6/29/14

Do not go gentle into that good night

Dylan Thomas, 1914 - 1953


Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.




6/28/14

Drawing Life





Drawn Shut




I don't know what's going on but I have no desire to finish what I started a month ago, so I will just share a few images of the project I recently completed. Have a great summer. 





6/23/14

Drawing Served Feature




Congratulations Cecilia, 

You've been featured on Drawing Served.

Our curatorial team features a small number of projects to appear on the front of our gallery each day. We only pick the best work that effectively promotes the Drawing Served community.

Keep creating great things!
The Drawing Served Curatorial Team





6/20/14

The Halcyon Days of Childhood Summer


Movie Snap, Libertad Baybay. Pen and ink on 14"x17" Paris paper.

Who knew that today, my childhood friends and I would be recalling our summers at Movie Snap? The area was named after my father's photography studio which was also our home. Yes, I was born and grew up in a house with a name, but unlike the grand mansions of the rich, ours was a very humble abode made of new and old materials recycled by our father from our previous home on Smith Street which was burned during a city fire before I was born. I spent my first ten years of life in this place, the happiest childhood in memory. The home was my fortress, my refuge and playroom. In it, with my brothers and sisters, I felt loved, nurtured and protected which emboldened us to face together whatever the outside world offered. I could not think of a more idyllic and ideal childhood, yet I knew it was not easy because we had limited financial resources. My father worked long hours at his downtown studio and late nights in our home with my mother's help. I remember the dark room which was located in the middle of the house. A long dark passageway led to an even darker room which although without air-conditioning and considering we lived in the topics was very cool. The room smelled of chemical fixers. Sometimes my father let us go inside the dark room to help him. My younger sister and I did minor chores but he also taught us how to develop the negatives, use the blotter and trim the photo prints. Mostly we played with the film spools which ranged from miniature sizes to gigantic spools used in photostats. This was before the age of Xerox copiers and scanners, before computerized photo prints. This was during the time when each photo print was meticulously processed and inspected. My father had very high standards which sometimes made the chores tedious. Fifty-six years later, looking at the quality of my childhood photographs, I understand why he refused to take shortcuts.


6/2/14

Happy Birthday To My Beloved Sister Freah!!!



Movie Snap, Libertad Baybay. Pen and ink on 14"x17" Paris paper.



Happy Birthday, Inday Freah. Tsup!

This was my childhood paradise:

This is an illustration of my childhood universe - halcyon days to a child. This is Movie Snap at Libertad Baybay in Bacolod City. The place was named after my father's photography studio. I was born in this house, four years after my older sister Freah was born on the same day. The first ten years of my life gave me the happiest childhood ever imaginable, growing up with my five sisters and two brothers. When I was ten years old, we moved to the suburbs. The old neighborhood was demolished including our houses. We just rented the land and the owner sold it to an automotive shop owner. Most recently is has become another neighborhood, very crowded and unlike the one we had, the children do not have a field and a  paved driveway where they could play. I practically stayed outside from morning until dusk, even played in the rain with my friends. Sometimes, with our parents and older brothers and sisters, we would play after supper until we were ready to turn in for the night. Although it was a private driveway, there was a convenient street light in the middle of our playground. We played so many games. To a child it was a playground paradise where we invented games requiring physical skill, dexterity, logic, and strategy. We faced our bullies and handled them without adult mediation. Today, my childhood friends and I are still friends, connecting through social media. From such a humble place, it is comforting to know we all turned out fine. Those games must have taught us a lesson or two. :)



Clockwise from far left: playing with strung live beetles, Hampang sa balas (Playing in sand), confronting the bully, Tuhog-tuhog (hooking rubber bands burried in sand, Sakaanay sa kahoy (tree climbing while my sister do chores), Palupad Burador (Flying kites), playing with stilts, Sorbete (buying street ice cream),  Bug-oy (playing with cowrie shells), pedal skate racing, burobaruto (playing with paper boats), Holen (hole-in) a marble game, 

Clockwise from far left: Pulopahuway (lazing in the heat), even the dog is hot, pitik-anay lastico (another rubber band game), damang (playing with spiders), hiding in the garden from my family, jump rope, rope jumping with friends (there are Ilonggo terms for these which I have forgotten), tiange-tiange(store) and checkers, taksi (playing with bottle caps - this was considered a gambling game by adults :), kick (I talked about it here), taguanay (hide and seek - these had many variations including "under the sea kingdom), sometimes I just wanted to play alone with my homemade pedal skate.


Clockwise from far left:  (bicycle - which is really a tricycle), climbing trees and lazing around, tubiganay - don't think there is an English equivalent for this game, piko (hopscotch), man-og man-og (literally translates to snake-snake but this is snap-the-whip), in the middle is pikyaw - there is no English equivalent for this game, three girls play "bagul" a game requiring difficult maneuvers using rubber slippers, stepping on "huya-huya" (shy-shy) a plant (Mimosa pudica) that closes when touched, shot-bong (hitting the can with a flat rock, the quiet games (playing store, checkers, playing with dolls, jackstones and cars), playing with Hammer - the dog, chalk art.