Art + Advocacy Projects Aug 2011-March 2012

I have been to focused on inner work that I haven't had the chance to share a lot of my art activities since I arrived from Switzerland in August. Here is a documentation of my beautiful co-created art actions for peace and emergency recovery over the last 8 months :-)

Open publication - Free publishing - More arts relief

Star Lanterns for Dreamers

Last December 14, I facilitated two art making activities for 100 streetchildren. Together with the Diwatas (Goddesses/Fairies) of GINHAWA (Growth in Wholeness and Wellness Associates), we crafted an afternoon themed as "Parol ng Pangarap" (Star Lantern of Dreams) for them. The activity was designed for De La Salle College of St. Benilde as they launch their mentorship program with streetchildren and out of school youths in partnership with their Social Action office.

My good friend Weena who organized the event asked me to do a mandala with the children. I reflected on it and figured the best way to theme a mandala for Christmas season would be the traditional Filipino Parol.

The Parol


Inspired by the Mexican pinata and the Chinese Lantern - both influences from pre-colonial and colonial trade exchanges, the Parol is uniquely Filipino in a sense it draws spirituality (both Christianized yet indigenous-ly still at heart for the stars have been giving guidance to the ancients), craftsmanship, and the evolving creative genius together by weaving in the pentagram, a star as the main theme, with indigenous materials - bamboo, paper, fiber etc with unique petal, leaf, and other geometric designs with light.

Every Christmas season, you will see all these beautifully designed star lanterns in each home (almost all homes will have a parol on the window!) and all the streets of the cities around the country. It has become the Filipino "christmas tree." In our case, it is the star of Bethlehem which the Magis saw during Jesus' birth that is at the core of the Christmas tradition.  It also symbolizes the Filipinos' resilience and hope-filled culture - shining light over dark times.

The traditional parol (image from google images)

The modern parol with electric lights (image from clickthecity.com)

The Pentagram as Mandala

At the start we planned to have custom made star shaped bamboo frames for children to design around but it turned out very tasking to prepare 100 frames in a few days. So we opted for a cheap yet beautiful medium - Origami stars. In the middle we used parchment paper as a circle for children to draw their dreams on so lights would shine through either through some neon colored sticks or the sunshine through a window.

Child Testing the artwork with Lorenzo, here using the neon light sticks. We decided to take out the light sticks after for safety reasons. 

The whole afternoon's activities were designed to connect to the theme of dreaming and hope. The children from the streets are also orphans, out of school children, with some who have been sexually abused in the past. Staying in several partner centers and facilities, these children are already being taken off the streets and given proper care and assistance.

Inside my head, I play around with styles for designing mandalas. Everytime I design a workshop, I either go Jungian/Expressive or Geometric/Meditative or a mix of both. For this case, because of the workshop design of expressing hope, I decided to focus more on dreams in the middle of the circle. The children were encouraged to make designs and patterns on the pentacles of the mandala star.

 
The Star Guides the Dreamers

A story and theater play written by Leah Tolentino, Executive Diwata of GINHAWA was a beautiufl weave for the entire afternoon. We acted out the story through lights, projected images, and indigenous music for effect.

Inang Tala (Mother Star), played by Mini, wished to help a child forced to leave home and sleep on the streets because of poverty. Alas because she was so far away, she couldn't be heard by the child who lives in the nosiy and polluted streets of Manila. Asking the guidance of her Creator, she was advised that the only way to reach earth and to help others is to break up into pieces because she is very big and hot for the earth and its beings. And so she did break into pieces out of deep contemplation and compassion for the child. She then became all the many stars we have in the sky.

Are these the alignment of planets? (gives me the shivers)

To prepare the children for drawing, and to connect them to a creation experience, i asked the children to do a non-dominant hand play of colored crayons which they covered with black crayon afterwards for a transformative darkness creation with their pencils. It was only prior to facilitating this activity that I realized they were also drawing the cosmos from within them so I showed them pictures of beautiful nebulas and galacitcal formations taken from the Hubble Telescope. This also connects them to the story of Inang Tala.

The following photos show how the workshop transpired. Step by step we started with a visioning reflection of the meaning of hope and how dreams can be achieved if they believe. Aftewards, we drew dreams on the circular parchment paper so that it can be a transparent suncatcher during the day sans the use of lightsticks for light effect. The last steps were to design patterns on the pentacles and because they were so creative and wanted to play with designs and colors, I did not ask them to do symmetrical patterns which is the usual way mandala making is taught.

Most of the dreams from these children were houses. It tells much of their experiences growing up in the streets

He wants to be a musician

He wants to be a seaman

To close the workshop, we paraded around the college premises which Jonel our volunteer and I led with a jembe drum as we follow Inang Tala around as she asks classroom after classroom to give attention and honor to the dreams of these children.

When we got back to the activity center, we made a mandalic installation with a song by Gary Granada as part of a ritual of commitment from the volunteer mentors (students, staff, etc.) and shelter coordinators in helping foster love and literacy for these children. 

Inang Tala Mini leads the parade around the school

The streetchildren are proud of their dreams

Dreams like a litter of starfish out on the seashore

A mandalic installation to cap off!

click here for more photos !

do we make art or does art make us?

visual journaling 2005

 

Mastering a skill is a journey and a beautiful process of learning. And wow it is full of surprises too.

Last Saturday, I was invited to facilitate an art workshop with Children International with very little time to prepare a module as I was also cramming for a peace campaign with a series of public events with only two eyes, two hands, one brain, and a 3 year old laptop about to fall apart. And well, the organizer and I also only had a chance to get in touch the day before the workshop.


The night before, I was still totally unprepared, half knowing and trusting I would eventually know as we go along. I only knew that these were young adults 12 to 18 years old who are the best artists from their class and that I was supposed to help them enhance their artistic skills in preparation for an art competition.

But...
How do you teach art to those who already know how to do art?



But then again, who knows exactly how one does art anyway?


Do we make art or does art make us?

My recent experience revealed this primal streak about art making..

So at first I thought, I should prepare a slide show of paintings by local and international master artists to give them an idea of the many ways we can express and perceive reality through visual art.


Then I hesitated.

It would be so wrong to give them a fixed idea of what "art" is. . I should know because I was brought up learning art this way - that if you can copy reality, you are a master artist. I should know because I worked at a museum for 3 years and co-designed studio art workshops (drawing, painting, etc.) with artist facilitators. I should know after heading an art organization of the university art gallery, that if you can be audacious and avante garde, or that if you can pretend something is not obvious but really obvious, then it is what is considered art.

Of course, these are all art.I am always trying to be conscious of not hating western art and museums. The long history of how art has evolved from its place in the daily lives of people into a museum has its own beauty and creativity to honor.But I guess this is not the way I see art now; or rather now how art is just supposed to be. I would rather think that we also need to remember and validate the need of experiencing art and creativity from the inner depths of our consciousness and our immediate understanding of being in the world around us.


Maybe it was the school system, maybe popular culture, maybe it was the museums, maybe the unaware parents who sent children to art workshops to tide them over during vacation, maybe it is a growing culture of enchantment with too much lights, skin, and glamour up on the billboards on the streets. I don't know.



These young people were good. They knew how to represent nature well through symbols, characters, designs, etc. It seemed they did not need me.

For a moment while introducing myself, I suddenly remembered when I was 16. As the class artist, I was asked by my classmates to join an on the spot drawing competition. Right in the middle of the event, I stopped and decided not to pursue the competition for two main reasons. First I felt embarrassed because I saw that all the others were drawing the usual styles of student competitions - from abstract to realistic, to representation, etc.and it made me feel I should make the same kind of pieces. I actually felt that my style which I was still learning to discover might not fit with what the themed competition wanted. Second, I just didn't feel right about doing art to compete and to create impromptu art on a time limit. Hmmmm...in hindsight now, I realized I just made an impromptu art piece by not doing art. Haha.



What does a teacher teach if not his/her own life experience? 

I have learned a lot about how I was taught and saw it as an important intention to facilitate art the way I wanted to experience and learn art and my creative potential.


Because I am on an integral path in my life work, I make sure I emphasize the head, heart, and hands in module writing.  I engaged them through a discussion in understanding how we embody our visions and imagination by feeling them and actually make them, mold them, write them, draw them, sing them, and dance them.


Then we needed to get back to basics by exploring how we define things for this shapes how we create. What is art? What is creativity? We rooted back to creativity rooting back to the word creation which roots back to the word creator. And because there is a higher creator that created all including ourselves, we consider ourselves as co-creators.

a co-created mandala in mediation with children of bantayan island (April 2010)

Because it was environmentally themed, I wanted to reconnect them to the idea of art as creation and art found in all of nature - most especially within us. I asked them why indigenous peoples do not have a word for art or the environment.

I got a shocking answer: "Because they did not learn from the school."

As urbanites in a really poor community (a very far place off the main city) they have not probably glimpsed or experienced endless mountain ranges in the horizon nor a velvet night sky heavily beaded with stars. One girl eventually pointed out that it was because the indigenous peoples never felt separate from the environment that they had no word for it. I was just so happy she knew. I only learned this profound realization as a 23 year old! I told them even in art making, the original cultures created art for everyday life. I emphasized that true artists have deep connection with everything and never see things as separate from oneself, the artmaking process, and the artwork itself. 

quick, rough sketching of the ivory saints collection of Ayala Museum

What is an art workshop without art exercises?


I made sure we addressed the abovementioned fundamentals of being an artist before we ran through the basic elements of art to check if they were familiar with these. Since it was an art workshop to enhance skills in visual art, I ran through several drawing techniques such as the viewfinder grid style, developing perspectives, etc.


And then when I let that all go, all the magic came about.


It brought me shivers and great insight and gratitude that I was being guided as I connected the lessons together with life.After each 5-15 minute exercise, I did a feelings check and an exploration on what important life lessons these exercises revealed. We had very interesting insights from each activity.

• Non-dominant hand drawing play: 
• Unlearning is important in expanding ones mind and fertilizing imagination 
• That there are no rules in art making. The more we play, the more we create beautifully
• It is important to feel and express feelings in art making.. The artwork must invoke feelings too.
• As we play we realize there are many ways of seeing reality and this helps in creative problem solving.

• Using the Tonal Value scale (they told me they have not used this in school before)
• That there are many levels to things and not everything is black and white.

• Drawing one's hand from the right side of the brain using the non-dominant hand without looking but tracing the outline of the hand with the eye
• Art making requires self discipline 
• The artwork is also the process of art making itself 
• One of the students said that the artwork was ugly which led me to ask them how do they define beauty? There were several answers from which we realized that there are different contexts and perspectives in measuring beauty. One answer that struck me was how something that holds meaning to oneself is beautiful 
• Practicing this exercise everyday will help them master drawing naturally without thinking. 

• Exploring negative space drawing (This realization brought me shivers)
• That the true artist can make the invisible visible 
• Everything is connected - like energy fields among the spaces between things.
• The true artist is connected with his/her spirit.

• Symbol making through a mandala
• An artist uses symbols to represent meaning and reality 
• A symbol is powerful for it not only expresses meaning but invokes feelings and memory
• A mandala shows the connection of the self with others and the world around us just as an artists reconnects us to these levels of existence.

In closing the activity, I shared with them important insights based on spiritual art practices. I shared that visual journaling to document memories and intentions visually aids affirmations as it already manifests a big percentage of a a wish or intention. Being an artist is powerful.


We closed with a breathing prayer with reflections on gratitude and the intention of being genuine artists. A true artist grounds and connects with the spirit. The more we can master and be aware of our breath, the clearer we see and the more vivid we can communicate with our art.


Indeed it was a truly beautiful morning allowing myself to surrender to all these guidance. I mean, it wasn't a burning bush or automatic hand drawing but all these insights and exercises just synchronized itself organically as the exercises took place - the words I spoke, the insights revealed by the students just magically wove together.

As I continue to learn and allow, more and more I deepen my belief in the beautiful guidance that takes place only if we allow ourselves to empty and to surrender to the sacred process of how things manifest. If our intention is pure, then we channel clearly. This is an ongoing journey. I am learning with these young people. I am grateful to bear witness to this, how the universe is displaying its grand power in front of my eyes, or rather through us all. I am grateful.

Art is Life! A collection of my co-created art projects from 2004 - 2010

A collection of sacred arts, transformative arts, community based arts workshops with artist friends, community members, and children

Inner Space in Cyber Space

I am writing this after catching a feather that floated inside my room. 
I see this as an auspicious go signal.

Yesterday, after conducting an expressive arts and mandala workshop, I gave my first formal talk about visual journaling to a group of nuns in formation. For the first time, I shared my journal drawings and writings to people I did not know.

The truth is, I miss writing in my notebook. 

After recording for about 17 years, I stopped writing regularly two years ago. A painful life experience in fear and co-dependence led me to close my lips, my imagination, and my heart to my inner world. I could not move my hands to write properly. Disoriented like a dervish with no center, I was afraid to manifest and to speak out.

I am now breaking my silence and slowly writing again.

I am encouraging myself to express my life in words despite growing tired of reading and writing through the years, secretly wanting to converse telepathically or in the simplest of words and actions. Although most of my inner thoughts and wonders will still be in my journal, it would be beautiful to share light and be light as I converse with the universe this way.

It rained yesterday after months of intense heat. I smelled the salt of the sea intensely and in double decibels, I heard the drops of water from the broken garden faucet gravitating towards the bucket just as the sky was about to let go.

It poured for more than an hour and it blessed the parched lands and weary souls of Manila. 

It blessed me.

I am now undulating in this ocean of possibility as I dedicate this online journal to my journey of recovering my artistic path. Let's walk together.