content. The pieces have finishes that range from professional to spotty, and their styles run from distinctively innovative to somewhat derivative, all with a dream-like texture that can be either sweet or nightmarish. Though the 12-page pieces are in black-and-white, the taller and wider format evens it out. Chances are, readers would have yet to read anything like the deserving first-prize winner, “The Sad, Mad, Incredible But True Adventures of Hika Girl” by Clara Lala Gallardo and Maria Gallardo, a bedtime story done up in Uglydoll finery. Mind-blowing would be the best description for the second-prize winner, the wordless “Splat!” by Manuel “Manix” Abrera, like a spot cartoon on speed, kinetic and witty. The two third-prize winners are a study in extremes. Like a cautionary tale for children and their toys, “Dusk” by Rommel Joson is a moody, creepy tale of shadows while “Defiant: The Battle of Mactan” by Juan Paolo Ferrer and Chester Ocampo is a vividly animé-flavored, action-oriented and heavily fictionalized take on Magellan’s last stand. Pungently seasoned with strong Filipino flavor, the other pieces, by Vergel Nino A. Vergara, Benjor Catindig, Joonee Garcia, Katrina Pallon, Adele Raya, Frances Alcaraz, Alvin B. Yapan, Leonard John C. Banaag and Avid Liongoren, uncover prophecies fulfilled and promises kept in the twilight corners. Gaiman has thrown his support behind this competition and, with the second iteration kicking off this month, it becomes Neil Gaiman’s gift that keeps giving, a yearly habit of celebrating talent and imagination, whether you are a fan of genre stories or not. Whether the words and images bow to your particular taste or not, whether they are miracle drug or mere placebo to you, whether it is the Escape key or the Enter key, there is no denying how both volumes of “Expeditions” are a testament to the remarkable promise and power of Filipino creativity in fiction and comics, the hurricane of words and images birthed from the fierce flapping of an unleashed butterfly’s wings. Both books are available in hardcover and paperback; they will be launched on Nov. 25, 3 p.m., at the Fully Booked High Street courtyard in Bonifacio High Street, Taguig. The launch coincides with the awarding of the winners of the 2nd Philippine Graphic/Fiction Awards.
Midnight Masquerade is a self-portrait which was originally done for the LunaRock exhibit last August. It was designed to resemble a tarot card and is intended to be viewed both upright and upturned (both sides are shown below).  
Along with 4 more new paintings, this shall be put up for exhibit on the 17th at F.A.M.E.'s (Female Artists' and Musicians' Evolution) night of music, poetry, and art, entitled Ev(e)olution at Porch Katipunan. As with Midnight Masquerade, the four other pieces are very much Venetian motif-inspired with a splash of Pan-Asian influence. This initial 5-piece series is a collection of romanticized images of women and their fascination with the night. **You may view the details of the aforementioned event by clicking on this link.
Last August, I prepared three hand-painted masks which were put up at the Romancing Venus booth during the last day of the 3rd Backdoor Venture's Arts and Music Festival. I was supposed to produce 7, however, the other masks were too thin which was either because they lacked a few more layers of paper or they might have been taken off the mold even before they were dry and hard enough.  From left to right: A mask inspired by my cabinet and ceiling paintings in my room (while it appears to be too orange-y in the photo, it has a lot of tomato red tones in actuality), a bluegreen peacock mask (I am currently working on a more extravagant version for this one), and a fuchsia mask with organic patterns in pink, purple, and gold. These are hand-made papier-mâché masks with designs painted in using a mixture of poster paint and acrylic, and rhinestones and lace for added embellishments. They are for sale only upon request by whomsoever happens to fancy them. In the meantime, they shall remain hanging in my room and will be put up for sale on the upcoming World Bazaar Festival. **I do custom-made masks. Interested parties may drop me a note.
It's been a full year since I first witnessed and experienced, did an extensive research on, and documented Bacolod City's MassKara Festival for my thesis. Yesterday was the first day of the street-dancing highlight of the festival, while Sunday will be the culminating day for MassKara 2007 (Disappointedly, I had to miss this year's celebration due to work related reasons). Having remembered just that brings back so much wonderful memories of last year's trips to Bacolod, thus, inspiring me to dish out this entry.
For starters, the MassKara Festival is one of the biggest festivities in the archipelago held annually every October at Bacolod, the City of Smiles, which reflects Bacoleños’ love for fun and gaiety. It is a 20-day celebration which coincides with Bacolod’s charter day celebration, giving the people of Negros, as well as foreign and local visitors, a chance to drink, be merry, and enjoy a glamorous cavalcade of activities which includes cultural presentations, carnivals, trade fairs, beauty pageants, sports competitions, concerts, and a long Mardi Gras-styled parade of costumed and masked street dancers.
Bacolod becomes a literal "City of Masks" come festival time as souvenir masks of all sizes, shapes, colours, materials, and textures are sold at every street corner. Establishments have life size papier-mâché and fiberglass masks adorning both their interiors and exteriors, banners and tarpaulins advertising the MassKara festivities are displayed everywhere, and hotels and flights to Bacolod are fully-booked with both foreign and local tourists.
Wrapping up the celebration is the much-awaited parade, street-dancing and merry-making, which also serves as the highlight of the festival. During this occasion, Bacolod is instantly transformed into a spectacular sight of colors, body rhythm, and music as various groups of dancers donning masks with beaming smiles gracefully sway and sashay as they parade in the city’s major thoroughfares.
Highly influenced by the Mardi Gras celebrations in Brazil and New Orleans, the costumes of the paraders are made up of different styles and materials – from satin to denims, from flashy to bizarre, from the sexy to the obese, from the cultural to the vogue. Anything goes, provided they all follow one simple rule: their masks should show a big smile.
 Originally designed to depict the hardships of the Negrenses, the masks used during the first MassKara Festival reflected the grief of Bacoleños over two tragedies that befell them almost consecutively - the Negros Sugar Crisis and the 1979 M/V Don Juan tragedy. The idea of celebrating Bacolod's moniker "City of Smiles" with the use of smiling masks was thought of by the Art Association of Bacolod with the belief that wearing masks would be a novel way of getting the grief-stricken citizens to loosen up sans the alcohol, and dance in the streets in the spirit of oneness and family. Thus, the MassKara Festival was born in the October of 1980.
The term “MassKara” was coined by the late painter/ cartoonist/ cultural artist Ely Santiago, who devoted his crafts to depicting the many faces of Negrenses beset with various types of crises. “Mass,” literally meaning the masses, and “Kara,” which is the Spanish word for face, when put together means face of the masses or sea of faces.
MassKara 2006 celebrated Bacolod’s emergence in the global village not just as a tourist destination but as a link in the international business network with the entry of call centers in the city, as well as other technology-driven enterprises. With “Masks of the World” as their creative anchor, the visuals for the festivities featured masks used by people from different cultures around the globe. Culturally, this meant to tie up Bacolod with the rest of the world who use masks as icons and symbols especially for community purposes. Coinciding with the visual spectacle which was inspired by different masks of various cultures, composer Gerry Grey incorporated the beat of the seven continents to MassKara 2006’s infectious music, entitled “Bacolod, Siguehon Ta.”
In closing, the beaming smiles etched upon the lips of these wondrous masks are symbolic of the Bacoleño, and in fact, of the Visayan Negrense – lighthearted in adversity, renowned for gallantry, and at all times amiable and friendly. It is more than a festival that looks back to venerable past beginnings. More importantly, the MassKara Festival is a successful exploration aimed at the emergence of an identity symbol for the City of Bacolod. **All photos featured in this entry are taken at the MassKara Festival 2006 by yours truly.
In relation to the previous entry, this tryptic was taken right after Fully Booked's Unmasking at Rockwell.
"I love this. The lines and angles formed by the stairs and railings in each individual shot are a feast for the eyes, and when I look at all three shots together I'm caught in a whirling dervish of sweeping, sensual grid-like motion. The three poses of the enchantress have a real dreamy quality when viewed together like this; there's something very ghost-like about seeing her first in the distance, then close, then farther away again... all this, combined with the golden glow given off by the piece, make for art that's classy, fascinating, wonderful to look at... did I say “dreamy?” It's a dream I don't want to awaken from." Concealed in a mask so pristine, she ascends a spiral flight of stairs. On photo: Adele Raya | Click THIS for a larger view
**This entry is originally dated July 24, 2006. My collaborative work with Adele Raya, entitled Moondancer was one of the finalists in the comics category and is included in Expeditions: The 1st Philippine Graphic/Fiction Compilation, which will be launched by Fully Booked this coming November. The unmasking of the winners for the First Philippine Graphic/Fiction Awards was held last Saturday, July 15, at the Rockwell Tent, Powerplant Mall. As for our masks -- cramming was indeed inevitable, because inspite of having started quite early with the project, we eventually had to deprive ourselves of sleep for two consecutive days just to finish the masks on time.
The masks were made of paper mache and were crafted days before we actually crammed. Next to be designed were the jewels that were to be placed on the masks for embellishment (Jewels were bought at Divisoria and other random jewelry stores). Not much was done on Thursday since I was being a sleepyhead and also had to prioritize working on a water color painting which was due the next day. By Friday morning, I drew the details on the masks in pencil for them to be painted on when we get back to work in the evening.
Kevin was very indispensable during the mask-making. He worked on the gilded leaves while Adele and I continued working on the paint job. Phil, on the otherhand, entertained us all by playing Resident Evil IV. By Saturday morning, the paint had already dried. We glued the leaves as well as the jewels onto the masks. Last to be attached was the most important part -- the anting-anting at the center. The vines were placed later on while we were on our way towards the venue.
End result: A mixture of different concepts -- Yin and Yang, Venetian intricacies and gilded details, and a tinge of Filipino -- the anting-anting concept.
Two almost sleepless days of work was worth it. The masks turned out the way we envisioned them to be. The centerpiece, however, lacked detail due to time constraints, but that was a very minor thing.
Of course, the masks would not be complete without the wearers.
The venue wasn't something to behold, it was actually plain if I may say so. Luckily, My UP Manila friends, Megan and Gelo, were present adding up to the fun I was expecting for that evening.
Mostly, what we did was to goof and strut around with our masks on, and take pictures. The works of the finalists on both the comics and prose categories were exhibited at the sides. It was a pretty much animated event despite the lack of decors on the venue to better suit the mood. There were booths where masks, toys, books, graphic novels, and other related merchandise were sold. Workshops and autograph signings by renowned writers and graphic artists were conducted in the morning, while Pinikpikan and Outer Hope provided the music.
As can be seen on the first photo on this batch, we didn't get to be in the top 3 for the comics category but I did win the Most Creative Mask Award -- which meant basking under the lenses of different other cameras. Hoho! Adele and Wawi shots on this batch courtesy of Kevin. We capped off the evening taking more photos and a hearty dinner at Cafe Mediterranean after missing out on lunch and breakfast.
The objective of our group mini-thesis back in 3rd year college was to come up with an entirely new ad campaign for an existing merchandise or establishment. Our pick was The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, which we found addictive during those days (up to now even. Haha!).
Carnival Maté was one of the two photos in the photo series for our mini-thesis, which I art directed, that utilized a mask. What we did was to re-introduce CBTL in a most refreshing manner to set it apart from its long-running competitors who have long established their respective personalities (e.g. the on-the-go-yuppies for Starbucks, the more corporate/formal feel of Figaro, and the New York-ish atmosphere of Seattle's). We avoided presenting CBTL's coffee and tea concoctions as just ordinary cups of dark or light brown liquid, but instead, we used people to visually illustrate the taste and story behind each brew. **This herbal tea, indigenous of Brazil and Argentina is briefly roasted over a wood fire and then blended with cocoa, sunflower petals, almond bits, cactus flowers, and cornflower blossoms. It has a sweet fragrance that is malty with chocolate notes and a hint of smokiness reminscent of freshly cut wood. The Indians believe that maté has magical powers of alleviating hunger, thirst, and exhaution. These characteristics make maté as a beverage to compliment an active lifestyle, promoting weight loss, energizing the system and replenishing your vital fluid intake after physical exercise. On Photo: Rina Chauhan | Click THIS for a larger view ---------------------------------
 Art directed by yours truly and photographed by my good friend Claro Castillo, Viennese Blend aimed to portray the richness of this best-selling brew by equating it to the lavish festivities of the Carnival of Venice, but this time with a touch of tropical magic. On Photo: Yours truly | Click THIS for a larger view
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