8/10/12

Cadena de Amor, Ikaduha





Freeze! Quit! Stop it!




What's wrong?
Nothing.
You are so intense.
So I asked if I should stop.
My daughter said no. Just stop being dramatic.
That's what I mean. I need to stop.
She said No!

I am confused.

I want to be like my daughter.
Who is like my husband.
Stoic.
And not dramatic.
Quietly intense.
Still real.

She just laughs.

Do you think I feel too much?
She said "yes."
Is it bad?
She said no.
I should not control it?
She said just be the way you are.
But everything goes with it.
She said yes.
So?
So just take it easy.

I don't know how.
It happened.
My child has become my teacher.
I am not a very good student.







Cadena de Amor, ikaduha. (Chain of Love, second). Archival colored and pigment ink on 14"x17" Bristol board.



These are pen and ink illustrations on larger bristol boards that will not fit in my scanner which my Mountain Lion rendered obsolete anyway. This is my revenge. I am drawing larger prices. So there! Unfortunately the photographs are subpar and don't capture the vivid colored pigments. I can't win. Update: Reshot the images...

Why are these women wearing native Philippine garments?
The Cadena de Amor is a flowering vine that is ubiquitous in the Philippines. I was triggered to draw this series after my recent trips to the Philippines. One day, my sisters and I went to the hospital to visit our sick sister. On the way to the hospital, we stopped at a red light. A little boy selling flower garlands peered into our car through the tinted windows. He wanted us to buy from him. He was about seven years old. Throughout the three trips I made to Metro Manila within one year, I saw many children living in the streets. The youngest vendor I ever saw was about three years old near the University of Santo Tomas. That month, the university through the Catholic church was opposing a congressional bill related to birth control. That night, there were many homeless families setting up mats as beds from corrugated  boxes. They were family units with adult males and females. On another night, we left the hospital at 2:00AM. Along a main street in Pasay City, there was an entire family unit sleeping on the sidewalk. The woman was breastfeeding a baby and she also had a toddler who appeared listless. Thoughts were running through my mind. I wanted to say something but I could not verbalize. After my sister's funeral, on the the last day of my third trip, my eldest sister took me to the airport. The traffic was horrendous and it was moving at a snail's pace. When I looked out the window, I saw a woman sleeping under an overpass. She was breastfeeding a baby. Near the airport there were so many street children working as vendors selling and begging. I have never been speechless. For once I did not really know what to say that could make the situation better. I understand there are socio-political, cultural and religious aspects to this problem. I thought to myself that somewhere along the way, there must have been some sort of love to cause the procreation. Sometimes the only way for me to deal with something is to imagine myself in such a situation. If love had anything to do with this kind of living, I would choose death than experience love. I will cut that chain of love in a hurry. So simplistic and I know it is not simple, or maybe it is. Let no man ever subject me and my children into living in such misery. I would rather be dead. I know I am wrong but I do not know how to make it right without morally fencing with the church. As someone once told me, everyone has the right to love and procreate and it is none of my business. Just like the way it was, everyone was just minding their own business.





18 comments:

Ted Blackman said...

I'm afraid I like you photographing your art better, because now I can enlarge them. heh heh.

Is that you jumping from the black widow spider panel into the vicinity of the hornets nest? Please be careful.

Deborah said...

Oh Ces, I love the color!!! Please excuse my absence; I have been under the attack of a virus this week. ACK.
The images in your mind, I can see those too, and I know not what to do with them. It is one of the most difficult things in life, to witness such poverty and not be able to change it in any meaningful way. So many things I do not understand. But this I know, YOU are a true artist, and please do not change a thing!
**kisskiss** Deb

Rick Forrestal said...

Excuse me for chuckling.
I can relate to every word . . .
every one.
(I love how our children transform into our teachers.)

Arija said...

Ces, thank you for being. I love you so very much. Tsup . . .

Rod MacGregor said...

Great post...amazing artwork Ces!

Manon said...

I can also relate to the exchange between you and your daughter......lol!! It's great isn't it? : P Love this piece, Ces. I saw it on FB and love the color you put in it!! <3

Ces Adorio said...

Ted, I remember you mentioning that the images were small. I bore that in mind. I actually posted this as extra large, just for you.

Ces Adorio said...

Ah Deborah, thank you dearest friend. I hope you feel better soon. The older I get, the less I know and the less courage I have. I don't even like art that much. Seriously. It is burdensome for me. This was supposed to be a leisure activity. But hey, it's saturday and bright and sunny and the floods have receded in Manila.

Ces Adorio said...

Really?!?!?!!!! Whoooaaaa! Hehehehe!

Ces Adorio said...

And I love you too. I think of you everyday and all I can do is pray. Tsup!

Ces Adorio said...

Hello there, lovely. I can see that between you and A. Hehehe. Thanks.

Ces Adorio said...

Hi Rod, thank you.

k.h.whitaker said...

She's gorgeous Ces. I love the conversation you had with your daughter. It's amazing how the mother daughter relationship grows and changes.

Bella Sinclair said...

How wonderful to be greeted by the vibrant colors in your header. It makes me feel so alive!

Hehehe, hmmmm. Now I wonder where your lovely daughter got all her wisdom.....

Beautiful series. Thank goodness those chains do not break so easily.

Enjoy your Saturday. TSUP!

Ces Adorio said...

Hi Karn. Thank you. Yes, it is amazing and wonderful to witness little girls grow up to be smart and wise teenagers and young women. The first time my daughter politely told me I was wrong and what I was doing was not sound, I stepped back and actually listened. I consult her on matters that she may be able to shed some light. I think it is good for them to be in a position where they have to weigh both sides and then make a decision.

Ces Adorio said...

And how wonderful it is to see you come out and take a break from your busy summer schedule and leave a cheerful and inspirational comment.

As for the chains, the idea is to break off from them. The chains are symbols of oppression, betrayal and subjugation.

I will enjoy my Saturday if you enjoy yours!

TSUP!

outdoor bean bags said...

Wow! You have a kind heart to be able to feel sorry for those people. We may not able to know how to help them but let's include them in our prayers. That's the least we could do.

MrBibleHead said...

Amazing Ces! Love the fragile beauty and inspiration word/art combination! One word...."WoW!"