An Afternoon at Santa's Workshop

It has been a while since my last post.  I spent the last remaining weeks before giving birth doing  a series of mini field trips with our eldest. I thank God, my husband, our parents and our relatives (some even from abroad!) who made our extended babymoon extra memorable for her.  I printed out colorful photobooks so she'll forever remember this stage in our lives, just in time for her baby brother's arrival.

These days, I spend much of my time entertaining my eldest while recovering from childbirth.  Special thanks to my mother-in-law who holds fun slumber parties with my daughter in her room every now and then just to make her feel a tad more special.  

It's a bit challenging to have alone time with my daughter these days as the new baby feeds on demand.  So this weekend I urged my dear hubby to bring out the newborn stroller and stay for a while in a quiet restaurant nearby with the baby as my toddler and I enjoyed a couple of hours at Santa's Workshop at Ogalala in Shangrila Mall.  

Leji is actually scared of Santa with his heavy belly and bushy white beard. I'm actually grateful Santa just stayed in the lobby outside for photo ops while listening to children whisper their Christmas wishes. My daughter excused herself from the line of hopefuls saying out loud: "Ayoko (kay) Santa. Mas pogi Daddy kay Santa." 

She had more fun at the workshop itself, mingling with older kids at the table.

Twinning with my toddler: Matchy matchy Elle bow bands!

She felt so proud of herself when one of the moms said that the shoes she designed with paint and colored pens were lovely.  She got quite excited and dipped her fingers in different colors then smudged off the hearts on the right shoe :/ "Rainbow paint, Mommy!!!" she squealed with glee.

The brilliant purple and pink turned into murky khaki but my daughter seemed to like the effect of what she did, showing off her work to all the photographers (and even to the waiters after the event!).  At least the artist was able to express herself, right? :p

She got to experiment with different coloring materials, creating various effects on her shoes!

My little artist at work

I didn't mind that she smeared some of the paint on her clothes and the table as everything from Crayola is safe and washable.  They have coloring materials created for every age range.  She colored away without distractions.

She couldn't get enough of coloring so we decided to try mess-free colored pens with special paper at home. I was thinking of getting more for travelling as these pens don't damage/ accidentally mark other surfaces (Eg. tables, floors, bed sheets). We'll come back next time to get more colors and hopefully get to participate in more workshops after the holidays.

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Piece of Serenity

If you could buy peace of mind, you would right? If nature calms you, why not have it break the mundane tone of your room or office? 

If you can't manage to plant or travel as often as you would want to, you may want to have a picture to comfort you at the very least... Or a picture that would remind you that you are but a mere speck in the greater scheme of things.

Martial Jeudy's "Humility" at Kulayara in San Juan reminds us of this. Our ocean of emotions, no matter how vast or complicated it may seem to us, is but a mere part of a greater whole. 

Showcasing the resilience of the bamboo and the gentle grace of the alps, it attempts to quiet our soul and aid us not to overthink in this great hullabaloo called life.

It suddenly reminded us of our recent art class in Glorietta. Leji and I couldn't help but be amused.

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An Affair with Color

They say an infant's brain is like a sponge soaking up everything around them. After several museum trips and Burgoo drawing sprees, I felt like 9-month-old Leji was ready for her first art workshop. She tagged along during the launch of Swiss Caran d'Ache's most luminous colors at Glorietta. 

My husband has always been a fan of Caran's colored pencils. He says he felt a tad more artistic when he acquired a tin set in highschool haha

Leji seems to agree with her dad as she found the products on display very attractive.  We explored the bloggers' tables; she liked the Neoncolor II best. It colors like soft oil pastel yet it looks like sturdy crayon. Its watersoluble wax oil pastels were firm enough for her to hold. It glides smoothly on paper with nice vibrant shades (it comes in 84 colors). We traced her hand on paper and smudged the color in. We were inspired by Swiss artist/teacher Peter Egli who showed us how to make mountains, crystals, and forests.

When she accidentally marked her face with a red pastel, it resembled a real scrape on the face. It got Dad a bit worried haha.. I smudged it a bit with a little blue hue, and it was actually good enough for Halloween! We easily wiped it off with wet wipes.

Why allow a baby to tinker with professional stuff?

As a kid I was super budget conscious; I bought the cheapest crayons available because they all looked the same anyway. But to my dismay, it was too waxy-- making experiments on dark paper (or even just newsprint for periodical tests) close to impossible. Worse, some of it got deformed (it melted in my bag :/). I mixed it with clear glue to come up with colored stars and hearts to feel better. 

But I had to buy another box of crayons. I ended up spending more.

Moral lesson? Choose your art tools wisely even when you feel like you're far from being Picasso.

 

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Zette's Cafe Opening

Even before Filipino Ms Supranational Canada Suzette Hernandez was born, there was already a Suzette Hernandez who was hailed as one of the most beautiful in Bicol. Her list of achievements and socio-civic works continues to flourish as she re-opens her art gallery Kulayara, and aptly named Zette's Cafe, in San Juan.

Nestled in this quaint neighborhood are some of the finest art by contemporary Filipino masters like Hermes Alegre, Fil Delacruz, Romulo Galicano, Raul Isidro, Gig de Pio and Ephraim Samson.

Brass and jazz play in her neatly manicured garden.

Little beings enjoy a dip in her mini fountain area.

Bb Pilipinas queens Parul Shah and Elaine Kay Moll showed their full support as they donned Filipiñana inspired outfits to complement the artwork on display.

I'll definitely come back one of these days; hopefully there will be more parking space on an ordinary weekday. Their chocolate cakes are divine :)

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In line with Museum Month: Treasures of Venice

In an effort to save time and money, we availed of the Venice Museum Pass. However, we found out later on that lines weren't as long in the museums there as there were in Florence (but the tourism office that sells the unli museum pass is more strategically located in Venice; it was right at the port entry!) It would have been more practical to get an all-day ferry a.k.a. taxi pass (because it's actually more expensive to ride public transport in Venice than in Rome) but they didn't have anything like that.

But to be fair, it was actually quite delightful to have some of the museums to ourselves that day. (Although some were quite tough to spot--because of the limited number of fans)

It was quite a challenge to find some of the museums like the Jewish Museum because it was nestled deep in the heart of the quiet Jewish community. Here we found remarkable silver pieces like these:

We also found holy books intricately bound in precious metal.

We were ushered to the blow glass capital Murano in a hotel-sponsored sailboat.  In their glass museum, we found pieces that tell stories.

When we visited quaint churches to pray and warm ourselves that cold winter, we also found unexpected intricacies in ivory.

Despite the agua alta (high tide) we had to endure one night with our plastic shoes, museum hopping was actually quite fun in the city where it's fun to get lost. Just follow the teenagers and their troops would lead you to the next convenience store where you could grab cheap drinks after. haha

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Art in the Island

What's more fun than imagining another world? Being part of it on photo! 

This is exactly what we did at Art in the Island in Cubao.  Adults have to pay 500php but small kids could get in for free. Here are some of our favorite photos:

1. Under the Sea

Leji loves Sebastian from the Little Mermaid.  Here she was thrilled to act like a lobster! 

2. Small animals go large

Here we met some remarkable furry friends. Can't wait to visit Bohol with Leji so I can show her how small Tarsiers are in real life.

3. Chavit's Pet Tiger

 I've experienced bottle feeding baby Tigers in Subic but this looks way cooler than that! I remembered meeting Chavit Singson's tiger in Boracay years back. My youngest sister was the only one who dared ask for a selfie.

4. Captain Hook's Alligator

Here, Leji shrieked "Oh mai gad!!!" Too bad I didn't get that on video. Tsk.

5. Pail of Surprises

We weren't really sure what we were doing here. haha

6. Magical Falls

I'm such a damsel in distress when I climb mountains (yeah, at least I tried climbing mountains before despite knowing my level of physical fitness). This photo made it seem like I could sashay in Sport's Unlimited's next episode.

7. Let me be your angel

Here my little one fell asleep as if on cue. Aww.

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Fringe Manila this Feb

Fringe Manila kicks off with a bang shortly after Chinese New Year in Makati.  The brainchild of Fringe Manila Andrei Pamintuan is happy to usher Fringe in Manila this second time around.

Fringe Manila has been a representative of the cultural landscape of the Philippines. When it comes to the art that we create as Filipinos, Fringe is also a multi arts festival. There is theater, spoken word, dance and everything in between.

With the diversity of material that flows through Fringe, Andrei says it encourages local and foreign artists and enthusiasts to contribute regardless of age or experience. 

We're on the periphery and we're still making an impact. We are representing artists, we are a voice waiting to be heard. This is the perfect venue for that; it is intimate.

Aside from Pineapple Lab in Poblacion, Makati, other venues collaborate to add to the Fringe vibe such as the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the National Commission of Culture & the Arts gallery, and bars like Saguijo.

Fringe Manila will run from Feb10 to 24, 2016.

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How to invade 75 Filipino artists' studios in one sitting

Manila Bulletin recently lauched a coffeetable book featuring 75 Filipino artists in their workspaces.

Multimedia artist Rosscapili is one of the many talented icons featured in the book. (I was lucky enough to be photographed by this master back in 2006.:) I must say he hasn't aged a bit!)

He feels honored to be part of it. He says by "invading" his studio, the book explores his growth as an artist as well as his various techniques.

Along with the other generous artists, Rosscapili donated one of his works for a private sale in Manila Hotel for the benefit of the Philippine Red Cross. His painting is nice & bright with butterflies amidst moving trees that seem to come alive when you squint!

I heard the paintings were sold like hotcakes!:)

"Filipino Artists in Their Studios" is available at leading bookstores for 3,990php. 

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Art in Socks

I have always been a fan of colored socks. Like printed underwear, it gives me remarkable satisfaction to carry a rainbow within ;) In college, I wore colored socks with anything (hmm, I miss my boots). I had a classmate once who declared his unwavering love for me, stating the color of my socks as one of the reasons why he was deeply enamored :o

      Anyway, this rainy season, we have to keep our feet cozy and warm in waterproof shoes. So it was timely yesterday for Dwayne Wade to present its newest collection of artsy fartsy socks. I spotted 9TV's very own Jinno Rufino as one of its uber cool brand ambassadors.

Here are some of the designs I particularly like:

I like anything with pink on it.

This gives you the illusion of dipping your feet in red wine.

Zebra-unicorn hybrid

This reminds me of an Amorsolo painting.

Juicy piña colada!

For more about Dwayne Wade's newest collection, watch Daybreak (Monday-Friday, 7-8:30am) on 9TV <3

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