I Got in the First Tier. The Backlash of My Secret Life

I was included in an article about 10 New Filipino artists that deserve recognition.

The article is here by Spot.

Now, I've been living a quiet life recently and didn't know that this came out not until a friend sent me a message.

Still preferring a life of solitude right now. See you.

To Become the Black Horse

So I'm watching an online auction of an item that I want for the coming holidays. There are already 9 bidders, which I think is quite high so in order to win the bid - the plan is to snipe the bid. It is a technique that a marginalized group of bidders use to win auctions. Bidding at the last minute in order to get the lowest possible price yet higher than the other bidder's max bid.
Hopefully it works, since I've gotten a few options to fall back on in case I lose the bid.

This would be the start of my coming back to earth. :)

Substitute for Meditation

I didn't feel like talking to people in a while and have decided to stay in my cave. I wanted to rest and just be alone, a lot of people who doesn't know how to appreciate solitude often go bonkers. If I wouldn't spend time with just myself, I would have probably gone insane.

So to keep my sanity in check, I had separate myself from the trappings of the corporeal world and look at it from the outside.

After my solo show, I received encouragements and praise, got interviewed for a popular art magazine in the country and had gotten the attention of a few collectors.I got new offers for solo shows and other shows aside from opportunities of enriching my career. It's all good.

I am by no means obligated to follow them. At least that is how I feel, because I really have nothing to prove.

I earned enough from my show that I could take a vacation for a long time. But I still need to work to survive, eventually.

It will be frugal but comfortable.

I realized that though I have high aspirations as an artist, I am not as romantically chained to them as other artists think they should be.

It is more important for me to take a break and take it easy. :)

Great things are ahead. Soon, I will be making my descend back to earth. Or maybe I'll stay here awhile.

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Planting the Seed of Bookarts in the Philippines

This is a good beginning for bookarts in the Philippines where there are now a few practitioners with the craft surfacing. I know aside from me, there are a few others from the North and South of Luzon. 

I am very much looking forward to meeting a few of them as well.

Here's news from inewswire about my solo show this coming September 25 at the Big Room of Art informal.

A Bold New Genre: First Bookarts Solo Show Opens in the Philippines

Aside from my solo show, I was also included at the Met Open where there were 200 artworks exhibited for the benefit of the Met's art program. 5 curators were the one who chose the artworks submitted and what I liked about the application process was that they don't need your resume or cv, they just need to see your work. The reception is on the 20th but will open to the public on the 21st. I have submitted a bookart piece enclosed in wood and glass, protecting 3 hanging bound books and one at the bottom for a total of 4 bound books within. Sadly, I do not have a photo of the artwork but I will surely take a photo of it when it is at the Met Museum, the lighting will definitely give it a different feel.

And I also joined an art fair on the 25th at the National Art Fair in the Megamall Megatrade Halls. It seems that this month is truly a busy and spectacular month. I'm hoping to keep this up but working as a full time artist can take its toll since the financial income is not stable. The only way I could get by is to be very frugal and really spend on things that are necessary, I am not capable of appeasing my luxuries very much but I know I must tighten my belt.
I am happy for the support that I get from family and friends as I tread this path.

Audaces Fortuna Iuvat

Veronica Laurel with Kasibulan at the National Art Fair

Ornamental Study 2
6.5x4.5x1.25"
Hand bound book with carved wooden cover
2014

Ornamental Study 2 in Tanguili
6.5x4.5x1.25"
Hand bound book with carved wooden cover
2014

Endless Knot
6.5x4.5x1.25"
Hand bound book with carved wooden cover
2014

Mahogany Blank
6.5x4.5x1.25"
Hand bound book with carved wooden cover
2014

Mahogany Blank
6.5x4.5x1.25"
Hand bound book with carved wooden cover
2014

Mahogany Blank
6.5x4.5x1.25"
Hand bound book with carved wooden cover
2014

Veronica Laurel's blank book collection with carved wooden covers is one of the unique works among hundreds of artworks available at the National Art Fair held at the SM Megamall Megatrade halls 1 & 2 on September 26 to 28.
Her  wooden carved book collection for this event has eclectic designs that were created during the period of her stay in Buddhist temples in the Philippines and Taiwan. Other designs include the portrait of a serene Buddha on the cover and lotus flowers. The paper she used is very smooth and has  a velvety surface that is also friendly with fountain pens.

Her works can be found in the Kasibulan Booth, a group of women's artists that also has different artworks on sale such as paintings, sculpture, literary works like books, and others.
Kasibulan will also be relaunching Baidy Mendoza's book "Labrador" at the center stage on the 27th of September, hosted by writer Bebang Sy.

A Bold New Genre: First Book Arts Solo Exhibition Opens in the Philippines

Mandaluyong City - Book artist Veronica Laurel opens her debut solo exhibition titled "Beautifully Damned" on September 25 at the Big Room in Art Informal Gallery. An exhibition depicting the fragile human condition through a fusion of book arts and wooden sculptures.

Veronica Laurel presents bookarts as a new genre in the Philippine Contemporary Art with her show. Her first exhibition is a brave introduction and promising beginning for bookarts as a vital genre in the Philippine art scene.

Laurel's work delves into the complicated state of the human condition in its chaotic frustrations and fragile undertakings. Under the discipline of bookarts, it opens up new possibilities in the local contemporary art scene as it is a new and an exciting genre that has flourished in North America and Europe.

Beautifully Damned as a solo show is a portraiture of human emotions and conditions through sculptural bookart forms, the raw and genuine spirit covered up by society's demanded pretensions.

In her artworks are the three main elements that play a huge role in its construction such as paper, wood, and glass. She uses book arts to carry out the essence of the artwork then wood and glass as the vessel, similar to have a body and a soul. The Philippine art industry has many talented artists often falling under traditional disciplines. Veronica Laurel as an artist dares to add a new genre in Philippine contemporary art that can compete internationally.

Book arts has been a growing movement globally with more and more practitioners each year and a wide audience but has yet to be grasped in South East Asia.

Veronica Laurel is a book artist based in Sta Rosa city. She studied book binding on her own and learned wood carving in Paete, Laguna. Growing up in a family of carpenters, she developed skills in working with wood.
She has exhibited across manila in group exhibitions at venues such as the Ayala Museum, The Tower Club, Blot Art Studio, among others.

Find out more about her in her website: www.veronicalaurel.com

Address to Art Informal
277 Connecticut St. Mandaluyong City. Near Greenhills.
Click here for the Map

New Veronica Laurel Website Up!

Finally took my site out of Wix.com, I found a better and easier way of getting an artist site that is simple and fast, that also has a functional mobile site.

www.veronicalaurel.com

I'm still yet to update the Solo Exhibition page because I don't have the official invite photo from the gallery and I'm a bit lazy to come up of my own. Though I am pretty excited about the show.

Happy to be updating the new site in an easier and faster way than the old one. Goodbye Flash and goodbye wix!

I Don't See Dead People

There is certain difficulty in organizing oneself to see another person at a specific location nowadays. 

Recently, friends I haven't seen in years, let alone heard from suddenly dropped lines and dared to say hello. Though the friendship is not dead, it just didn't occur to me to message them about anything. Life for each of us have separated, leading to different places.

These people have asked to meet or see each other over tea or  alcohol. I obliged, like the good friend I was. The thing is, these people would set the date and initiative to meet yet cancel on the day itself or the day before. Some ask to meet for some reason but would never really set the time to. How come friends don't even know how to keep their words anymore. Maybe that's why I don't see them anymore.

There was a friend of mine who contacted me out of the blue to borrow  money. She said that bills are piling up and that their electricity will get the cut, that they got short of cash because their grandma was taken to the hospital. 

This is a person who live with her girlfriend and both have work. I on the other hand, is an artist living as frugal as possible but I'm not squandering to get money to pay my bills. I have to thank our ancestral house for that. 

I have long decided to carefully select the friends to see. I realized I don't need a lot of friends but a few good quality ones are enough. 

I have also been picky with messages to respond to. I think I am too articulate that I couldn't find the words to respond to "Hey" or "Howdy". I think responding with how my week went is an overwhelming response. I decided to just leave messages like that alone and lonely. 

Also because these one word messages come from people who would respond to "Hello" after four days of sending the message. Maybe after a year we would have conversed a full sentence. It just defeats the convenience of instant messengers when responses aren't instant. Words become food left out to rot.

These people have died to me, they die when I no longer hear their voices or see even their shadows. And I too perhaps die to them. I should be summoned with a Ouija board if they wish to communicate.

I'm glad to have friends who are easy to talk to. Who fulfill their words, or calls to cancel a meeting. I'm glad to have those few friends who have kept their common decency. I love those friends who are never too busy to see me, or let me crash in their place. Who make time to just hang out despite busy schedules.

How to Register as an Artist with BIR

Artists who are serious and are climbing up their careers need to provide receipts for every artwork that is sold or services provided. Those who are no longer "Just Dabbling" in art and is taking a more professional approach should register. Here are instructions on how to register yourself and become a legitimate artist in the RP. I'm cutting the sweet talk on why you need this as an artist, these are the things that an artist should know already. Yes, if we earn through our art, we need to pay taxes as good citizens. Otherwise if we become famous, the BIR will be on our asses.

What you need:
* A registered tin number. If you don't have one, click the link.
* P500 Registration fee. (To be quick, don't wait til you're at your BIR branch to pay. See below)
* Copy of Birth Certificate (NSO)
* BIR 1901 Form (2 Copies, Fill them up.) Download them here Part I and Part II.
* 605 Payment Form (Bring the original (1) and photo copy them, twice (2)) Download here.
* Proof of address (Ex: Meralco Bill, Internet Bill, etc.)
* Photocopy of a valid ID with signature and date of birth. (Ex: SSS card, Postal ID, Driver's License,            Passport)
*** Printer's I906 form (Application for Authority to Print Receipts and Invoices)
       Provided by your printer. See below for more info on this one.
       * Sample Receipt ( Just one is enough )
* 2 Columnar Books, 1 Ledger, 1 Linear Journal (Depends on your RDO, but at least buy one                 Columnar book in school supply stores upon coming to the BIR office, they normally sell them there but buying before hand saves you time.) I was only required the Columnar book, nothing more.

* If married (Marriage Certificate copy and birth certificates of dependents if any)

X No need for DTI. If they asked then tell them you are registering as an individual, self-employed, professional.


***The 1906 form is nothing to worry about, but it should be something you already have before heading out to the BIR office. If you submit everything above, then it's possible to finish registering within the day in one sitting with the BIR officer. This is how you save time and seize the day, and perhaps have the good part of the afternoon to celebrate with a snack.
By that, I mean before scheduling to go to the BIR office in your area, you should have downloaded the 1901 form, filled them up and visited a printer's office or shop. They would need your 1901 form so it's important you already have it by then.

Sample Receipt
If you have a logo, it would be best to bring it and give the file to the printer. Since you are already there at the Printer's office, ask whether you need Vat or Non-Vat, OR or SI. Explain your situation clearly.
There are templates and sizes of receipts to choose from and an option to place your logo wherever on the receipt. Make it look cool.

Going to a printer before hand saves you time and money because if you fail to go to one and went ahead to the office, they will refer a printer that will charge you twice the amount you'd have paid for. Printers are called IMPRENTA for locals.

Once everything is settled, the printer will give you the 1906 form with your 1901 attached and of course, the Sample receipt. Printing for the receipts will depend on how many you want to be printed. Mine was 10 books and it took three days from date of registration. I gave a down payment but it's not necessary. I was just allocating my budget that way. The printer owner was also a good friend of my dad, they were childhood friends so I got a huge discount.

PAYING FOR THE REGISTRATION FEE
Can be done on the same day you visited the printer, before or afterwards. Either way is your choice.

BANK
It's very simple and hassle free when paying with banks. That's the easiest right now. I paid with Land Bank but there are other banks where you can also pay for your P500 registration fee. Ask the bank to be sure.
When paying, don't forget to bring the 605 Payment Form you downloaded and printed. It is a requirement when paying with banks.

GCASH
GCASH is also available, I used it to pay for my DTI before but you should have a GCASH account. I chose the bank payment instead even if I have a GCASH account simply because I would have to go to a GCASH center to deposit P500 then send a text message to pay. It's pretty much the same as paying in the bank and the bank was nearer my house. Here's the link to GCASH payments.

BIR eFPS or Electronic Filing Payment System
Here's the link. I found it slow and painful. Never got past the enrollment process but worth a try because you can also pay taxes through here.

After this, you will get your payment receipt. Don't lose it. It's good to be organized with all these papers.
You are pretty much good to go to your BIR office.

At the BIR Office
You will be paying for the following in the office:
Document Stamp P15 (For the COR)
Columnar Book, Ledger, Linear Journal. From P45 to P150. Depends on what will be required to be purchased but the Columnar Book is a good bet.

*You may also apply for a Tin Card which is free. It takes three days to be completed, I've applied but haven't retrieved it.

Arrive early, as early as 8:30am or at least before 9am when the office opens. Being at the beginning of the line helps. Get a number if necessary and wait for your turn, if you think it's going to take a while, bring a book, comic, sketch pad, and kill time until your turn.

While waiting, you can go ahead and pay for the document stamp which is P15. The officer will require you to buy the books, normally it's them selling it so you don't have to go anywhere.

Registering as an individual, means you are a self-employed professional and they have categories for that, for artists, the category would be under ART GALLERIES or something similar to it. You will be asked by the officer and will lead you to a closer and appropriate category depending on what kind of artist you are. Don't be afraid to ask and explain your situation.

Pretty much, that's it. Just wait for the whole process to end and you will be given your COR (Certificate of Registration Whoohoo!!) and you will be lead to the boss where he or she has to sign the released COR. That's it.

It's not that hard now is it?
Don't let intimidation get ahead of you. It's not intimidating. It's very simple and only exerts a little bit of effort. Don't waste time. I just did it on my own and I think it took me about 3-4 hours, because I made a mistake with the receipt and had to take another sample back from the printer.
If there are seminars about tax filing at the BIR, take it, it's free. It's like workshop on tax paying.

Congratulations you are now legit! Go put your COR in a frame and hang it in your studio!
Now that you have a COR then having your own website is next.
You can check out my website at www.veronicalaurel.com
It is a simple and easy to update site which I will be posting up instructions very soon. So subscribe if you want to learn more about it. Click here to subscribe to my mailing list.

After registering, one should also know about income tax and how to file them.
Here's a useful link.
I found out how to register through this link. Very helpful indeed. I'm grateful for resources online like these.

Furling Chaos in the Eye of the Storm by Veronica Laurel

Furling Chaos in the Eye of the Storm 2012

Veronica Laurel's work back in 2012 titled Furling Chaos in the Eye of the Storm, which displayed elaborately a fusion of literature and visual arts. Poetry and stories hang loose from the delicately suspended book in a wooden glass case.

Art as Manifestation of a Struggle

Art has garnered so many definitions in the past and each artist has his or her own meaning which is in most cases, the very definition to live by. In my short years of living as an artist, transitioning from a full time writer to a full time artist, I have seen and met different types of artists along the way and I have realized that the most comfortable artist in life can’t create an artwork to save his or her life when it calls for it.

When an artist has tasted hunger that cannot be satiated there is a struggle that blooms within that artist and in that bloom is also the birth of creativity. Hunger and struggle are the key factors that transcend the comfortable and the mediocre.

SPOLARIVM by JUAN LUNA
Won the gold medal in Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes held in
Madrid back in the 1884

Juan Luna may be an Illustrado, a Filipino aristocrat, but his struggle surpasses the material kind. He, among others like Jose Rizal, struggled and sacrificed their lives for a country that is not united in identity and wished that the suffering of the common Filipino will be lifted. That others may be treated with respect and equality, provided with education and human rights.

I was just in Paete almost a month ago and I went to a gallery there. The gallery that was owned by a cousin of my maestro, he spoke to me of the local art and how the San Cristobal painting in their church was mutilated by a person I shall not name, not for now. At that time, they were holding a painting workshop and a child was painting in a corner. A woman exclaimed that the child will be a great painter one day because his parents have everything, that money is everything.

I disagreed and told her most artists that have succeeded greatly were poor. She held her ground that money will make an artist great.

Thinking that money is everything is poison to the mind. We have been lied to by society to think that money will bring us success, greatness, and happiness. It is a lie so terrible that now it eats at the core of the people and is in fact the mentality that is destroying the planet and igniting war.

Drying out the wood oil in the sun

The owner of the gallery asked me to make them a guestbook and in a few days now I shall be delivering it. This is just part of my struggle, to make ends meet as I sell books and accept commissions. I have relinquished accepting wood projects even though they pay well because I have to choose if I just want to work as a person who does wood or try to live off my artworks. Despite not earning a lot, I contented that I am comfortable in this kind of lifestyle, although I may not be able to do a lot of things that requires money, I don't feel like I'm missing out.

Brené Brown said that vulnerability is the birthplace of creativity, that artists are often those who have laid down the armor and embraced the struggle and vulnerability that humans are always visited with. That artists can empathize through their works of art. It is the response to vulnerability, its manifestation.

My mentor, Jose Tence Ruiz mentioned to me once "It's easy to be a good artist, but you'll never be great if you don't become a part of a struggle in the social consciousness."

What does this say to the artists of today? Who are hungry, who toiled and struggled, and those who lived in the comfortable home never visited by famine?

Should there be a battle, the hungrier, always wins.

The Pitfalls of Volunteer Work

Just a few months before my debut solo show and I have decided to give a few of my precious days to volunteer work. Something that an artist myself who should be focusing on her artworks bothered to do for the goodness of mankind, of my people, Buddhism, and my country. If only in very little amount.

Volunteer work is of course, not for everyone. Especially in a country where working in itself is such great labor that having a job that is stable is nothing short of a blessing. I, on the other hand after living in a temple thought that I could do some good deeds by providing my talents.

Volunteer work makes a lot of people happy, because if you are not going to be paid for it, your mind better be strong enough to handle every setback, and still feel this sort of contentment and satisfaction at the end of the day.

Currently, I am volunteering for a temple that has the ambition to provide free education for everyone, which is of course a great thing. Now that it’s going to begin the college this month of June, there are a lot of things that hasn’t been straightened out first.

A lot of things are slow and now that I’m inside it, I finally see why. It is not because they are shorthanded and or there are not enough volunteers. I could see that there are little things that can be done by the already available people in it to work on and yet no one acts on it.

I help out when I can. They have a nice and spacious gallery and yet, Manila doesn’t know it exists and they are not really doing much about it as long as they reach a handful, it is enough. The potential of having a higher reach is not achieved because maybe they are content of the people who are coming in. I was invited by the one managing the gallery to provide a few of my artworks and sell it during an on-going exhibit. So I made works that are related to the gallery’s theme, like the face of the Buddha and an abstract representation of a lotus. Apparently, what was demanded of me after submitting the artwork was common and recognizable images of the lotus flower. Not only was it demanded of me, but when I gave my price for the artworks, I was also told that it would not sell because the price is high.

In all honesty, the price is 50% off since it is a non-profit institution and does not add any commission and what is left is nothing but my plain artist price, the lowest I could provide without tarnishing my reputation and hopefully not offending those who bought my works at its normal prices, which includes gallery commissions. I should be insulted because it was really quite a hassle to provide the artworks when I could have spent those lost days working on my solo show collection, then be told it will not sell. I simply explained that I couldn’t change the price because I have a standard price that I follow that is equivalent to my reputation as an artist, that it is okay that it won’t sell but didn’t really say that I already know it won’t because there is no real market or collectors visiting the gallery.

I just got my pieces back and I’m happy I got it back because I could sell it in other places. I merely waited for the time to pass and look at the events as mere flows and drama that I shouldn’t get too attached to. That the reality of the world outside and inside the temple may provide different meanings to my career as an artist but are both essentially empty and illusory in Buddhist views.

For the next ten days, I am giving my time to the temple but the problem is that the people in the temple don’t know how to manage time and the volunteer’s time. Yesterday, I have spent the whole day waiting for the task and since none came, I just decided to catch up on 80s and 90s movies like “Say Anything” and “Clueless”.

I designed the cover for the student handbook and I was told the layout of the content as well. I waited for the content that I will layout and none came. It wasn’t quite a productive day for me though I had fun watching movies but I just feel that I could really help and that are not tapping the time available I am providing them because I won’t be there all the time. Today, I decided to just go and buy materials for my artworks and stay at a friend’s house to bake some cookies and cook lovely vegetarian burgers.

I have left word that should there be any work to be done, to email me and I shall do it and submit at the end of the day.

I do believe that there is quite a language barrier to some and to make matters worse, there is also a lack of communication among volunteers.

I talked to one of the volunteers on how I think that people working in the are content with mediocrity and that they are not pushing for the full potential when the temple and its resources can actually reach so much. The volunteer answered by saying that it may not be mediocrity, it may be incapacity on their end to provide better results and not the satisfaction for mediocrity.

I saw how unorganized the system is and is quite a struggle to provide great work in. There was also a minor thing that irked me at the beginning because volunteers we’re provided a quarter to stay in but there was a lack in electric fans and we were not provided with any. The evenings were hot and it is quite hard to get some sleep and I bugged almost everyone about the fan where one of the volunteer’s said let the temple worry about it and that I shouldn’t worry about it.

So I decided to follow the volunteer’s advice, but nothing happened. There was still no electric fan, I tried not to complain and get some sleep but couldn’t.

When the volunteer who told me not to worry about it came to the quarters, she couldn’t care for a bit whether I could get some shut eye or not. I had to borrow a fan from the outside in order to get some comfort. I wonder how these people look at volunteers, like slaves?

That being a volunteer one should prepare to give time and money in the process. Maybe I still haven’t understood this Bodhisattva thing and I am only here willing to help what I could and I wonder if it’s too much to ask for a comfortable sleep at night for payment. Am I wrong to think that people should help the help that they receive, because this is a give and take situation. I thought that we all volunteer and help one another for a common goal, that we would like to achieve full potential that can provide and strong foundation for free education in the Philippines. Yet, the reality of how things were, are not that ideal because not all of us believe the same.

In the world of volunteer work, when everyone is there for the intention of goodness and sacrificing one’s time, the skill available of these people aren’t always excellent in levels. Often it falls under mediocrity and certain incapacities. People think what they are doing is good enough because an excellent work doesn’t equal a greater individual reward, they forget that great effort exerted will result not in high-payment or recognition but actually the goodness and welfare of the many that needs it. People are still trapped in this egoistic shell that prevents them from doing a better work than they are currently offering. It seemed that some of them are merely doing those things haphazardly because they were placed in that position without the talent to account for.

It was more on circumstance than the will, ability, and spirit.

People also working in such an environment have no recourse but patience and tolerance.

Reflect the Moon on a Calm Lake: HALA

"I am the reflection of the moon on the lake, if you see me trying to be good then you see yourself."

Dalai Lama

Kundun

A new batch of brave souls are going to stay in the Temple for three to four months for Philippine Fo Guang Shan's Humanistic Academy of Life and Arts 佛光山菲鲁宾人间学院.
It takes a lot of courage to submit oneself to a temple stay that would last for three months without any inclination of what is going to happen and how it's going to begin and end. I know I had my doubts especially on the day I came to the temple on a stormy weather and as I tread on almost two feet of flood riding my bike carrying an 8 kilo backpack while holding an umbrella, the wind blew hard, and my clothes were wet. I could barely see the road and hoped that I wouldn't end up in a huge pot hole and injure myself.

However, I was determined to go through it and I didn't allow any storm to hold me back. To my other classmates, they had to cross continents and mull over the fact that they are going to live in a developing country to find enlightenment, gain new experiences, shave their heads (If you feel the need to shave your head, it's okay. It's your practice. But it will not make you a monk and the nuns will remind you of that if ever you did, it also doesn't guarantee enlightenment. It's a warm country, you need the extra breeze to cool the head.)

There is humility in joining these sort of programs as one has to admit and be willing to learn new things, new culture, meet strangers, and other unexpected things. 

This is not for cowards who are afraid to leave their current world for something they don't understand, nor is it a walk in the park, and it can be considered a 'leap of faith' but I prefer "jumping into the abyss" a completely secluded world I barely knew existed in my mother land. But there it was, I found it and I made a choice.

For the new HALA students who are excited or anxious or whatever emotion they are going through about the program, it is an experience that has various results to different people. I'm not going to say that it's beautiful or ugly, or worth it or not, nor would I say that it's good or bad. Despite being in a group, it is still a very personal experience. It is exactly how one choose to see it, how one choose to experience it.

It is exactly as it is. The definitions, emotions, learning, are merely relative to a person.

It is as life changing as one would allow it. As meaningful as one wants it to be. 

But there is one thing that is sure, water is now offered to the one who thirst. 

It is now a matter of choosing to drink it whether it's in a bowl or a glass or a mug or in a container that we like or we don't like.

In the end the essence is the same. The opportunity is here to acquire it and make use of the time given efficiently. Because the answer to the question is always right in front of us. It is always within reach.

It is always a matter of choice. Choose.

Blanko: Why is art expensive?

Blank Book : Collision of Petals
2014
Veronica Laurel Book Art

I sold my books at Art In the Park last March, it was one of my favorite events because there are just so many things to look at but I'm rarely a buyer of art. A friend of mine marveled more on the price tag and less on the actual artwork.

"Why is art expensive?" she asked, it seems that it's something that bothered her and as a writer, letters and words aren't as valued as actual artworks when in essence they are both under the category of art, only with different mediums and discipline.

My Blanko Collection (Blank Books) got sold quite early so by midday, I barely have anything on display.

Centuries ago, art boomed in Europe especially for the Bourgeoisie who must always keep their status afloat. One way of keeping up with the social elites is to purchase art, along with purchasing a customized furniture set from the most famous carpenter. This is where the likes of Chippendale came in, providing special and superb skill in creating furniture. Art has always been a symbol of wealth and taste. It is one of the things to be discussed during tea time, art. What have you purchased? From which artist? How much? Etcetera etcetera...

Today, with the variety of available art and also an array of price tags, almost anyone can enjoy purchasing art and decorating their homes with art that they fancy without caring for social standing. There are so many affordable artworks available today because almost every young talented person wants to become an artist, of course the word "artist" have always been subjected to unholy abuse. There are also those who inflate their prices but most artist would follow a standard set of pricing with their works. 

Art is more than just an object and if a person sees the value of a piece of artwork, it doesn't matter how much it would cost. Suddenly the price is blurred and what surfaces would be the message or idea that the artist is portraying, the skill in execution, ingenuity, and its impact on the person.

Art is not expensive, the price tag is merely a reflection. People who have fat wallets, my artworks are probably very inexpensive but for those who toil each day on minimum wage, it may come as a luxury.

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. :)