16 Months to Go

It’s been set, my first debut solo show has been scheduled 16 months from now. A solo show as they say, marks the success of an artist in breaking into the scene but this has been much delayed. I was offered the solo show last year and had I worked on it sooner, I could have debuted earlier – but of course, I do believe that I needed to be side-tracked to realize the greater things I need to prioritize.

I find myself back to where I was and realizing where I should be, at home in Sta Rosa where I now fix and organize my literary-office/book-art studio and wood shop with much excitement. Things I believe are falling into place and I’ve set my goal. Research and studies fill my idle times aside from working on the studio which proves to be laborious.

Repainting the walls after 15 years and refurbishing furniture. It is due to the fact that I must live a frugal life where I have to do these things on my own. A meagre salary from writing and a few projects here and there doesn’t promote an indulgent lifestyle. It’s a good thing I find happiness in laborious things – it is one of the things that make me happy when I’ve successfully finished doing the things that seemed impossible and seemed tiring.

I do not expect that I will be able to go out as often as I’d like but I’ve willingly embraced this loneliness to work on my show and other projects. There is contentment and satisfaction as I see small fruits of my labour. To add to the fact that I must live as frugal as I should, going out will be very much limited which is something that I’ve accepted. I content myself with the simple joys of hearing different great news from friends and ex-lovers. I recently found out that one of my ex-lovers from college is going to get married, I am thrilled and happy for her.

However, since I have thrown myself away from the Gates of Hell(Manila, in its most romantic description), my joys and happiness for these people have become nothing more than a murmur in another corner of the universe, let it be so for my sadness. How terrible it is to not be able to express happiness in one’s own way but be reduced to nothing more than words and Facebook statuses and messages…

I have gathered enough materials to start and some of the pieces I’ve already started working on.

My solo show is about the Human Condition, which proves to be quite a heavy and deep concept which requires a lot of research and a lot of books to read. I must study and further explore ideas and continue to work on which is the best way to execute, despite difficulties.

There is no easy way to this.

Comet Dec 28 2012

This morning, I woke up with an email from a dear friend.

COMET

I love the distant memory

because it hands like the branch

on the lemon tree in our yard, 

the dog jumps onto the bed

with a green ball between his jaws

and shakes it, he growls, his eyes are fierce,

I grab it after a minor struggle

and throw it, down it goes and bounces

over rough terrain, past tumbleweed

and lava markings, past the stream

and down a dry arroyo, the canine mind

calculates and amalgamates, the dog engines

begin to rev up, all gears are ready. . .

Comet turns quickly and leaps

onto the floor, he rushes past the door

and enters the earth spread out before him,

he is after that green ball

and nothing will deter him

I love Comet

a border collie, Australian shepherd mix,

he lives in my head and

zig zagged through my forties and early fifties,

we ruled the hillside and slid together

down tough grades of gravel,

he lived a tame wild life in this city

of cats and bicycles, he loved

two masters, he served one antique code

to live and to enter

into the kingdom, his eyes fell to rest

as I held on to the metal gurney

one late morning, his back had gone out

but the spirit spun

-Neeli Cherkovski 

Dec 28 2012

Malakaῆang Thursdays at Blot Art Studio

A weekly event that gathers artists, musicians, and art enthusiasts happens at Blot Art Studio Makati.
Running on its Fourth Week, Malakaῆang Thursdays will now feature the sound artist Sleepersecond and a Didgeridoo performer Fitzroy.

In the previous weeks it had several artists to perform and share their talents to fellow artists.

Makati-based Japanese artist Atsuko Yamagata impressed the audience by performing her art which is live-painting accompanied by music. Yamagata expresses the music she hears and paints them on canvas. Every stroke and movement influenced heavily by the music and poetry in her background.

Bobby Balingit’s fascinating guitar performance accompanied Atsuko Yamagata’s work in order to create a painting that is created through her auditory environment.

Kooky Tuason, Marty Tengco, and Raul Roco Jr read poetry amidst music and live-painting.

The environment in Malakaῆang Thursday gives a cozy and warm invitation, with comfortable and uniquely made furniture by the artists themselves. It is a place where you can be surrounded by fascinating artworks and even witness how they’re made in action.

This event aims to create a community of artists that share and showcase their talents, to meet new artists and perhaps come up with collaborations in the future. It provides an alternative venue that deviates from other regular venues and offers a place where people can just chill, hang-out and meet artists in an intimate fashion. Whether you want to hear poetry while holding a beer in your hand or hear electronic-sound-art, then Malakaῆang Thursdays is something to look forward to each week.

See you Thursday at Malakaῆang!

Malakaῆang Thursday happens each week at 7PM - 12AM

Blot Art Studio

9726 Pililia St. corner Kalayaan Ave. Brgy Valenzuela, Makati City

http://blotartstudio.com

Under the Maddening Moon of March Laurel Ocol Exhibit

Veronica Laurel and AK Ocol will hold their very first Two Woman Show happening at Big Bad Wolf, located in G/F Fairways Tower 5th Ave corner Mckinley in Bonifacio Global City Taguig.

The exhibit will open on the 25th of October at 8PM and will end on November 2.

This show features the intricate and delicate works of Veronica Laurel that is made up of binded paper and sculpted wood applied in bookarts and furniture while AK Ocol's obsessively detailed drawings balances out the former artist's work with images that dares the viewers to look into another dimension.

Nondualism at Blot Art Studio Makati

Ten artists are going to exhibit at Blot Art Studio this coming 31st, just a day before Halloween. Aside from showing contemporary arts today, there will also be live musical performances. 

Nondualism:"We live in a world of dual illusions, a right and wrong, black and white. Nondualism is a concept that shatters the fragile shell of duality, taking the two different perceived things and looking at them as one and the same. This group exhibit challenges artists from different fields and medium to explore the neither nor idea that can free a person’s perception of things and the world we live in. "

Artists:

BENEDICT ABIGAN, BOBBY BALINGIT, BK CALUCIN, ELEANOR GIRON, VERONICA LAUREL, JOEE MEJIAS, WAYAN NARRA, MAKI NAVARRETE, AB PAREDES, ROMMEL PIDAZO

Blot Art Studio is one of the latest contemporary gallery and art studio in Makati today that offers art education, residency, exhibits, and other events. It welcomes community of artists locally and internationally that opts to share their talents and creativity in order to create outstanding works.

You can find the FB Page right here.

The Event page is here.

Map:

Kalayaan Ave will be blocked for that day and JP Rizal ave will be a two way road. Parking spaces are available as long as the vehicle is parked on the right parking side.

See you there!

Cat Condo

I forgot to post this really old cat condo I have made several months ago for a friend who has two lovely cats.
Cat condos are nice and it really helps the kitties have their own cave or space they can retreat to. It also functions as a scratching post so you can definitely have your beautiful furniture spared from cat claws.

More Cat Condos are available at Blot Art Studio 9726 Pililia St Corner Kalayaan Santiago Village Brgy Valenzuela Makati.
Opens Monday to Saturdays from 11am to 7pm.

For the tortured...

This day beat the juices out of me and upon arriving at the studio today in Makati, the annoying newly bought mac computer's internet is acting up again. It's so weird that spotify works but the internet browsers couldn't even squeeze out any information from the world wide web.
I hate MACs.

It's started working again when our transient artist tinkered with it.
And to push the bumming moment to its deepest despairing level, I channeled Maria Mena through Spotify.

Listening to her tortured soul that encourages masochism and unrequited love can be quite relaxing though I don't suggest this if you are feeling emotional lest the emotion linger longer than you wanted.

I'm just glad her latest album is starting to sound less dedicated to wall-flowers and beginning to tap her thug soul.