Process/Talks

A previous project almost ate me out alive and I rose out of it thankful that I got through it, of course, and a new declaration: NEVER ACCEPT PROJECTS I'M NOT IN LOVE WITH! It's a hard thing, standing by this declaration when you're a freelancer, but I've never felt so miserable, wasting my time on something that didn't make me the slightest bit happy. I hope you find a way to share my manifesto, too. I am always ecstatic to find out that the work I love, this whole illustration shindig, is appreciated by others. And more so if by people I respect and admire! A couple of months back, the very awesome Manix Abrera emailed me if I would be interested in sharing my process onto this magazine he helps out called Metroserye. Of course I was, of course I am. So anyway I did and last Saturday, the fourth issue, and its first ART issue was launched at this lovely new place called Cool Beans along Maginhawa at Teachers' Village. I tried to, as much as possible, share coherent fragments of my process but I don't know if I made sense at all. Nice, on the other hand gave an absolutely intelligent answer on her non-process, hehe. Anyways, it was a fun afternoon and it was so glad meeting those who were there. Thanks Mookie, Manix, Anina and the rest of Metroserye!
Here are some photos from Metroserye's facebook page (I hope you don't mind I borrowed these!): Metroserye is sold at Filipinas Heritage Library, the UST Press, the Ayala Museum and Fully Booked High Street and Katipunan. :)

Deep kisses, strange adventures, midnight swims: a summer playlist for you.

Deep kisses, strange adventures, midnight swims. from TheCuriousStudio on 8tracks Radio.

:)

On tattoos and being vegetarian.

I just recently 'quit' purchasing products that aren't cruelty free.  You'd be surprised how many of the products we use in our everyday lives are at the cost of an animal. I thought it would be hard (and expensive!) but man am I glad I live in this day and age where, like I said in a previous post, there is a shift towards positivity.  More and more people are trying, nay, wanting to be conscious of the lifestyle choices they make. 

Anyway. This new shift I took towards more ethical consumption led me to thinking about tattoos as well, and how so few people think about how this can extend to tattoos. Well it does.  I thought it'd be nice to talk about how to extend vegetarianism to tattoos, because I sort of live those two lives and all. This is for your reference, if you are vegetarian and are considering getting or adding tattoos, or even if you aren't and want to lead a cruelty-less life, in one way or another. :)

First, inks.  I thank the tattoo industry for coming out with quite a number of vegan inks. I personally use (and love) Fusion and Intenze Inks, both of which are vegan. It should be noted that despite being vegan, these ink brands definitely do not compromise their quality!

Photo from fusioninks.com

photo from Intenzeinks.com

Here are other vegan inks for your consideration:

• Skin Candy/Bloodline
• Eternal
• Waverly
• Stable (which is difficult to purchase unless you are a shop owner, really)
• Alla Prima

 Make sure to ask your tattoo artist if he has these inks--Fusion, Skin Candy, Intenze and Eternal inks are now easily available in the Philippines.

Second, aftercare.  After your tattoo session, your tattoo should take around two weeks to heal and during that time, it should be handled hygienically and with care.  You shouldn't swim in chlorinated water within this two week period nor should you go to the beach.  Neither should you scratch the new tattoo (it will scab)! To aid the healing process, to moisturize and nourish your new ink, get your own tattoo aftercare lotion. (Especially if you plan on getting more!) There are a couple of aftercare lotions that are readily available in Metro Manila. I personally use After Inked, which is a paraben-free, non-allergenic, non-irritating, vegan and best of all cruelty free lotion.

I recently saw Ink Butter available locally, too. Kinda pricey but that packaging is just lovely.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me!

Register now for Save Philippine Seas and R4C's Dash for the Seas! Burn nothing but calories!

Register now for the Seatizen’s Festival’s Dash for the Seas in selected Chris Sports branches and Fitness & Athletics.

• You can come in a sea-inspired costume. Prizes await the most creative ones!
• No plastic and paper cups will be provided at the water stations. Participants and organizers alike must bring their own water bottles.
• Meals of the marshals and other volunteers will not be in Styrofoam or plastic.
• All materials for the directional signs are tarps that have been re-used every R4C’s races since 2008, replacing only those that are not usable.
• All publicity materials printed on tarpaulin will be donated to the Children’s Environmental Education Awareness Foundation, a non-profit that upcycles tarps into schoolbags.

 To download the registration form, please click here! Oh and don't forget to print on recycled paper! :) Yaaay see you there!

Oh no, a new obsession.

I started learning to sew late. Really late.  I think I only learned two years ago, and that was mainly just embroidery, a rather decorative kind of needlework. (Please refer to my Karesinda exhibit, shown here.) So anyway, just last Holy Week, while chilling out at my family house in La Union, my mom brought out her new sewing machine (btw, my mom learned late too) and taught me the basics.  True to my studio name, I got really curious and I am staying super curious, and well, I'm pretty hooked.  Just last Saturday, I dragged J to the Manila New Port Shopping Area and got myself a pre-loved baby. Friends and friends, please say hello to Astrud!

Heeheeheehee! A note to friends who might possibly want to hang out soon (non-work related), I may be busy. I can see my next few weeks from hereon, like a hermit tinkering with a new baby.  I already whipped out all the nice fabrics I've been saving up for something special and got some new ones, too! Excited to show them to you soon.

Anyway, other than my mom's sewing 101 tutorial, I got all the help I could from youtube and blogs.  Thank you internet, I love you so.  I just wanted to share my favorite tutors to you, just in case you catched the sewing bug I did.

• Threads Youtube Channel.  Very basic, not as 'hip' as the next few ones (and you know with my attention span and all I need to be entertained constantly), but very informative and straight to the point.
• Boatpeople Vintage Youtube Channel.  I love love love this channel.  Ari has the best looking videos, simple and with good typography, good music and easy to understand tutorials for beginners like me.
• Craftovision Youtube Channel.  Another fun channel with a loooot of tutorials that range from nail art to Christmas ornaments to operating a sewing machine.
• Misako Minimoko.  A very very cute blog with lots of crafty projects to do, mostly of the sewing variety. Honestly, this blog brings warmth to my heart.
• The Things We Do.  Another yummy crafty blog. I may have a hard time sleeping tonight because I am soooo excited.
• DesignSponge DIY page.  Of course you've heard about Design Sponge right? Right? If you haven't please, go there right now and not even finish reading this post.  (Meanwhile the rest of you stay a bit to finish this post because I have a question below). Design Sponge has been a long-time favorite blog of mine (along with the usual suspects, OhJoy, DesignWorkLife, Creature Comforts...) but their DIY page is absolutely superb.  You get everything you possibly want to make there!

I hope you enjoy them!  Are there any  other blogs you recommend?  Please let me know! :) - W

On books.

Photo from Pinterest! Please let me know if you know who took this photo! This is lovely.

There are three things I loved as a child that I still love very much so today: 1. drawing, 2. going to the beach, and 3. reading. I often talk about the first two, not so much about the latter because, well, I am often enchanted.  I'm often speechless when enchanted with another world, another era, a different story. Here are some of books that have left a mark on me.

1. The Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
Don't ever tell anybody anything.  If you do, you start missing everybody. 

2. The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint Exupery
Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.
 
3. The Bell Jar - Sylvia PlathI took a deep breath and listened to the old bray of my heart:  I am, I am, I am.  
 
4. Blankets -Craig ThompsonHow satisfying is it to leave a mark on a blank surface. To make a map of my movement--no matter how temporary.

5. Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami 
Don't feel sorry for yourself. Only assholes do that.

6. The Shrinking of Treehorn - Florence Parry Heide
 He's still shrinking, sniff Treehorn's mother. Heaven knows I've tried to be a good mother. (Plus the book is illustrated by Edward Gorey, one of my favorite illustrators ever. A must-read for kids and adults alike.)

7. Eat Pray Love - Elizabeth Gilbert 
This is a good sign, having a broken heart. It means we have tried for something.  

8. She's Come Undone - Wally Lamb
 It was a matter of perspective, I began to see. The whole world was crazy; I'd flattered myself by assuming I was a semifinalist.
 
9. The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing - Melissa Bank
 The only relationships I haven't wrecked right away were the ones that wrecked me later.

10. Franny & Zooey - JD Salinger 
We're the tattooed lady, and we're never going to have a minute's peace, the rest of our lives, until everybody else is tattooed, too.

11. Diary - Chuck Palahniuk
 It's so hard to forget pain, but it's even harder to remember sweetness. We have no scar to show for happiness. We learn so little from peace.
 
12. Sputnik Sweetheart - Haruki Murakami  
We're both looking at the same moon, in the same world. We're connected to reality by the same line. All I have to do is quietly draw it towards me. 

13. Kitchen - Banana Yoshimoto 
It was at once a miracle and the most natural thing in the world.  

Powered by Positivity.

My immediate reaction towards the question of just how significant the youth's involvement is towards development is a silent reverie apropos to perhaps the most popular song sung about it: Whitney Houston's 'The Greatest Love of All'. Shortly after, my mind recoils from the obvious, are there any other reasons aside from those stated in the song? Has Ms. Houston said it all, sung it all? It is a worldly acclaimed anthem, after all, millions nodding and singing along with it.

After days of pondering, going back and forth and trying to erase that song from the picture, I sat down, relaxed and found my answer. While the question lies with focus on the youth, little do we notice the others present, but not too visible, in the question. Driving development is a process that should hopefully be all inclusive, very importantly, of the youth. Involving the youth in driving development is essential because of their very potentials and capacities, which I shall discuss shortly, and secondly and less discerned, because of the role everybody external to this 'youth bracket' has come to realize.

Involving the youth in actions towards progress is an ever-amplified affair as it is a continuous cycle. Today's youth are equipped with augmented access to information and other networks, more so than we would have imagined ten years ago. With these they have the capacity to develop new ideas and invigorating ways of dealing with old problems. This cycle goes on; the youth will and always will be important drivers towards development. As is the cycle of progress, there will come a time for new problems to arise when the old ones have been amended and there shall always be a new generation that shall bring forth newer solutions and perspectives.

Not only is this current generation accorded with unprecedented enhanced technology and information, but I have observed a growing shift towards positivity. In my 28 years of existence, it is only recently that I witness a global positive transformation towards those which are 'good'--there is generally an outburst of kindness, of people wanting to volunteer for good causes like planting trees, cleaning up shores, helping victims of natural tragedies. Overall, there is a global realization, especially with the youth, that every little action affects everything else. The youth are now more conscious of the effects of their actions; via technology perhaps, they now understand how intricately linked all humans are with each other and with the earth. They now know that they can help, in every little way they can. Furthermore, the youth now understands how loud their voice resonates. The youth are heard better now, thanks to social networks, whereas back in the day I remember the youth's angry pleas for consideration. The youth is empowered now more than ever. They are, most importantly, empowered by positivity.

The youth are important drivers of development because they let the past youth, those who are past the bracket, reassess what they have done and how far they have come. Involving the youth in developmental pursuits is a nod to sustainable and all-inclusive progress. We all share roles that generate development and we all benefit from this relationship. It is an expansion of the horizon, a welcoming of ideas so that we all do this together. Involving the youth is a sign of hopefulness from those in the other ends of the spectrum. They were the youth once, and now we are it. It is a declaration of agreement, that we are all important.