The Art Department

Moved!

2011-09-12T15:07:00.001+08:00

To http://confettidiary.tumblr.com/! :-) See you there!

Idea Envy

2011-05-23T16:57:00.011+08:00

PSFK CONFERENCE NYC 2011: Justin Gignac from Piers Fawkes on Vimeo.

Justin Gignac puts all too familiar feelings into words: idea envy and waiting for perfection. This video hits the right spots in so many ways!

Happy Monday! May you be inspired today as well. :-)

Thanks Pong for referring the video!! And more on the PSFK Conference here, and more fun things from Brain Picking here.

Catching Up

2011-05-21T16:09:00.002+08:00

Some pictures of my summer! A trip to Singapore, The Lion King and its wonderful costume design, Jimmy Eat World in concert (a high school dream come true!!), Singapore Biennale, a beach trip with my friends, cleaning out my costumes and props closets (finally!!), artist Christina Dy's wall full of fireworks called Chasing Light, Japanese paper artist Wataru Sakuma's work in Manila FAME, a barbecue in a bird farm, and a Samsung Galaxy Tab flashlight application light painting experiment!!

And a belated greeting to Belinda from B for Bel who interviewed me a few weeks ago!! Thanks Belinda!! :-)

Read the interview by clicking on this link:

http://www.bforbel.com/2011/04/never-worked-day-im-visual-merchandiser.html

Drawing Lessons

2011-04-25T15:34:00.001+08:00

At the beginning of the year, I sat in a few coffeedraw sessions with CD and Zig. At that time, and it seems so very long ago, I didn't let all the things I needed to do, like work and sleep, get in the way of everything else I wanted to do in my spare time. Draw, take my pole dancing classes, etc. And this serves as my April-May reminder not to let this seemingly heavy flow of work take over as well! :-)

Happy Easter! Happy Rebirth!

An Invincible Summer

2011-03-28T17:57:00.007+08:00

A TON of pictures from the graffiti sessions we had in preparation for the summer display!

It has been a month-long arts and crafts draught for me. No drawing, no color, no splashes of paint or sprints of lacquer. Some photoshopping, but not enough. Some looking and watching, but hardly any real digestion. A stark contrast from the graffiti artists in the photos above, so in their own zone, in their own untouchable world.

Soon, I will make myself involved again. Some more doodles, some more pictures. Some more life, some more color. It's summer after all! What better time to do anything, everything, to be invincible, too.

The most heartfelt of thanks to Pilipinas Street Plan for these walls! And to Marco Limjap and Sarie Cruz for documenting their each and every move. :-)

Gallery Day 2

2011-03-21T00:39:00.006+08:00

I found myself with a free lazy Saturday afternoon, decided to drop by an exhibit at Instituto Cervantes, and spontaneously go to the National Art Gallery in Manila as well, a place I should have visited before any other place in the world.

Jose Joya (and a little of Manansala)

Potential

A gallery of recently acquired Juan Luna personal paintings,

some by his son Andres.

My favorite one. I think this was by Andres Luna.

Juan Luna's mother

And FINALLY...

Spoliarium, by Juan Luna, my main reason for visiting!

Marco had been bugging me to see this since I got back from my Spain trip and told him about all the museums and paintings there. Just the enormity of the piece was so daunting. I tried approached it to see details clearer, but the light would just reflect and I think I only came up to the Roman soldier's foot. At the moment I stood before it, I was filled with wonder, with awe. How can one paint something as big as this? How can one paint something as big, as detailed, as dark, as meaningful, as scary and as beautiful at the same time? When I was in Spain, I would say that if I lived there, I would visit my favorite museums on my birthday, just to see my favorite paintings. I think I will start a tradition this year to visit the Spoliarium every year, on my birthday or sometime near it. No picture can ever do justice to its grandeur. And I will have to go back every time I want to see such wonder again.

A gallery of unfinished Amorsolos!

Marco peeking into more construction areas

A gallery someday, maybe?

Manuel L. Quezon greets us goodbye (and hello, for that matter!)

When I got home, all I did was google more National Artists and find which local museums had them on exhibit. I can't wait to find another lazy Saturday to visit them all! :-)

Before I forget, the small photo exhibit I originally went to the Manila area to see:

The real Guernica vs. Picasso's Guernica

It's Antoine de Saint-Exupéry!

A Pre-Oscars Filmfest

2011-02-18T19:20:00.001+08:00

No available posters for these four movies we're showing next week, so we had to make our own as needed! Inspired by many posters circulating online, of a simple object or character silhouette that their respective movies revolve around, I did what I could with the online low resolution photos and of course, the handy pen tool.

Drop by if you're interested! It's the Oscars soon!! :-)

Pasinaya 2011

2011-02-09T21:46:00.000+08:00

A nice, long and crowded day at the Cultural Center Open House!

I just love how the dancers turn into spirits and ghosts in this picture!

A packed house!

Child prodigy from Manila Symphony Orchestra.

Another day of "bumping into" Pilipinas Street Plan work!

Don't you love how it's the little girl that paints Pacquiao on the wall?!? Hahaha!

A tribute to Carlos Bulosan by Mark Jusiniani.

THIS IS THE CUTEST LITTLE GIRL EVER!!!

She was watching through the backstage wings the whole time and clapping and dancing along with the cast!!

I can't wait to watch Zsa Zsa Zaturnah again!!

Tambakan.

White Swan.

Roman soliders just chillin'.

What I caught of the Philippine Madrigal Singers.

'Til next year!

Gallery Day

2011-01-30T13:41:00.004+08:00

Espanya y Filipinas ♥

My definition of a happy productive weekend is one where I finish my errands, perhaps catch a movie, do some shopping, and visit the places I wouldn't get to go to on working weekdays! Yesterday was one of those days, and I gave particular priority to visiting the gallery exhibits I had been seeing online. One museum with both classic and modern art, to another with installation and conceptual thought.

No other giddy-ness can compare to walking out from a great movie (no matter how depressing it actually was) or exiting a gallery whose art made me smile. A happy, productive weekend indeed!

Extensions featuring work by National Artists Felix Hidalgo, Ben Cabrera and Juan Luna ♥ (among others), and work from Pilipinas Street Plan and J. Elizalde Navarro (among other modern artists as well, though not in these pictures), in celebration of the Lopez Museum's 50th anniversary, in Lopez Museum, Pasig. Present Superstition by Nikki Luna, in Blanc Peninsula.

Love in 2011

2011-01-27T18:08:00.001+08:00

I'm celebrating one full year of doing display projects with this Valentine's Day wall!

It's really never too early (or too late) to start remembering and cherishing the people you love. This is our reminder to you (and to all our customers!) that love really is all around.

In windblown memories,

in our heart of hearts,

in the silent whispers,

in the caves of emotion,

in the bits and pieces that make up our everyday lives.

May you experience all the love in the world ♥ ♥ ♥

Happy hearts!

Pointen Walls

2011-01-24T23:25:00.002+08:00

Excited to observe some more graffiti artists this week! :-)

This set was made in July of 2010, right before I started my current job! It was my last shoot and also my most ambitious set up ever, with Marco as production designer. We needed a wall painted with the word Pointen, the name of the music group whose video we were making.

I'll definitely post the video once I get a copy! For now, I leave you with the pictures of my biggest, hardest and very last project as a member of an art department.

Pointen walls painted by Pilipinas Street Plan.

Cut Felt

2011-01-20T02:14:00.000+08:00

A small, but notable exhibit of large figures and shadows cut out from felt. Very similar to my favorite kind of cut-out paper art! Makes me want to pick up a cutter and finally do something with all the craft paper cartolina I have "saved" here at home. :-)

Cut Felt by Ryan Villamael, at 20Square, Silverlens.

Home Sweet Home

2011-01-16T19:57:00.001+08:00

Decorated a furniture showroom last week. With only two days to prepare, it was very reminiscent of my old shooting life! I'm still amazed that despite what I thought was a little number of things on hand, they all seemed to fit in the end.

Reds

2011-01-14T12:48:00.000+08:00

A month til Valentine's Day, and I'm already setting up the stores! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ♥

Confetti New Year!!

2010-12-31T17:14:00.003+08:00

Whenever I greet someone for a happy birthday or graduation or Christmas, I always add *confetti* or *sparkles* to my message, just to make sure they feel a bit more pizzazz before the special day ends.

Today, as we mark the last day of 2010, and tomorrow begin the New Year, I present to you real confetti and real sparkles, by a Brooklyn-based duo named Confetti System, to hopefully brighten up the already festive mood of the season!

The next pictures are a combination of three of my favorite things:t the confetti and sparkles, as I've mentioned, and the Selby! Todd Selby invaded the Confetti System studio sometime ago, and took pictures of the team Julie Ho and Nick Anderson, knee deep on the job.

People always criticize me for working on my projects myself. I don't mean to say I work on them alone; I couldn't do that nor survive without my team! But sometimes, my friends and family see how balancing a full-time job and extra projects can be really (not only physically) tiring, and advise me to delegate delegate delegate! Imagine my joy, after being told to work with a different method and finding that Confetti System makes their props on their own, too!

While I agree that I'd rather have other people do dirty work for me, I really do enjoy doing some things myself. I do enjoy designing, sticking, cutting... It makes me feel like the project is really mine...

Here's to more of everything in 2011. More of sparkling moments, more of feeling like I could burst into confetti... More blogging, more personal projects and (he)arts and crafts! More of polishing my work, more of being more professional... More of improvement, more of growth. More of building my career, more of coming into my own... :-)

Good luck, everyone! It's a brand new start!!

Pictures of Confetti System projects from their website, http://www.confettisystem.com/ and from The Selby, http://theselby.com. Thank you for letting me post these! :-)

Transformers

2010-12-29T23:59:00.000+08:00

A few months ago, my boyfriend, Marco, made this Optimus Prime suit for my sister's friends! Only now did we see some pictures of the school event it was worn in. Bias aside hehe, I think he did a really neat job! :-)

Photo by Louie Yu.

The Gift of Christmas

2010-12-27T13:15:00.000+08:00

A small installation reminding passers by of the spirit of the season. Beautiful cardboard cutouts and giant paper art!

Hope your holidays were as happy as mine! And we're just in the middle of it all. ♥

So thankful for how blessed this year was. :-)

The Gift of Christmas installation in Bonifacio High Street. Catch it if you can!

One More Day 'Til the Happiest Time of the Year!!! :-) :-) :-)

2010-12-23T17:49:00.004+08:00

I don't know about you, but where I'm from, it's snowing!! :-)

One more day 'til Christmas!! May you feel the warmth of the season, no matter what part of the world you're from. Whether it's sweltering (as it is sometimes here), or you're shivering, this is the time for hugs, joy and love!!

Some pictures of the havoc I created in the stores during setting up. Still doesn't compare to the chaos in the store this past week!

I remember writing a very wishful entry a year ago, with pictures of my favorite Christmas decorations in homes and in malls, being inspired to spread the spirit of my favorite time of year. It was just a random thought, something I had always wondered about before, but never really knew how to go about fulfilling. Though I know I'm in nowhere near the level of those places whose decor I still look forward to seeing today, it's quite a comforting feeling that I've accomplished something I've always wanted to do.

I just want to remember this place I'm in, of feeling like I've come the right way, and at the same time knowing there's more to life. :-)

A last minute graphic I made for our contacts.

Happy Christmas everyone!! ♥ ♥ ♥

Always Up to No Good

2010-12-20T11:44:00.001+08:00

Something from over the weekend.

I'm so tired!

UNSCHLD: Always Up to No Good, all credits here.

The Magic Finger

2010-12-17T16:29:00.000+08:00

A friendly reminder from my favorite author when I was growing up! Matilda, Charlie, George, and even Mr, and Mrs. Twit were such a memorable part of my childhood. My first recollection of my habit of reading before going to be, with my one nightstand lamp on, began with sneaking in half an hour or so of Revolting Recipes before finally having to go to sleep. After reading The Witches, my life was never the same either.

It's been a light day at work; we just have one big presentation this afternoon. I spent the morning checking off little cousins and nieces and nephews off my mom's Christmas list. I do this almost every year, and choose to buy them books every time. And luckily, there's always someone who's about 9 or so, the perfect age to read Roald Dahl, the perfect time to start the magic and believing!

Photo from cake with giants.

Swan Lake

2010-12-16T22:15:00.003+08:00

Been staring at these stills,

listening to this track,

watching this particular online featurette (it's about production design!),

and trying to understand this lengthy technical interview of how it was shot,

with these behind the scenes pictures to match,

(A room of mylar mirrors!! Mylar is the reflective material silver balloons are made of.

It's very thin and very hard to keep flat.

So you can imagine the taxing job it was to set this room up!! :-)

Kudos to this movie's art dept!! :-))

in hopes all of these will bring me steps closer to actually watching the movie.

Nope, I checked again. Still no release date for Manila! :-(

Fox Searchlight, please send us Black Swan!! :-) :-) :-)

Stills from http://www.foxsearchlight.com/blackswan/ and www.theasc.com.

Seven Ways

2010-12-15T17:05:00.004+08:00

Between catching up on Christmas shopping, watching Tron Legacy, The Fighter, and maybe even Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 for the last time, attending our annual Christmas barbecue, getting a pedicure HAHA, and joining my friends in this launch, there is so much to do on Saturday!

Can I split myself seven ways instead?

http://unschld.com/

Holiday Wishlist 2010

2010-12-12T01:48:00.004+08:00

It doesn't have to be my birthday or Christmas season for me to keep a wishlist. My planner is rarely without a post it of things to replace or cute trinkets to think about buying. When I was a stylist and shopped for a living, that list was always packed with clothes and accessories I spotted while "working." Now that I hold office in a bookstore and have the fashion and design section just a stone's throw away from my desk, I can't help but walk around during my break and play around with thoughts of owning and going through my dream books.

Is anyone out there hoping to pose as Santa this year?!? Mom, will you ever read this? Hahaha! In the four and a half months I've been at my job, I've compiled a list of books that make up a not-so-modest pile of wishes that sit behind my desk! Oh to hope is cheap, but to spend, a much harsher reality.

The Fountain by Darren Aronofsky

I found out about this book through my friend Jan who was actually looking to purchase it himself. This is the first film that made me fall in love with musical scores and stories told through different lifetimes. To have been inspired watching it is a complete understatement! This script and concept art movie companion would be the perfect icing on the wonderful cake I've already tasted and enjoyed.

Thanks for the referral, Jan! And I sure hope you don't want to buy it anymore. Hahaha!

Paper + Craft by Minhee and Truman Cho of Paper + Cup

I'm quite sure it's not a secret that I love paper crafts! With simple ones I would love to try out, this book is a thrill to look through, and would be treasure to own.

David Stark Design by David Stark

A compilations of their best work, David Stark Design has to be one of my favorite design firms. Though I definitely don't look to putting up events as they do, I just love how every element comes together to form a great picture. Definitely recommend looking through their site!

Things I Have Learned In My Life So Far by Stefan Sagmeister

Stefan Sagmeister is another of my design idols. My favorite of his work is a wall of papers, some with dark edges forming letters that spell out the title of this book and also of the exhibit it is based on. With pencils tucked between the sheets, people visiting the exhibit then wrote down their own personal lessons, and consequently formed an entire wall of wisdom.

Here is a snapshot I found online:

Photo from cellar door.

Inspirability: 40 Top Designers Speak Out About What Inspires by PASH

A compilation for me to bounce ideas from (or even with! Haha!), this book is another random thing I picked up while walking around, and could never let go of since. With interviews and scribbles from the designers, it's something I can only wish I had time to seriously look through! Stefan Sagmeister is also featured here.

Perfect Paper by Adeline Low

Being a paper art fan, I've had my share of hoarding and going through paper design books. But this one has to be my favorite one. Yes, paper is perfect, and this compilation of artists I look up to will show you exactly why.

Fashion Designers' Sketchbooks by Hywel Davies

Sketches, patterns and wise words galore, this very thick and heavy book would probably take an entire day or two to go through, with no time wasted at all.

Howl: A Graphic Novel by Allen Ginsberg, Illustrated by Eric Drooker

I'm a sucker for all things with words and pictures! What more with these renowned and remarkable words, and these wonderfully illustrated pictures.

The Exquisite Book by ALSO

I think the video explained it all, why I would love to have this book! It even features two of my favorite illustrators, James Jean and Julia Rothman.

10.

The Art of Eric Carle by Eric Carle

I didn't grow up with my mom reading me stories by Eric Carle. Instead, I grew up reading them to my little sisters, and kept the books in my room to look at the very hungry caterpillars and mixed-up chameleons, so simply composed yet so brightly and vividly depicted. Until now, when my mom assigns me to shop for my little cousins and nephews and nieces, I try to sneak in a book to give them, despite the probable age incompatibility. Who cares if they're too old for Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me? Everyone has a little innocence in them to appreciate Eric Carle.

11.

Graphic. Inside the Sketchbooks of the World's Greatest Graphic Designers

by Steven Heller and Lita Talarico

A last-minute addition to this list. One of my resolutions for 2011 will be to learn how to draw! And what better way to start but at inspiration point, with only the best!

I think this wraps it up. I think. Hahaha! I will stop going through the store now, and just focus on the busy Christmas season ahead. I haven't even been able to shop for my list at all! Maybe I'll focus on fulfilling that one and stop wishing about this...

Happy Holiday season, everyone! I hope you enjoy it as much as I am thrilled to take part in the Christmas cheer!

Christmas Lights

2010-12-02T15:35:00.001+08:00

Confetti, Christmas, moving props, cartoon sets, rocketships, carousels, Christmas lights, sequence shots, balloons, fireworks, and the best band in the whole world, Coldplay: all my favorite things in one video!!!! How crazy exciting!!!!!!!! :-D :-D :-D

Whenever Coldplay is to come out with a new video, I always hold my breath in both anticipation and fear. I get excited for what could be another "The Scientist" type of haunting video, and I dread a weird, "The Hardest Part"-like interpretation they've released before. But this was a great one. :-) And it definitely put me in the Christmas spirit! How apt for the start of December. I think it's about time to bring out my Christmas movies!

Feedback

2010-11-26T19:36:00.004+08:00

How are you supposed to take it when your critics aren't being constructive, but are right?

The perfect music for the mood is entitled "Welcome to the Lunar Industries" composed by Clint Mansell for the movie Moon (2009). I've mentioned many times that he's my favorite composer, and I just found him on Twitter! I'm trying to get him to tweet me back without embarrassing myself too much, or without sounding too much like a stalker. Which I probably am. An internet stalker, that is.

It's Christmas!

2010-11-16T12:56:00.003+08:00

A lazy day project my sisters and I did about two years ago...

It's Christmas time!! Yay!! :-D :-D :-D

Gisella as roadkill hahaha!

Pumapapel

2010-11-14T15:10:00.002+08:00

Paper is one of my favorite things in the world, and this is exactly why!

I spent my birthday wanting to feel so happy and inspired, and that's exactly what I got when I visited this exhibit. Pumapapel, currently showing at the Yuchengco Museum, was such a delight to walk through, and I can't wait to go back.

Paper is one of my favorite things in the world, precisely because you can do all of these different things to it, and come up with such varying results. It's such a joy to find that many more people love paper as much as I do, perhaps even more!

Even these "rocks" are made from paper! From recycled pulp! :-)

Birthday Confetti!!!

2010-11-06T17:48:00.000+08:00

I have no wishes for today, other than hoping to be so happy, I could burst into confetti!!

Photos by my good friend Mackie Galvez http://mackiegalvez.com, "starring" me, Mara Andres and Maan Agsalud. Hooray for confetti!!

My friends are crazy! And so is my mom.

2010-11-02T03:03:00.002+08:00

1. First things first, congratulations are in order.

My production friends have a running joke that our friend and director King Palisoc is slowly going crazy. Hahaha We mean that in the best way possible, of course, as his concepts have become more challenging, and at the same time, more fulfilling to help bring to life. From action scenes to sequence shots, and now, stop motion, if you don't believe us yet, here's the video that just last weekend won him his second NU 107 Rock Award for Best Music Video, and that might just convince you. Someone give him a movie to make already!

Congratulations King! You and your team deserve all the accolades!

Video embedded from http://vimeo.com/kingpalisoc, where you'll find his showreel and more of his work! :-)

2. Not only is King crazy, but so is Mon Sebial, the production designer who helped concretize his idea. With the simplest of objects - a pillow, a mattress, a piece of cloth, a colored paper strand - she created a whale, an ocean a toilet, a forest, among everything else in the video.

This Halloween, she also helped our book store create a haunted tour for kids to walk through and have fun in!

Entitled "Sprits of the Page," the tour was put together by the simplest of objects, but came out as a great experience as well! Thank you, Mon! :-)

Our staff was also able to have their faces painted for the weekend! Along with these characters, others I saw where of Spiderman, the Joker and even Ironman!

3. And lastly, I'm finished! Finished with the Christmas decorations for the year and ready for them to be picked up tomorrow. I always post pictures of how my house has been turned upside down because of my displays, or of the boxes piled up all around the walking space in my living room, but I'm quite sure this project has invaded my family's personal space in a way that is most unwelcome. It's really a wonder how my mother puts up with this, and how anyone can even exist in a space that's been taken over by boxes like this has!

Though I've gotten most of the work done, the stress and tight schedules aren't over yet. Thank you to everyone who helped out, made the decor, and was patient with me as I ditched plans, invaded spaces, and interrupted lives! Despite missing out on the outside world for the past two months or so, I'm still very thankful for this all...

Good night! :-)

Graffitti Walls

2010-10-15T09:38:00.002+08:00

Somewhere in one of the most secure subdivisions in Manila lies this wall, among others like it. An alley so dark and secluded that a party can be thrown there and no perpetrators will be caught, a group of structures so abandoned that its new paint job goes unnoticed.

I'm actually not sure about who did these walls, but KST http://kstphilippines.tumblr.com/ would be a good guess. :-)

Paper Leaves

2010-10-10T19:20:00.000+08:00

The new Fully Booked displays are finished! I actually set this up in the Fort almost a month ago, but I was only able to finish with all the branches last week. I was able to go to the Pampanga ones, this time around! The Rockwell branch has also just been renovated, so it was my first time to set up in its new window.

Special thanks to my setmen who helped with set up, and to Karen Ramos and Marco Ortiga, who cut and designed for several branches, as well. And of course, to Mackie Galvez for the last two pictures and these next ones of my set up:

Today's Soundtrack at Work

2010-10-08T13:11:00.001+08:00

I've been listening to these two tracks non-stop since getting here! :-)

"My Name is Lincoln" from The Island (2005), and "Arrival to Earth" from Transformers (2007), both directed by Michael Bay and scored by Steve Jablonsky. :-)

An amazing sense of motivation comes over me when the songs reach their peaks. Just what I need for this lazy daisy Friday!

Random Things

2010-10-06T01:08:00.004+08:00

Random things from this week that warmed my heART hehe:

Beating Marco in a cutting race! To see who could finish one whole cartolina's worth of cutting hehehe :-) These are the things we come up with to make working a bit more fun, when it feels like I can't cut another piece or like I'll just throw up cartolina from being surrounded by so much of it!

Finding craft paper cartolina! I'm so excited to use this for a project. I want to buy it in bulk already, but I have no idea what on earth I'll use it for! It feels quite sturdy, sturdier than normal colored cartolina, and it's cheaper too. It sounds promising. :-)

Having this large and this tall a pile of cardboard! And it's just sitting there in my garage... It was twice as tall yesterday, before I made deliveries to my next project's team members. And it's actually a big hassle to have it around since it occupies so much space and can't be moved. But still! So huge and so many of them! Something you can't just find anywhere...:-)

Excited to finish one of my big projects at work sometime soon... Let's hope this is it! Yes!

S Is Also for Swamped

2010-10-01T03:32:00.009+08:00

I've been so so so swamped with work lately! I'll finally get to update something substantial soon, hopefully next week!

For now, I'll leave this entry with something I've been looking for for so long --a scanned page of the 11th Portrait of Despair, illustrated by Barron Storey (thanks for this info, Ramon!), from Neil Gaiman's Endless Nights. I've been wanting to post this, but I've misplaced my copy... Among Gaiman's "Fifteen Portraits of Despair," a collaboration with 15 different artists providing visuals to his words of tragedy embodied in one being, this has to be my favorite. It will also always be plaguing fear of mine, and one that I've been especially feeling lately! :-S

The second straight week of Photoshop hell! I can't even think of what life would be like after this.

Something Mistaken for Nothing

2010-09-13T02:56:00.002+08:00

Yes please.

Skateboard part of Something Mistaken for Nothing, an exhibit by Scott Albrecht http://scottyfivealive.com.

Three More Days

2010-09-13T00:22:00.003+08:00

Three pictures for the three more set up days left this week. Then one more branch to make. Let's do this!

In other thoughts, my hands are so vainy!! :-(

Photos by my good friend, Mackie Galvez http://mackiegalvez.com, http://www.flickr.com/photos/mackiegalvez.

As Little As Possible (and As Much As You Can)

2010-09-08T01:59:00.003+08:00

My favorite kind of scene is the kind that holds back. I just love that moment when the screen shows the effect of what happened, without completely telling what came to be. In American Beauty, it's when every scene with a popping red element concludes as the camera pans to a bare white wall, only to have it tainted by a blood splatter that reflects Kevin Spacey's resolute, smiling expression as he faces death.

In Chinatown, it's the end when -- well, I really shouldn't say but -- you hear the sound of what must have transpired, and realize that afterwards, the fate of the victim turns for the worst (as if it weren't already terrible!)...

In The Ghost Writer, it's when -- I really will not say this time!

And no accompanying clip, sorry! (I can't find one, and I highly recommend a screening of the movie! Though with a few storylines I still can't quite resolve, the movie, in my opinion, was very well directed!.)

Scenes like those are my favorite kind, and tonight, as I am resolved to sleep instead of finish work, I leave you with the last mentioned film's score. Quite the opposite of the quiet mysteriousness found in the entire movie, this score is one that holds nothing from us. Sounding livelier and less subtle than most accompanying music, it creates the perfect haunting atmosphere that an old noir film from the '70's must have had.

The Ghost Writer scored by Alexandre Desplat. Not a huge fan of his, but I like his Fantastic Mr. Fox score as well as this one.

I'm so sleepy! Thank you for letting me take this not-so-short break from work!

American Beauty (1999) directed by Sam Mendes, and Chinatown (1974) and The Ghost Writer (2010), directed by Roman Polanski.

S is for

2010-09-02T21:59:00.007+08:00

STRESS.

What a desperate set up, I know. But it's what I resort to when there's no time or money to hire someone to do it for me. This next night and the next couple of days seem like a black hole of work, and I can't quite see the light at the end of the tunnel! Will I survive this?

Oh, survive. S is also for Survive. I sure hope I survive this next night, day, weekend, campaign, month, EVERYTHING!!

What a mess that room is.

And S is also for Stylebible.ph! Thank you for the feature!! :-)

Miss you, Reg! :-)

Spain, Exactly A Year Ago

2010-08-29T16:28:00.004+08:00

Palaces, paradores, churros con chocolate, the yummiest paella I've ever tasted, hot, well-dressed Spanish men, effortlessly stylish women, ostentatiously designed buildings, watching build these infrastructures, opera houses, a Jose Rizal monument, well-lit airports, comic book-themed museums, tapas, croquetas, napoleones, intricately-tiled floors and ceilings, audio guides, going through the city alone, street performers, boquerias, being able to take pictures in museums, Ramon Casas, and more and more museums...

As my officemate Regina leaves for Europe and consequently, leaves some work for me to take over, I can't help but reminisce about my trip last year with my mom and sister! And of course, become a little nervous for new things to be in charge of.

One year later, I still dream of going back. I don't ever want those dreams to end, unless it means actually fulfilling them!

Most pictures taken in Spain, with a few exceptions taken during side trips in Morocco and the south of France.

Follow Friday

2010-08-27T03:37:00.006+08:00

Day 10

Eighty square meters would be intimidating for some people, but not for CD. I've never known her to be daunted by such a size, having seen her past work sprawl over the entire wall space of a circular room at some point. This month, she prepares for the Busan Biennale in September, and draws a very(!) big picture for us to see. She documents almost every step of the way in her blog, and reading it has been something I look forward to when I end each afternoon.

I met her a couple of years ago (wow, CD! We've been friends for years!), assisting her in a production design job, and being a frequent art director or assistant since. She's taught me everything (I'm probably exaggerating, but it definitely feels like that much) I know about shooting and being in the art dept, and I even got my first ever make up lesson from her! Now, I just watch as she completes drawings in sizes like these, and I am always surprised and in awe of her work!

Yes, 80 square meters would be intimidating for some people, but not for CD.

Can't wait to see the final product!! We miss you!!

Follow CD (Christina Dy) on her blog about her work for the Busan Biennale and life in Korea as a foreign artist, http://www.christinady.wordpress.com :-)

Wall Lords

2010-08-26T00:01:00.008+08:00

To make up for my lack of blog posts, I leave you with a plethora of pictures from the last artsy-fartsy event I went to: Wall Lords Philippines 2010. Eight different graffiti crews from Manila fought for a spot at the Wall Lords Asia championships in Shanghai this weekend!

How exciting this must have been for all of them and especially for the winner! It was a very packed and sweaty event, and I had to convince my friends who were with me to stay so we could watch some more. Not to mention, the whole place smelled like spray paint! But it was so much fun!! How can an event with live painting where you can watch each and every step until the final product be anything less than a Saturday afternoon well spent? :-)

If I'm not mistaken, she was the only girl in the competition! Great job, too!

UGK

MSF

DNB

There was even a battle for who could "throw up" a word best. Could barely see anything at this point, but so exciting to see them work within their 3-minute time limit. :-)

TVCP

Only got to see them at the last minutes!

SDFK

KST

PSP (Okay, I know this stands for Pilipinas Street Plan)

I just love how in each of the pictures, you can spot, though minute, details that contribute to the final look of all the murals. They're not obvious right away, but if you really look closely, you'll find them.

And as you can see, by the last pictures of each of the crew's work, I couldn't get any clear ones anymore. Too many people at that point!

Congratulations to Pilipinas Street Plan (PSP) for winning! We actually hired them a couple of weeks ago to paint a wall for a music video, but since it hasn't come out, I can't show it yet. They were very nice guys and I'm so happy for them for winning and representing the Philippines in Shanghai! :-)

Thank you Marco and Gino for sticking around with me!! Hehehe :-)

Wall Lords Philippines was held at the Collective, Makati City, Philippines on Saturday, August 6, 2010 (Wow, how late am I!?!). For more information on the different crews, and their work, visit their websites: MSF http://rest22.multiply.com, TVCP http://rakers.multiply.com, UGK http://flipthecolors.multiply.com, SDFK http://showdowncrew.blogspot.com, PSP http://pilipinastreetplan.blogspot.com, DNB http://day-nightbombers.blogspot.com, KST http://kstreetpinas.multiply.com. For more information on the events (and not to mention, clearer pictures of the final products!), both here and abroad, visit http://walllordsph.multiply.com/ and http://www.wall-lords.com/, respectively. :-)

Why You Do What You Do

2010-08-12T22:05:00.009+08:00

"But if you're going to do what you want to do, you have to be prepared for the difficulty because you're going to be doing something that people aren't gonna be expecting you to do. You're going to be hitting challenges; you're going to be hitting resistance, even within yourself. So unless you're prepared to destroy yourself and come up from the ashes again, then go live somebody else's life." -- Carlos Celdran

From featuring artists, to cosplayers, to designers, entrepreneurs, and street performers like Carlos Celdran, the episodes of the web show "Why You Do What You do" are for anyone that has ever had a silent hope inside them to follow a dream a little bigger than they let others know. Very much like the people behind the series, my friends Julo, Marco and Nicky are all pursuing their different passions, and come together as one to make these shorts.

I think this is my favorite episode. I just love what Carlos Celdran said in the end... Anything I've ever been involved in that I loved made me feel that way -- destroyed, in pieces, in ashes -- until the moment I discovered it was actually worthwhile! :-)

WYD, produced by Julo de Guzman of Commune Manila http://www.communemnl.com/. More passion people over at http://www.wydmnl.com/! And visit http://celdrantours.blogspot.com/ for the Walking Man of Manila. :-)

Hangover

2010-08-10T22:19:00.001+08:00

Underneath it all, above all things, first and foremost, and at the end of the day, I think we are all fans. We're fans of the music, of the videos that accompany them, of the people that pour their hearts and souls into making them. We're fans of the movies, fans of the shows, fans of the ways our idols have made, lit and written them. Fans of one another. Fans of what the other is able to think of and conjure in his or her mind.

Another thing I love (and will always!) about production: how everyone believes that what their doing matters, how everything pulls through, how everyone (well, the better half of whom I've met in it) loves what they do. Even if it's for a fleeting four minutes of just one song from a band whose had many other videos, it's still made with precision and with careful thought. After all, we are fans of the song, fans of the band, and fans of the craft.

Congratulations on the successful music video launch to Sugarfree and King!! :-)

Hangover by Sugarfree, directed by King Palisoc, assisted by Odin Fernandez. Shot by Pong Ignacio, production design by Marco Ortiga, art direction by Gino Nacianceno. Production managed by Mara Andres, and styling and make up by Christina Dy and me!

Addendum

2010-08-08T22:22:00.001+08:00

In one of my recent entries, I credited this next sculpture as the work of Michael Cacnio, but I've been terribly mistaken! Though the work is indeed very similar to the sculptures I grouped it with, it was in fact made by Ferdinand Cacnio, the former Cacnio's brother.

From a person who participates in some form of creative work, I realize it must have been terrible to have found work not duly credited to one's name, so from the bottom of my heart, I apologize to both the Messrs. Cacnio.

For more of Ferdinand Cacnio's work, visit http://cacnio.multiply.com/.

ManilArt

2010-08-06T01:28:00.005+08:00

As promised, some pictures of ManilArt last weekend:

As we were going around, Marco asked me what kind of art I liked. I suppose I like work that is beautiful, and nice to look at. Some things that are colorful, like the flowers in one of the pictures above, and the watercolor drawing of the girl reading... Something pretty, something that makes me smile. :-)

I'd like an art piece that has a "twist" to it, like this painting of a little girl, and the connect-the-dots lines that match her age.

Sometimes (but quite rarely, actually), I like paintings that look real -- but only if we have a somewhat distorted view of the subject. Like if it were painted underwater (or in this case, reflected on water), or if we see the person in the painting only through folded plastic wrapping.

I like paintings that look like they were simple to make, yet in reality, very tricky to get right.

I like small details that make me want to look closer...

I like things that move (yes, this moves!).

I like it when parts come together to make a whole.

I like not knowing how something like this could come to be!

Thanks for taking me to this, Marco!! :-)

All pictures taken at ManilArt held in the SMX Convention Center last July 30 - August 1, 2010. My apologies for being unable to note who all the artists are; I took too many pictures to keep tabs!

Sculptures

2010-08-04T02:31:00.003+08:00

So thrilled to have "discovered" Michael Cacnio's work at an art fair last weekend! More pictures of ManilArt sometime this week. :-)

Sculptures by Michael Cacnio, http://www.michaelcacnio.com/.

People I'll Miss

2010-08-01T23:24:00.006+08:00

I only started to take pictures in one of my last shoots, when I realized it would be my last with these people!! These are the people I've probably worked with the most, and whose company makes a long, grueling shoot feel like playing with my friends. These, and many more people whom I wasn't able to take a picture of (like Marco! Hahaha!), or whom I wasn't able to see recently, are the reasons I'll really miss shoots, and probably why I've stayed in production for as long as I have.

HANGOVER TEASER from King Palisoc on Vimeo.

The video teaser which just came out a few minutes ago. :-)

Tomorrow, I start a somewhat new life; I'll start regular work hours at Fully Booked, the chain of bookstores here in Manila that I currently create window displays for. Visual merchandising has always been a field I've wanted to be a part of, and though there's really nothing like the passion one feels when part of a production, it's really about time for me move on to something new, professionally.

Wish me luck! :-)

Hangover by Sugarfree, directed by King Palisoc.

The Beginning

2010-07-19T16:37:00.006+08:00

As much as it may be a trying task to complete long projects, and avoid getting disheartened and lazy, it is even worse when I'm about to begin them. When it's hard to see how I'll finish this all, I become afraid to even try to start! For now, I sit comfortably behind my laptop, hesitating to approach the materials right in front of me.

This next two weeks will be very very hectic; I'll be balancing two big projects, one of which is probably the biggest set up I've ever been a part of. An apt ending to this chapter in my life.

Explored

2010-07-12T23:33:00.002+08:00

I've been feeling a bit down this past couple of days. I've made a decision about changing something in my life, and though I'm a bit sad about it, all the signs so far have pointed to the fact that I'm making the right choice, that I'm going the right way. :-)

Fun, girly photography by Jacqueline Lou http://www.flickr.com/photos/aznsophisticat/ (via Oh Joy! http://www.ohjoy.blogs.com)

A Page Turned, A World Discovered

2010-07-08T23:37:00.003+08:00

I've been sooo swamped with preparing and sketching for my next projects

that I almost forgot to update about my latest display!!!

Just a friendly reminder that when we read books, when we explore different stories,

we're taken into different worlds that we would otherwise never get to be a part of...

Sometimes, we get to imagine we're a damsel in distress in a medieval adventure,

or that we're conquering a different city, making a name for ourselves

in a different world all together.

Other times, we're stranded, left on an island,

or lost in the forest of thoughts in this crazy new story we're sucked in to,

floating way way awayyy from reality!

But it's always a great adventure, thinking someone else's thoughts,

placing yourself in someone else's swash-buckling shoes,

riding a different kind of wave, drowning in someone else's sea.

Wherever you go, whatever story you read,

it's always going to be an out-of-this-world time! :-)

Thank you to everyone who helped!! :-D

Paper Heaven!!

2010-07-04T18:26:00.004+08:00

I think I just died and went to paper heaven!!!

Images of a Takeo Paper Showroom in Tokyo, Japan from Upon a Fold http://uponafold.com.au/blog.

Yes, those drawers on the wall are filled with different colors of paper!!

Take Me Home!

2010-07-01T18:55:00.004+08:00

Please give my friends, these creatures, a home!

They're very easy to take care of, and great company to have.

At times, they surprise me by popping in and out of the furniture.

They can also be rowdy, fighting over and consequently, squishing themselves onto the couch.

As if there weren't enough space for everyone!

But they love each other, really. They always have their meals together,

and even help me with my arts and crafts!

(And yes, that's right, they even fly!)

I've recently taken them down from the last Fully Booked displays, and replaced the design on the windows (will update on that soon, still compiling pictures!). I was lucky enough to rescue some of them from being disposed! But I can't keep them all. A lot of people have asked for a character or two to keep, so if you're one of those people (or if you want one for yourself as well), just text me, tweet me, email me, or leave me a comment! :-) There are sea creatures, space creatures, rabbits, and rocketships galore!

Inspiration Sunday

2010-06-27T23:51:00.015+08:00

It's been quite a nice, lazy, blog-hopping, inspiring Sunday!

A different kind of light painting!! Something I miss doing!

Beat Maps by Owen Silverwood

The Art of Jim Denevan, a large-scale "illustrator," if you could say so.

Much bigger than a pen and paper!

And I am completely amazed by how his "drawings" are so perfectly shaped!!

Nella Mia Città Nessuno è Straniero (In My Town, Nobody Is a Stranger)

A community-empowerment campaign by Happycentro,

an Italian design firm whose website I came across today.

What I love about it most (and what I very rarely see from other design sites)

is that it sometimes features behind-the-scenes from its projects, such as this one.

From even the first step of conceptualization, when ideas were merely written on paper,

until the campaign's actualization!

Some fashion and embellishment inspiration from (top to bottom):

Givenchy Resort 2011,

Marchesa Resort 2011,

and a year old photoshoot by Enrique Badulescu

featuring Heather Marks for Velvet Magazine.

How I love accessories, beading, layering, details, and mixing and matching!

And lastly! Just to cap off a post about influences...

"It's Arguable Whether I Had Any in the First Place" by Lucia. . .

The artist's lament, perhaps? I know this thought has entered my head

and stayed there for more times than one.

Happy weekend everyone!!

Salita (And look!! Not just one light bulb, but many!)

2010-06-26T14:31:00.006+08:00

I can't believe I haven't posted this!! I remember being very excited to share it after shooting... hahahaha!

As I mentioned in my last entry, I'd been feeling a bit down lately because of some mess-ups at work. Nothing like remembering this video again to cheer me up, albeit a little! The time when this was shot, in April of last year, was probably the last time I felt really very sad about work, even worse than I feel now. But shooting this was another reminder of why I chose to stay in production, something I needed to be reminded of today, as well. :-)

And look! Not just one light bulb moment appeared, but many!

Salita by Angulo, directed by King Palisoc http://vimeo.com/kingpalisoc, shot by Mackie Galvez http://mackiegalvez.com/, production design by me!

Light bulb moment, are you there?

2010-06-24T17:51:00.004+08:00

There's a special place in art dept hell for me and what I've done!!

I've been feeling very disappointed with my work lately. I'm working on a project at the moment and the design isn't coming out as I'd imagined it to be (Oh, how many times has that happened to me!!) -- and I'm so deep into it already that I can't salvage the idea nor "make it work" as I would usually do.

I'll admit it -- It's my fault: I was lazy. For one of the first times ever, I chose the easy way to execute a design -- the easy and inappropriate way. Still now when I work on it, I think of all the ways I could have done this better, and can't quite put my finger on how to save this idea and in turn, save myself and my own sanity. I don't know how to make this something to be proud of, which is exactly what I'm not. In fact, one could even go on to say that I'm ashamed of what I've done, and how poorly I've executed this! :-(

In my experience, there are always at least two ways to execute an idea: the first would be to subject myself to unending work in the period of producing the materials for I need everything to be perfect, and the second would be to relax and maintain a balance of work and leisure in my life and at the same time, compromise the final product to a more manageable workload. Sometimes, the latter has actually worked. Sometimes, some work is really not work stressing over! But oh, never again am I taking that risk. I think I'll just choose a stressful and fulfilling life over these next two months of being haunted by and being depressed over this epic failure of a project!!

So there it is. I said it out loud. This is definitely not the first time I've felt like I don't know what I'm doing. In fact, my two-years in this job have been sprinkled here and there with many disappointing times. What do you do when you have a bad day?? Not just at work, but in life, in general?? :-( I used to enumerate all the small, happy moments that are able to somewhat lift my spirits. Right now though, I can only think of one: the great 3 1/2 hour nap I took this afternoon.

Later tonight, I will perhaps be halfway done with this fiasco, with a week or so more to go... How do I save it?? I don't know. Light bulb moment, are you there?

I'd like to curl up in a ball, hide from the world and arise when it's over and done with please!!

An Outtake

2010-06-23T00:23:00.004+08:00

Last week, I attended an exhibit with work from 20 photographers and their collaborative efforts with 20 artists. My friend Kaity had some pictures on display, and I had helped out with make-up for the shoot. She projected her own photos, of streetlights and roadsides, onto a nude body, and shone some light on the only 'garment' the model was wearing: a pair of her partner-shoe designer's work. Though this picture above did not make the final cut (obviously, there are no shoes! Hahaha!), I would have to agree with Kaity that it's my favorite from what I've seen of the outcome. :-)

Sue, the model, is so beautiful here too!

Congratulations Kaity and the rest of the 39 photographers and artists that debuted work last Saturday!! :-) To be part of something you're passionate about is one thing, but to choose and pursue a life filled with love for a craft is another all together. :-)

My favorite of what made it to the walls of Outerspace Gallery.

20/20 Likhalayaan Exhibit was held in Outerspace Gallery, The Collective, Makati, Philippines on Saturday, June 19, 2010.

For more of her pictures, visit Kaity's Flickr account here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/likedeux. Hold your breath as you click and enter her realm of neon lights and windblown memories. I promise you, it's worth it!!

Guide to Get Lost

2010-06-14T23:59:00.004+08:00

I'm sorry, I have no pictures from today. But be assured that it was fun! It was productive. It was for art! Hahahaha! Now to focus on work and more things I've decided to put off until the last minute. Which is now.

Guide to Get Lost by Emily CM Anderson http://www.ecmanderson.net/

In her write up for this project, she says she made this "using the concept of loss to generate new paths and discovery." Yes, that's exactly what I'm hoping for!

So what else can we do with books?

2010-06-12T02:18:00.004+08:00

Some random pictures, part of what I look at when I brainstorm and daydream...

Mmmmm intellectual cake!

Book Spine Painting by Mike Stilkey http://www.mikestilkey.com/.

Small sculptures carved from books by Robert The http://www.bookdust.com/main.htm.

And book city stills captured from this next video from 4th Estate Publishers' 25th Anniversary, produced by Apt Studio and Asylum Films.

This Is Where We Live from 4th Estate on Vimeo.

Kate Moss

2010-06-08T02:22:00.002+08:00

It's been about a week and I still can't stop watching this video!

Directed by Nick Knight for Kate Moss' Topshop line.

P.S. It's really hard to get back in the groove of working after going on a break from it! Let's just dilly dally all day.

And Yet Another Lamp!

2010-06-07T04:28:00.004+08:00

Done! Seven hours later and I'm done! I decided to make a "monochromatic" version of the lamps. I imagine this would be easier to match someone's room than the red-yellow-blue ones!

I still have a few more tapes left, though definitely not enough to make another lamp, no matter how small. What should I do with them? (That's a real question! Not an introduction to show you what I've done hahahaha!)

Now I can sleep! Good night!

More Lamps

2010-06-06T21:30:00.003+08:00

My apologies, I don't know where my set of wires and bulbs for shoots is! But please believe me when I say these are lamps! (You see, this is how us production designers and stylists lose things -- we lend and borrow props so frequently, we totally forget to return!)

I spent my week-long break from display work making use of a basket full of cassette tapes I've had lying around for almost two years. I have one more of these lamps to make tonight, but it will be all work from now on again!

I've made these lamps before; to read how and why, click here. :-) This time, I made a larger version too (on the left)!

Don't cassette tapes put you in such a time warp? I thoroughly enjoyed going through all these tapes, coming across ones from Barbara Streisand, Ace of Base, Backstreet Boys, The Corrs, the Beach Boys, Barry Manilow, Charlotte Church...

Okay, back to making the last lamp now. It's a little different from these. I'll update on that soon!

Happy Sunday everyone!

Yun Lang

2010-06-01T00:13:00.005+08:00

I realized today that I really really miss shooting...

I miss being a part of a giant orchestration of elements. Toilet paper to the left! Band in, colorful outfits! Kids run around and clap! And the feeling of getting a great first shot of the day.

And getting a great last one, too!

I miss spontaneous on-set ideas that perfect even the most obscure of scenarios. Like adding a camwhoreing element to these already hipster grandparents. In a bathroom of vines, nonetheless!

I miss having a dress from the clothes I hoard from my sisters and mom perfectly fit one of the talents! It was meant to be! Hahaha! :-)

And when I actually get to shop for costumes and use them and have them just perfect for a certain scene? I miss that feeling of "being right" hahahaha! Like I made the right choice in that dress, despite all the other dresses I could have bought instead.

I miss using the most basic arts and crafts kind of way to come up with a costume... and have it work! Who would have thought that covering cloth jumpsuits with foil tape would actually pass for space suits? I know I was thinking of all the ways it would fail... but I taped and covered until the very last second! :-)

I miss (and LOVE!) seeing sets that inspire me. This set was made by Trinka Lat, one of the production designers I worked with much less that I would have liked to! What I love about working with her is that I learn a new way to use materials I've seen many other times before. Like hanging balloons upside down, instead of upright! We've all seen balloons in different scenarios, but never like this.

Though I don't know if I miss being coerced by my superiors to extra in scenes! Hahaha! Too many weird things have come from not being able to say no to the director!

I miss the collaboration!! :-) Of directors, their ideas, and my own. I miss reading concept papers and getting excited. I miss that feeling of asking the right questions and discussing the elements so everyone can get to the aesthetic scenario we are all working to create!

Some pictures of the last shoot I styled, way back in March! I can't believe it's been more than two months. What have I been up to since?!?

This video was for a band called True Faith, for their song, "Yun Lang." To introduce the concept to me, director Quark Henares gave me a list of scenarios to prepare for, all of which were very production and costume design heavy, as you can probably tell.

The shooting day was very hectic! We had a lot to shoot, not a lot of time, and a lot of hurdles to get over (like a brown out! And my double-bodying as make-up at the beginning of the day!). I could barely keep tabs on what was going on, what was being shot now, and what would be shot next! I was literally running around the entire day. I was also very lucky to have a great team -- Sarie, Therese, Karen, Gracie... I can't believe I even thought I could style this on my own! Too many baskets and suitcases of clothes to organize and keep neat! I even misplaced my camera for a huge chunk of the day; it was in one of the baskets of clothes.

I'm getting stressed just thinking about the day itself! Hahaha! But I really do miss shooting. It's really a different experience to go through, and I'm very lucky to be able to go through it with people I not only respect and admire, but also some of whom are my closest friends. :-)

I miss you guys! You know who you are!! :-)

"Yung Lang" by True Faith featuring Armi Millare. Directed by Quark Henares. DOP Pong Ignacio. Production Design by Trinka Lat. Styling by Victoria Velasco. Production Managed by Mara Andres. And we would not have gotten through the day without the most charming assistant director ever, Harold Soon! Hahahaha! :-)

All photos from this entry, save for the first, second, and second to the last, were taken by Dom Dycaico. :-) Thanks for letting me use your pictures, Dom!!

Seeing Hearts

2010-05-30T14:50:00.005+08:00

Holographic glasses that make all sources of light into heart-shaped ones! You'll literally be seeing hearts! :-)

Have a happy Sunday!! And may it be as filled with love as my weekend was!! ♥

Photo and holographic glasses from A Cup of Jo http://joannagoddard.blogspot.com :-)

Rocket Science

2010-05-29T01:50:00.006+08:00

I always tell myself, "It's not rocket science," but right now, that's sure what it feels like! I can't quite comprehend nor figure out where I'm trying to arrive at.

But I'll get somewhere soon right?

Photo and panels from a very long time ago.

Splatter

2010-05-27T02:53:00.001+08:00

Tonight, my brain feels like jello.

I've officially started my next display project and it's brainstorming day! I'm also tutoring again (I tutor part time, and the center hasn't asked me to come in for awhile before today). It's always hard to go back to work when the last week of a break has been such a tease of a vacation. Even my students today had just come back from summer trips, and aren't used to lessons and learning yet.

My brain feels like mush! Juggling math and writing and images and pegs and materials and costing...

Time to make space and move personal projects aside. Time to throw out all the residue from past ones! I've kept these paint splatters from the cups used to mix paint when I colored all 200 of the Back to School characters. I find the mixed colors and droplets so pretty up close! Maybe I'll find a way to keep them for "decorative purposes" hahahaha!

Okay, enough thinking for today! Tomorrow will even be tougher!!

Good night!

Happy Birthday to Me!!

2010-05-24T03:03:00.006+08:00

Or rather, to my blog!! :-)

I'm the worst blogger ever, totally forgetting The Art Department's 1st birthday! It was last May 13!! :-) So here is my haphazardly put together greeting/commemoration/WHATEVER for the site I love to update and share to the best of my limited internet and html abilities!!

Some personal thoughts to share...

I was just thinking about posting about how thankful I am for how things have turned out. I'm at a very good emotional place with my job. I'm so so thankful for the opportunities that have come along, and I'm at peace with the decisions I've made... It wasn't always like this though! That's for sure. I wasn't always as secure as I feel today. Even now, there are times when I feel like I don't know what I'm doing despite sprinkled feelings of confidence just moments before. Or there are simply times when I feel like I can't handle the physical strain of it all, and that I care about what I do so much that it really takes an emotional toll on me when I feel like I'm failing!

It's been a roller coaster of the two years I've been doing this professionally, and a whole lifetime of a circus, dealing with arts and crafts on my own. I know I will still hit rock bottom on some days (especially near deadlines!!), when I'll feel like I just can't do this anymore! Or times when I'll feel like giving up and choosing an organized daily work schedule, a desk of a workspace, and a logistically convenient space and setting for me to work. But for now, really, I'm grateful, thankful and happy. :-)

Write the Future

2010-05-22T14:19:00.003+08:00

Nike Write The Future from Wieden + Kennedy London on Vimeo.

I'm not even going to begin to think of production costs for this commercial!! So many sports superstars, so many countries. I sure hope they had separate units in each country, rather than one art department to take care of... ALL OF THAT.

The future of production value here in Manila? Well, it's definitely something we'll aim for.

Happy Weekend everyone!! :-)

Write the Future, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. Nike World Cup Advertisement by Wieden+Kennedy http://www.wk.com/. See more at http://www.nikefootball.com.

Behind the Scenes

2010-05-21T02:20:00.007+08:00

Some pictures of my Fully Booked set ups. Step by step. Box by box. Book by book.

Upon recommendation of a number of people to formally document my work (and not just with this blog!), I asked my very good friend who is also a wonderful cinematographer and photographer, Pong Ignacio, to come along, and these are some of the shots he took of the process.

Thank you Pong!! :-)

To the Sea!!!

2010-05-20T00:55:00.002+08:00

Thank you Jack Johnson for once again igniting my desire to go to the beach!!! It's summer in Manila and I still haven't stepped foot on sand. A very fun poolside barbecue outing with my friends made me forget for awhile, but now I just wanna dip in the ocean!!! :-) It's so pretty here!!

And the reason I'm really posting this video is that I wonder how on earth they shot this video. How did they do playback for that? Slow motion, plus in the middle of the ocean. How do you do playback for that? I'll just imagine and stay in awe.

You and Your Heart by Jack Johnson, directed by Jack Johnson, shot in Hawaii. From his new album To the Sea.

Back to School

2010-05-18T20:51:00.000+08:00

I am officially finished with the Fully Booked Back to School displays! 1200 paper airplanes, 550 boxes, 200 cardboard characters, 10 chalkboards, 12 set up days, and one very very tight month-long work schedule later, I can finally breathe! :-) I'd describe the behind-the-scenes process some more, but I think I sufficiently documented it with this blog already... So I'll just show what the final windows look like:

Sea Creatures clutter the Fort window display.

Some of these creatures are my favorite! They were the hardest to paint,

with polka dots and so many other details to color in and trace.

But I really do love them!

Rabbit and bird robots protect the Eastwood branch.

I love the robot creatures as well!!

My sister's Wes Anderson-inspired lab rat and other rodent mechanics

and astronauts in the Gateway windows.

My sister is so proud of the rat illustrations she painted! She'll be very upset

to find out that I accidentally situated them to such a far away branch as Gateway! Hahaha!

More submarine creatures, this time mechanical ones too, make up the Greenbelt display.

Again, some of my favorite creatures! A whale operated by a rat. Who would have thought?

D is for Dinosaur

and R is for Rabbit

at the Greenhills Promenade branch!

This is probably one of the harder branches to set up, since there are two windows,

each on a different floor of the mall! Plus, it's one of the smaller branches,

so I always feel like I'm shoo-ing away customers when all our materials

are out for arrangement! :-s

Elephants and pandas make the exciting zoo in Mall of Asia.

This branch is one of the easier ones, being one small-sized window with a back wall

to lean and stick our materials on. Yes, that's already a small-sized window for Fully Booked!

Photo by Pong Ignacio

It's a bird farm inside and out of the Shang ri La store!

This is the first time I ever took store indoors into consideration.

Good thing we had enough materials!

Waves wage war against storm clouds in Trinoma.

These are my friend Marco's Stormbringers. He did all the illustrations and I gave him

total freedom in drawing all 200 of them. I guess he had a lot of fun inventing creatures like these!

Photos by Pong Ignacio

Robots and alien invaders at the SM The Block/North EDSA windows.

These windows combined make the largest and longest set up that we were

getting kicked out of the mall by the time we ended!! This was the branch I

blogged about before. And these pictures are dark precisely for that reason!

It's a dinosaur and reptile safari in Rockwell!!

Rockwell is the biggest single window, even bigger than the Fort! It takes us about as long to

set up as North EDSA, but thankfully, we set it up in the morning, before the mall opens!

I think this my personal favorite of the displays I've done. It was quite an ambitious design for me to orchestrate and execute, but I'm very lucky to have a great team behind me to help me see the project through to the end. I really had to stick to the work schedule and budget with this one -- I was keeping tabs on the dates and numbers everyday! But we did it!! :-)

On to the next one! What would that be then?

Fully Booked Window Displays. Some pictures from Pong Ignacio. Character Illustrations by Marco Limjap. Cardboard Box Cutouts by Marco Ortiga. And overall design by me! :-)

Take a Minute

2010-05-14T14:54:00.002+08:00

What to do, what to do...

After finishing a project, do you ever get the feeling of unease? Like you think there's something else to be done, yet you can't quite put your finger on what that is?

I just finished putting up all the displays of Fully Booked (will definitely update on that soon!!), and I don't know what to do this afternoon. From unending lists of things to finish, and piles of crafts cluttering my living room, I'm now down to getting one errand done (to get a pedicure!), and a few extra boxes and books on the floor to deliver to the main branch. So now, even tasks as simple as those, I'm procrastinating for I feel like I now have all the time in the world to do them!

This is very much like the feeling of waking up after the last day of school, or coming out of the last exam for the school year, first having a workload to conquer and now, nothing left to accomplish. What to do? Just relax and take a minute for myself then.

Pictures of Masahe Espresso kiosk in RCBC Plaza, and office building in Makati, Philippines. For employees to relax and take some minutes for themselves as well! If you work in the area, why not drop by? :-)

Kiosk design by yours truly, and photoshopping of my point-and-shoot pictures by my boyfriend Marco.

Lights Out

2010-05-13T01:59:00.002+08:00

Tonight, I finished setting up so late that the mall practically kicked us out!! All the lights around us were closed, save for the display ones in the store. The guards were ready to leave, and so were the store employees. The service elevator and mall escalators weren't working anymore either!

Scary.

Here's a bit of what the display will look like. Tonight's mall had such big windows! Even two of them...

Four more set-ups to go!!! Let's do this!

Photo taken at Fully Booked in The Block, SM North EDSA.

Color Me Kismet

2010-05-11T22:31:00.005+08:00

I have a free night!! Nothing to sew or cut or draw or report for work! So I ended up doing my favorite blog rounds. Much to my joy, I came across a picture of one of my favorite craft/photography bloggers in a situation I find myself in way too many times:

Katie Sokoler of Color Me Katie

Stuck in the middle of her crafts!

With all her materials taking over her space.

Looks like my living room (though I think it is much messier than that sometimes) isn't the only space overflowing with project materials!

Color Me Katie is probably the one of the first blogs I started following, and what I love about it most is that Katie's projects and photographs aren't giant orchestrations of complicated lights and props. They're simple!! But at the same time, something only she could come up with! Other readers even come up with their own versions of her ideas, and are continually inspired by her all around cheer! I know I am. And I definitely can't deny the influence her blog has on mine.

Some of my favorites of her pictures:

Visit http://colormekatie.blogspot.com for more, and you can follow her on Flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/katesokoler/.

Happy Mothers' Day!! Love, YSL

2010-05-09T23:57:00.004+08:00

Happy happy Mothers' Day to everyone's moms!! :-) And to the best mom ever -- my mom!! She takes care of my and stays overnight in the hospital when I get vomit-attacks, medicates me when I get sick and panic about it, helps me staple hearts together for my Valentines' Day display, paints characters and letters for my Back-to-School one so I can sleep an hour more at night... I love you mom!! :-)

During our one month of ultimate bonding in our Spain trip last year, we spent an exotic week in Morocco. A definite highlight was our visit to the Majorelle Gardens in Marrakech, a plot of land that houses a variety of Mediterranean plants and birds. First privately owned and initiated by Jacques Majorelle, a French painter in retirement in Morocco, the Gardens were then purchased and maintained by two more Parisians, Pierre Berge and his lover, and someone whom my mom is a big fan of, Yves Saint Laurent.

YSL himself retired in these gardens and used them as inspiration to paint, some of his work marking his years in Morocco. His ashes were also buried in the area, and a section is gated from the public as Berge still resides there.

My mom's favorite place in Morocco where she probably took pictures of every plant, funny-looking or not! Hahaha!

Happy Mothers' Day again to everyone!! May we all cherish these golden moments with them! :-)

Pictures from a small gallery in the Majorelle Gardens as well as around the area. The blue house is where YSL's painting room is! :-) But it wasn't open so we could only get an exterior picture. For information on the gardens, you can visit http://www.jardinmajorelle.com/en/.

On Sunlight and Shadows

2010-05-06T01:15:00.008+08:00

Tonight, my mom, sisters and I had dinner with my mom's friend, Tita Celia. Though from Manila, she lives in Spain and when my sister studied there for some time last year, she took care of her and her fellow students. In fact, she takes care of so many of daughters and sons of friends who study in Europe! Including my cousin Anina and some family friends who were at the dinner too.

When we were in Madrid, she took us to an exhibit of the painter Joaquin Sorolla in the world famous Spanish national Prado Museum. Never before had his work been compiled in such a large quantity as we were able to see, and walking around the exhibit, I was only more and more stunned as I went further into every gallery. His scenes capture everyday Spanish provincial life, of farmers gathering crops, of fishermen pulling boats, and of women and children playing during the afternoon. But its his play with light and dark, with his highlight in the areas on which sunlight hits and shadows form that makes what would be commonplace images so stunning, so beautiful, so wonderful to be in the presence of. Not to mention, his work comes in such LARGE scales to say the least, measuring in canvasses of 12 by 14 feet at times.

Strolling Along the Seashore

After the Bath

Sewing the Sail

Some of my favorites. Imagine these rays of sunlight and shadows on a 14 foot scale!!

One of his smaller pieces in the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, a museum dedicated to modern art, situated very near the Prado, making up the Madrid Triangle of Art along with the Museo Thyssen-Bornemiza (my absolute 100% favorite museum ever!! More on that another time). I can't read the title in the picture though. :-S

My mom and Tita Celia in front of the Prado Museum promotion. We couldn't take pictures inside the exhibit of course, so we took them outside instead! Hahaha! This piece was part of the beach series he painted about the same time as Strolling Along the Seashore. The women in the painting are his wife and eldest daughter.

Seville

A painting of Seville, Spain, as part of a series called The Provinces of Spain, for the Hispanic Society of America. Only in the exhibit in the Prado were all the paintings in the series ever in Spanish soil together.

Try as I may to provide you with samples of his work, I don't think any picture could ever give justice to how marvelous I really believe they are. So if you ever ever get the chance to see his work, I trust you'll make the effort upon my recommendation. It would really be worth it!!

On the side of the museum.

Going to the Prado was easily one of the most memorable days of my life. Not only did I see Sorolla's paintings, but in the main part of the museum, I was able to see work by classical artists -- the ones I've only ever read about in history books and pretend to understand about in cultural references. Raphael, Sandro Botticelli, Diego Velasquez, Francisco Goya, Paul Rubens... I was even able to see The Garden of Earthly Delights by Heironymus Bosch, a piece I had read about in class. I was starstruck if you could say so! Hahaha! :-)

Visiting museums, being in Spain, really made me feel like a part of the world. I love living in Manila; there's really no place like it. But being in a major city in the world, taking part and seeing culture that I had only ever heard of before was such an exhilarating and empowering experience. I should probably just save this for another entry, one that I'd been saving to talk about my Spanish trip in its entirety, but I just had to mention it as well. The Prado wasn't even my favorite place there yet and I'm already raving!

Leaving the Bath

I really love how he painted the see-through dress against the girl's thigh in this one. If only the sunlight hit us as gracefully here in Manila. Unfortunately, the summer heat has really gotten unbearable, don't you think?? Even Tita Celia thinks so.

Visit http://www.joaquin-sorolla-y-bastida.org/ to see more of Joaquin Sorolla's work. :-)

Packed!!!

2010-05-04T12:45:00.001+08:00

WOOHOOO!!! The Fully Booked displays are all ready to be picked up and I have this ONE FREE DAY to catch up with movies, friends, and life outside of work!! I start setting up in the stores on Thursday, and that will probably continue on until next week. I have one extra project to take care of too. Here we go!!

A super giant thank you to my mom who helped me work over the weekend. And to Marco who helped me pack everything the whole day. I can't imagine what time I would have finished without them!!

And one last thought and thank you -- to my friend Marco who drew all 200 of the creatures you'll see in the stores, and who also is turning a year older today!! Happy happy birthday!! :-) Some of these creatures are just too adorable. They look great colored and cut in shape. :-)

Buried

2010-05-02T12:37:00.000+08:00

That's exactly how I feel at the moment -- BURIED. Buried in that pile of books, paint, boxes, cutouts, and so much more! I've hit the 3/4th finish line mark in the Fully Booked Back to School displays and whenever I get to that point in ANY project, I always get depressed. Not literally, of course I'm exaggerating. But being a quarter's worth of work away from the deadline, yet still having a mountain to conquer, getting there one painted box at a time, and feeling like the pile is never getting smaller is so disheartening. :-(

So good luck to me! On this one last day (hopefully) of prepping, tomorrow's day of packing everything, and Tuesday's deadly deadline.

The picture is from my GRAND SET-UP DAY last Wednesday. So thankful for everyone who came and helped out!!

Lazy Sunday

2010-04-27T23:08:00.002+08:00

Last Sunday, my two friends Mela and Marco helped me paint paint paint for my next window display project. Marco also drew all the illustrations, and Mela is my neighbor so she thought to drop by and help us.

Set-up days (days when I gather and make all the things I need for shoots and displays) are so unbearable sometimes. I completely dread them! I never know if what I plan to accomplish will actually get done, nor if my strategies of putting crafts together will work. But it's always great when a helping hand from two of my closest friends, and to talk and laugh together for the 6 or so hours we painted. At some point, even my mom and sisters joined in!

Tomorrow, I have a GRAND SET UP DAY, hoping to finish as much as I can for the Fully Booked Back-to-School displays which are due for pick up sometime next week. It's crunch time! Really, there's so much to do, and so little time left to finish them.

So now, I'll get off the internet and work!

Happy Earth Day!!

2010-04-22T16:02:00.001+08:00

Making do with what we've got -- that's what Alexandre Orion, a Brazilian artist has done in his street art project using exhaust dirt in tunnels and underpasses. "Cleaning the Streets" was the title given to the project in an article my friend Robbie tweeted awhile back.

I thought the theme would be apt for today is Earth Day! And project like these are our reminder to make do with the damage that we've already done, and at the same time, do our part in respecting what resources are still available.

Doing my own part is hard -- I use and dispose materials left and right in my job. But I try my best, hoarding all that I can reduce, reuse and recycle!

Another example of the project, this time by Paul Curtis, for Clorox's Green Works.

I wonder if we can do this here in Manila... without getting stopped by police or authorities! We definitely have MANY dirty spots in the metro that would be perfect for this.

Happy Earth Day again!!

These photos plus more and a short write-up on the project can be found here: http://illusion.scene360.com/graffiti/8190/cleaning-the-streets-reverse-graffiti/. More videos there too!