Truth in a Glance

I remember how a childhood friend of mine who was also an artist would talk about truths and lies. How I told him about truth always having time as its shadow. Where truths are elusive abstractions swimming in the sea of lies. It was one of those discussions over coffee that lasts until the next morning.

Artists have done so many artworks that deals with the truth or their versions of truth and it took bravery, skill, and talent to come up with a work about it and I believe that's what's most of us are doing.

I found this article very interesting and provides insights that are worth pondering upon. On how happiness is always followed by sadness, the lack of privacy through surveillance, love, and what is ego in isolation?

Stoicism of the Stars by Bobbi Lurie in Berfrois

The article discussed how even the greatest comedians who can create so much jokes and make people laugh are in fact the saddest people in the world. I've always known that people who make outlandish attempts to heighten their happiness are in fact carrying a heavier sadness. That people who like the simple things in life are ultimately happier than those who aren't satisfied with it.

Reading it made my brain stir for a while over lunch but I know I have to go back to work.

"To be real is an internal affair.
 To be imaginary is to believe one is loved by an "other"
 To be real is to love.
 To be real in love means "to love ins spite of," for then one knows love is not the imaginary story...
 love goes beyond any story... it exists within the bodily sense of being alive."

The first line is an echo of how the universe exists within us all.

"And one must face the fact that most comedians are truth-tellers and, in case one didn't notice, outside of dentists and architects, comedians are the most chronically depressed people on the planet. Still, they laugh. That doesn't mean they don't commit suicide; it means they make you laugh before doing it."

The article spoke of love and suicide and whether one is a comedian or not, if love lacks within oneself and can't be found from the outside, and or from others, suicide is often the result. No comedian, or anyone for that matter could ever laugh at that kind of joke, especially when it's on them.
The thing about people is that some will seek for the truth and in seeking they often get lost even if what they are looking for is in front of them. Seekers are sometimes, just people who just find it hard to accept that what they are looking for exists in everything and in anything. To seek for something in front of you is a waste of time.

Wood Shed Clean Up

It's been a while since I've worked on my woodshop here in Laguna and because I have projects that I had to work on as soon as possible, cleaning up wasn't exactly my top priority, but today I've picked up the broom and started cleaning whatever I could as long as there was daylight.

Bits

I have a small wood shed next to our house here in Sta Rosa and here I make my book arts and other projects. Though it's small, I have enough tools to create even the most sophisticated furniture. Like they say, it's not the tools ~ it's the hand.

It's hard to buy good quality hand planers here in the Philippines, so carpenters are the ones who actually make them for themselves. Here are some of my planers where in the middle was made here in the shed with my uncle, the one on the right is bought from a Japan surplus store and the left one is sold locally.

Saw dust are so fine and as time passes, it can turn as cake on the floor. Scraping them is the key to removing them and it's also my favorite part of the chore. Cleaning is a nice and stress-relieving activity, it is a meditative work that is fruitful both for my working environment and my inner being.

When I was young I would rather watch
my father work in his furniture shop than
go to school.

Here's the project I have been working on. It is a bunch of S-Staffs or otherwise known as Buugeng, I'm the only maker in the Philippines but it was known that the idea or concept originated in Japan. The S-Staff that I make have a different shape because flow art enthusiasts prefer the shape that I create, the weight is also better. 

The wood shed is also my art studio because I work mostly with wood but when it comes to paper, I have another working area specific for that. People don't understand what skill goes into carpentry but it's quite a sophisticated craft. 

They think that as long as it is cut with a saw then it's fine as it is, smoothing and sanding takes so much time and people don't consider it as hard labor. It takes a lot of patience to perfectly provide a smoothness on the edge of the wood and it also takes time. I'm happy to work with clients that gives me the time I need to work on a project because if I feel I'm pressured to finish a project as soon as possible, I seem to dislike it and would let go of the project easily while the quality is also affected.

The Flow of the River

The Endless Knot

Time is important, yet not everyone values it. In this carved book I created just a week ago I have carved a Tibetan Buddhist symbol, the Endless Knot, that can be seen in their monasteries. It is so because I have realized time is a continuous flux without interruption and has no beginning and no end. It makes each present moment valuable and only the moment that captures life.


Slowly I'm adjusting to the working routine, where projects and artworks are done especially when an exhibit is coming up and clients are waiting. I probably won't be going out with people for a while and my social life will most probably consist of sleep, eat, read, and rest with kitties. Book arts is important so I'm spending a great deal of time creating my works and preparing for exhibits. Such is the life of an artist, especially when one lives in the Philippines - where artists complacently die each day.

This year, I plan to take it easy by simply working on a few exhibits such as my solo show and just a few exhibits on the sides. It is important that after being gone for a quarter of a year that I clean up everything that have gathered dusts like my living quarters and my working studio in Laguna.

Blank : Mahogany

Most of the books that I've been binding are actually blank but there are those that actually have stories, poems, and other literary works that I have and they are commonly found in bigger art works that I make. I have been writing as well as reading since there are so many books to read when a library is at your disposal.

People who purchase my books perplex me when they tell me that they don't want to write on it. I made blank books so that people can turn it into their planner or journal or a book to contain their poetry collection and not something that they should just display in their room. It is lightweight enough to be carried around and to make a nice looking travel journal and I really encourage the people who purchase them to write on the books, their thoughts, feelings, and anything they feel like writing down. The courage to write is important and it's also a nice relic to keep and to have grand children inherit in the future (Haha!)

The Story : Hiding Away

Soon I will be posting stories that I will be including in my exhibit in the future here. Little stories that I have written right after coming out of the temple life and realizing a lot of things.
I'm feeling a little bit anxious about the projects that I've been doing and it's quite a setback that I don't have my woodworking assistant anymore. It's the trade off when going to the temple and not being able to be there and no work was provided when I was away. So now I'm toiling away on my own but the feeling at the end of the day was amazing despite feeling a little bit of body aches here and there.

Working with wood is not something that a lot of people know, so finding a good assistant is rather hard to come by. I've also been doing volunteer work for Mabuhay Temple and would probably spend at least a day there in a week especially when Chinese New Year is near.

Book art commissions are welcome. Just message me. :)