Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Veronica Laurel Books for AIP 2012


It’s been more than a week after the Art in the Park event and I’m only posting now about what a success it was. AIP is probably one of the most exciting days for artists, collectors and people interested in culture and the arts as they meet to see each other’s works, purchase some and display their works to the public while others like art collectors comb the whole place for some rare art finds.

This is a place where you can witness someone buying a P30,000 piece of artwork on the spot without blinking an eye. Artworks range from P100 to P30,000 in this event and the variety of artworks on display exceed the colors of the rainbow.
One great thing about this is that it’s also a fund raising event for the Museum Foundation in order to make their future events and projects possible. Thank you for everyone who attended and those who commissioned book works.

A busy corner where art pieces are being mounted while collectors look at catalogs of artists' works


Here are my works on display at the event, I used ground wood for paper with a natural off-white color. The paper absorbs ink well and is highly recommended for sketches as well (charcoal, pencil, etc)

4x9x7 and probably weighs about a kilo. Tanguili edging, marine wood and ornamental leather latch
8.5x6x9 Almost 20 year old Mango tree branch
Perfect binding method, Almost 20 year old Mango tree branch. 
Was not featured in the collection under Art Informal since I gave it as a gift to a friend.
This is the smallest I've created so far. Just a bit the same size as my mobile phone. I like how the wood borers left a scar on the bark that resembles a maze.
The AIP Postcard, I sent a few to friends who lives outside the country.
If you want to purchase a book from me do drop me a line. By purchasing items, you will be helping me fuel my creative activities and also fund my future exhibits. The smallest book in the picture has a price tag of P500 inclusive of shipping nationwide. 
You can also visit my website at www.veronicalaurel.com

Friday, February 24, 2012

The Future of Animal Farming is an Epic Fail


It is a fact that a huge portion of people in this world eat meat. Since eating meat has been incorporated in our culture, history and some would even refer to ancient texts where snakes talk and it is fine to sell your daughter for slavery.


Are Brainless Chickens the Solution to Animal Cruelty?

Click link to read the article. (Photo: André Ford)

 
In this article, the “artist” wants to address the inhumane ways how factory and industrial farming treat animals. Every single day there are millions of animals that are slaughtered in order to satiate our taste buds.
Unfortunately the artist has failed tragically since despite the chicken not feeling a thing if it dies, cruelty in its sense is more on someone’s spiritual level. The lack of it would make you think of intricate inventions on how to give in to your desires without having to deal with their guilt. Just a sophisticated way to alleviate the burden of a conscience which have achieved nothing but the same thing as the old ways of farming.

Even if the chicken cannot feel or know that it’s going to die, it cannot gloss over the fact that it’s still cruel. Taking a life no matter how you do it, whether the doomed recipient feels, know, sees it or not, and whether you do it with an injection or a pillow, is immoral. Taking away the rights of an animal, in this case the chicken, to live a life naturally is in its sense, is still ultimately cruel, let alone removing its brain and keeping it in an induced coma.

Removing a chicken’s brain and putting it into a state of coma until slaughter day is nothing more than an intricate and discreet manner of cruelty and violence, and will never justify their deaths.

Not to mention that it’s still quite cheaper, easier, convenient and sustainable to just plant vegetables.
People need to demand more vegetables in order for the supplies to make a sudden turn. Vegetables are by far still healthier and better for the human diet.

Then again, if people really cared and has compassion for animals, they would stop stuffing their mouths with meat.
I won’t be surprised if this “installation” would be the future of farming because people today are nothing more than whores of novelty, the commoners today are so enamored with something new that they would embrace it even in such a promiscuous way and despite the fact that it can bring more harm than good.

Watch this film if you really want to know about the things you stuff in your mouth

We must make the choice to eat well. Do not be herded by what commercial food manufacturers are telling you to eat. If we start making the right choices and demands, the rest will follow. :)

Friday, February 17, 2012

Veronica Laurel at Art in the Park Under Art Informal


Veronica Laurel's works will be on display at the Art in the Park fair on Saturday February 18, 2012. You can find her works with the Art Informal booth L4. The fair starts at 2PM and ends at Midnight.

Here's hoping that it's going to be a bright day with the bluest of skies on Saturday. I can't show the rest of my works since some of them still need some finishing touches. The collection that I'm going to show on Saturday is closely created with paper and wood, two important elements in my work and life.

Art Informal Gallery Booth L4 (near the playground)
Art in the Park is a perennial project by the Museum Foundation that happens every February of the year. It is an art fair where art works by famous and prolific artists would have price tags not exceeding the amount of P30,000. This year, works from Ben Cab and other artists will be displayed at very affordable prices. Collectors, artists and pretty much anyone interested in the arts, gather on a one day event to purchase works that may never grace the local market.

See you guys there!

Monday, February 6, 2012

Writing and Blogging Infused with Culture




Blogging on the said event will be - yours truly. Though live-blogging is not exactly something I do usually, this is an event I’m making an exception. The event will discuss SEO writing and useful 101s on blogging.
I also haven’t been to the Yuchengco Museum and this is my chance to visit the place while attending a substantive talk on writing and blogging. It’s not every day that the Freelance Writers Guild of the Philippines will be having events as such, taking advantage of opportunities like this is a must on my list.

The Yuchengco Museum is one of the stone structures that proves the harmony between Filipino-Chinese communities. I wish to one day exhibit my works here but for now, I'm happy just having to visit the place while killing numbers of birds at the same time.The Arts & Culture is something that not all of us have a clear picture with, since most writers tend to stick with the arts of letters. Having this place as a venue really opens up windows into other areas of arts.

There’s a huge number of Filipinos who blog but only a few of them actually get to earn through blogging. The event will also be demystifying SEO writing, which is something not all writers understand. If you wish to take part on SEO writing and start earning through it then I highly suggest that you join in.

Know more about the event on Panitikan.com.ph
 
Reservations are available and I believe that early birds will have discounts. If you have questions then don’t be afraid to ask and call the numbers on the link.

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The Freelance Writers’ Guild of the Philippines (FWGP) teams up with the Yuchengco Museum for a series of writers’ workshops and substantive talks of experts on culture, art, design and heritage. “Media practitioners, journalists and writers are the links by which cultural information and education is disseminated to the general public. In the information age, it is imperative that cultural institutions share substantive knowledge about culture, art, design and heritage. This 2012, Yuchengco Museum focuses on Culture and Media, bringing together ideas, sectors, groups and institutions in collaborative ventures that will highlight Culture as an intrinsic and central pillar for development directions,” museum curator Jeannie Javelosa announced. Under the program Culture and Media, Yuchengco Museum partners with writers groups, the first of which is the FWGP.

The first-in-a-series of workshops kicks off at noon on Saturday, Feb. 11 for a workshop by blogging pioneers Ganns Deen on Blogging 101, Janette Toral on Search Engine Optimization or SEO. Dannie Alvarez of the Yuchengco Museum will give a theoretical framework on culture, to be followed by Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist Arch. Isabel “Cookie” Berenguer Asuncion with her talk on “Let the Eyes Speak, Articulating the Language of Design,” with her talk opened to the general public at 3:30pm.

The FWGP is a new group of freelance writers based in the Philippines. Its members include journalists, newspaper and magazine contributors, copywriters, researchers and documenters, blog writers, screenwriters, literary writers and SEO experts. It is committed to protecting the welfare of freelance writers, and to elevating the quality of their work output.

Yuchengco Museum fosters a greater public appreciation of the finest in Filipino and Filipino-Chinese visual arts and creativity. It does not only showcase art, but also serves as a forum of exchange, debate, and education.

The FWGP’s founder Ime Morales says that the series aims to seek new writers from among the participants of the seminars and mentor/ help them develop writing skills; educate aspiring writers about the different forms of writing for new media/blogs, TV & film, children, among others. The group also wishes to help current writers upgrade their skills, especially in new media. Finally, they wish to enhance the capability of writers – senior, junior and aspiring – by educating them on possible streams or sources of income outside of the practice of their profession.

The Culture and Media Program 2012 will focus on writing for the needs and supporting specifics of the Creative Industries. Lines up by the FWGP are Writing for TV, Film and Theater back-to-back with What Clicks with the Filipino Masa: Motifs in Filipino Blockbuster Films / the Indie Culture in April; Opinion Writing vis-à-vis Filipino Cultural Values: The Spirituality in Filipino Dance and Music for July; and Writing for Children with Philippine Culture and History as Source of Inspiration for Creative Concepts in October.

Workshop fees are pegged at P1,800. inclusive of attendance in one session, a day pass to the Yuchengco Museum, cocktails and a certificate of attendance or participation.

Cash or credit card payments are accepted and may be coursed through the Yuchengco Museum. Check the website for more information and schedules of talks for the year www.yuchengcomsueum.org. For inquiries, email abrina_programs@yuchengcomuseum.org or call 889.1234. The museum is located at the ground floor of RCBC Plaza, corner Ayala and Sen. Gil Puyat Avenues, Makati City.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Designing and Creating a Bookshelf from a Tree Branch


Veronica Laurel will be with Art Informal Gallery at the Art in the Park event

I was invited by Art Informal Gallery to be with them at the Art in the Park event coming this February 18 at Jaime Velasquez Park, Salcedo Village Makati. It is a one day event starting from 2 at noon and ends at Midnight.
Art below 30,000 pesos are on sale from various artists from the veterans to the younger starting artists.
It is a day to celebrate and collect art in the most festive fashion in the month of February.

In order to hold my bound books, a bookcase was needed and I don’t want just any bookcase. My father had cut down a branch from our mango tree that extends more than 8 feet and I thought of using the branch since I know my father would only turn it to coal. To elevate its purpose, I have decided to turn it into a bookcase in order to showcase my book works.

The sketch of the book case

Part of the branch I have cut using a compass saw. These are the materials for the books I'm going to make.
This is the branch, though they've been cut into 4 separate pieces already.
I shall be working on this project until the 16th of February, aside from creating a book case, I will also be binding books with the same materials and element. This collection is something that I've thought of for a long time. Will not be posting results yet but attending the Art in the Park event would definitely enthrall you with the art pieces available on sale. 

My arm ached cutting just a portion, I tried the axe.