we wander

it was a project involving selected members of Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan doing an illustration for notecards for Filipinas Heritage Library, that gave way to having an actual exhibit featuring the exploration of the mind while and/or after indulging on a good read.

with this illustration, i want to involve my nephews and niece. and we used to read a lot during bed times but i never really read the text - i let them make stories.

during bedtime stories, we wander
mixed media and collage on paper
2011

INK facts!

 

According to Ms. Liza Flores (one of our advisers)' post one early morning (or dinner time)... ANYWAY

Ang INK TRIVIA
20 Things you may or may not know about INK.

 

 

(1)
Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan (Ang INK) was founded on June 7, 1991 during a Children's Book Illustration Workshop sponsored by the Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY) and the Goethe-Institut Manila. The workshop was conducted by visiting German illustrator Reinhard Michl.

(2)
During its first year, Ang INK grew from 21 workshop participants to more than 70 members. Ang INK members are also known as "INKies."

(3)
It was Robert Alejandro's idea to call Ang INK, "INK." It was Bernie Solina's idea that the "I" should stand for "Ilustrador." As a joke, "INK" initially stood for "Inihaw na Kambing" ("broiled goat").

(4)
Mel Silvestre was chosen as Ang INK's very first president because he was literally someone that everyone could "look up to." He was succeeded as president by Joanne de Leon.

(5)
Ang INK has received several awards as a group, including a Pearl Anniversary Reading Advocacy Award from the Reading Association of the Philippines in 2000, and a Citation from the Philippine Board on Books for Young People in 2001.

(6)
Marikina Mayor Marides Fernando gave Ang INK the key to the City of Marikina, along with a Plaque of Appreciation from the City Government of Marikina for Significant Contribution to the Success of the 2006 Shoe Festival.

(7)
Ang INK awards honourary membership as an expression of appreciation to illustrators who have rendered outstanding service without being affiliated to the organisation. Ang INK's honourary INKies are Larry Alcala, Jose Aruego, Albert Gamos, Crisostomo Ibarra, Marcy Dans Lee and Reinhardt Michl.

(8)
The themes of Ang INK's annual exhibits center on Filipino life and culture as may be seen and appreciated by children. These themes include a child's daily life, dreams, games and stories; Philippine tourism, history, folktales, mythology and wildlife; the art of Larry Alcala and the stories of Lola Basyang and Rene Villanueva.

(9)
Many Ang INK members are recipients of awards such as the Philippine Board on Books for Young People Illustratror's Prize, Palanca Awards, Gintong Aklat Awards and National Children's Book Awards.

(10)
Ang INK has come out with five books as a group: "Water in the Ring of Fire" (1999), "INKuwento" (1999), "Kuwentong Kalikasan, Katha ng Kabataan" (1999), "CCCD Made Easy" (2003), "Hale Hale Hoy" (2006) and "Mga Tambay sa Tabi-Tabi" (2009). Also as a group, Ang INK has also worked on three workbooks for the World Wildlife Fund: "The WWF Philippines Workbook on Philippine Animals" (1999), "Happy Habitats" (2005) and "Climate Change Changes Everything" (2007).

(11)
All in all, including its annual exhibits, InK's mounted a total of 32 exhibits.

(12)
Aside from children's books, Ang INK produces art for children for media including comics, magazines, newspapers, workbooks, websites, animation, greeting cards, posters, murals, postcards, and even TV commercials.

(13)
Inkie Ferdinand Doctolero won second place at the Noma Concours for Picture Book Illustrations, a prestigious international competition. Other INKies who have been honoured at the Noma Concours include Panch Alcaraz, Serge Bumatay III, Beth P. Doctolero and Jomike Tejido.

(14)
It's been 12 years since Ang INK last held an exhibit at Ayala Museum: "INKuwento," its 7th annual exhibit was held in 1999, and "Buhay Bata," its 4th annual exhibit, was held in 1995.

(15)

Ang INK's very first annual exhibit was held in March 1992 at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila.

(16)
In 2006, Ang INK was one of six Philippine artist organisations invited by the Metropolitan Museum of Manila to participate in an exhibit called "Tipon."

(17)
In 2008, Ang INK joined the celebrations for the 25th anniversary of the Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY) by mounting a traveling exhibit. The exhibit featured life-size sculptures of the 25 best-loved children's book characters as determined by a survey of hundreds of Filipino children. The exhibit went to the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the Manila International Book Fair, the University of the Philippines Film Center and the Marikina Convention Center.

(18)
Ang INK’s logo was designed by Endo Pascasio.

(19)
Children’s books in the early 90’s such as the Aklat Batibot series, were printed with half of its pages in black and white and the other half in color because of the prohibitive costs of full-color printing. These days, printing has become more affordable and books are done in a variety of styles: traditional media, mixed collages, and even digital renderings.

(20)
So far, the INKies with the most published books over Ang INK’s 20 years are Beth Parrocha-Doctolero with 47 books, Jomike Tejido with 42 books, Kora Dandan-Albano with 38 books, and Jason Moss with 27 books.

i'm an inkie i

November was a busy month for Ang lustrador ng Kabataan!

Primarily, it was our 20th birthday and Ayala Museum is generous enough to host a retrospective and our annual exhibit in their lobby for 3 months!

here are some photos from planning to ingress to the actual opening night! (grabbed from other inkies' posts, thanks!)

the plan

preparing the faux frames at UP Diliman

laying out all the artworks! and i must say they are about 300+!

inkies playing on pompoms!haha

Ruben De Jesus, one of the founding members and advisers of Ang Ink

our birthday cake!

group pic!

-------------------------------------------

one of my books was included in the retrospective - Ang Alamat ng Gagamba (The Legend of the Spider) written by Segundo D. Matias, Jr., published by Lampara Books.

In the old days, there was a talented cloth weaver. She did nothing else but weave and weave. She wove the clothes of her townmates, she also wove the garments of the majestic queen, and she wove still the dress of a generous nymph.
But as she became famous as a cloth weaver, she also became haughty and arrogant.
Find out in this modern legend how the spider came about and the importance of humility in times of success and bounty.

this is Gamba, the talented cloth weaver.

and here's my work for the annual exhibit, shown simultaneously with the retrospective featuring illustrations of untold narratives. notice the different style i put into each work. i am hopeful that someday (at the soonest future), local book industry will publish children's books featuring illustrations such as these - unbound by the 'cutesy' culture, more abstract, unadulterated.

Untitled (kumot)

Acrylic, collage and graphite on canvas

2011

here's the installation view:

a retrospective of actual illustrations of 75 children's books published from 1991 upon Ang Ink's formation until present!

a showcase of works by members of Ang Ink ranging from conventional styles to more contemporary illustrations!

to view more of the exhibit visit Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan, 20 Taon at Ayala Museum lobby until January 15, 2012!

i suggest visiting on dates when there are scheduled activities like workshops for kids (they'll love it!) and industry talks (which is both on January 14, 2012). kitakits!

just a thin wall in between

just this morning

i realized a lot of things.

from the time i woke up at around 2am (which i thought was 4am or so), i began to sketch then had a morning walk with my cousin, who was just outside when i walked my dog and bought a half pack of marlboro lights and an instant coffee.

leaving the garden growing

we talked about a lot of things: ideas, perspectives, personal and family life... and one thing i realized was, even though we are of the same age and been brought up within the same community, we are too different. we have different status in life but somehow, we are somewhat experiencing almost the same stuff. and i was a bit saddened - that no matter how he tried, he will never really grasp what i understand.



then he told me he wanted to draw but never really had a chance to practice. so we drew something on my personal sketch notebook. in a spread, at least we were the same - two figures, posing with our backs, drawn by each other. he enjoyed this as he was laughing and seemed like he's really having fun drawing. somehow i felt relieved.

then his wife came from a music gig and i was left alone so i went on sketching.

then everyone woke up. it was around 5:30. the day is starting. we all have to go on. so i went back to my working area (for 2 days now) replying to emails and trying my best to come up with an exhibit proposal.


i wish i could write well, at least whenever i should.

the sun is up. the water's boiling. i already have 2 cups of coffee since i woke up. i have to give my dog a bath.

good morning!

the last days of october

fin

it's supposedly a long weekend

but until earlier today, i've been finishing some works. there's still a ton of stuff to do and with some pieces done, i reward myself a swimming day!haha

anyway, here are some previews of what's to come before the year ends!

for Eastpak Artist Studio collab!

for an upcoming exhibit featuring comic super heroes with Vinyl on Vinyl x FullyBooked! guess who's superhero i did!

and a 2x3 ft painting for a commission which i just finished earlier!

 and since it's all saint's day...

SALVAHE (top) and HIMAGA (skull) for Dia Delos Muertos exhibit at Secret Fresh!

kwasiwalusi

i've been doing a lot of things right now for future projects and exhibits. and along with these comes new ideas, perspectives and some other interesting thoughts.

Like a seed, planted.
Growing into beauty, fated.

But as it nears to realize its greatness,

a feeling creeps in.
A hunch that amidst the grandeur of things,

is apathy.


Ending the understanding for its value,
wearying the fullness of its blooming