INKFest 2016

I’ve been wanting to write my thoughts down since Saturday! In fact, I spent the whole weekend last week editing these photos and sending it to the people by Sunday morning just because I was so happy.  I didn’t want the moment to pass.

Fellow new moms always ask me how I go about my blogging & artworks.  Well, for one, it’s 12:54am and I’m writing this because Riley is asleep & I can blog guilt-free. Also, it’s a weekend so the clients are already resting: I have also recently e-mailed a bunch of final files. so yesssss…yehesssss…guilt-free blogging. Yussss. *Why am I reporting to you guys? IDK.* 😛

I guess this photo sums up everything: the weekend was about art, it was held in Ayala Museum and on the side, I took portraits of my fellow INKies. 🙂

But wait, sooooo why was last weekend extra special?  After the event, my heart was full and I felt energized more than ever.  I saw posts of fellow members of INK (Ilustrador ng Kabataan) and I’m so happy they also felt that way.  You know what? Maybe I should just make this a list-type blog post or we will both be lost in my labyrinth of thoughts. 😀 Hehe. I just have so much to say (but of course you can just always scroll down for keywords & photos).

1) If you told my high school self that I would be co-hosting last weekend, we would all be laughing.  – The first time I told my high school friends that I was hosting the INKfest in 2013, we all had a good laugh.  Like, really??  The person they were asking to host was the pimply awkward girl who loved to study and brought around a Boggle set and played it with her friends who tolerated her weirdness.  She was quiet most of her high school life but she didn’t know it until she outgrew it. 😀  She was deathly afraid of talking to people and she was reading this book entitled “Making Friends” by author & illustrator Andrew Matthews.  She dreamed of doing the same thing too someday but you know…there were bigger things to tackle then….like….making friends. 😀

Fast-forward to 2016, after some corporate stint that pushed her to really talk to people *OMG*, i.e. a job in sales, after a bunch of corporate presentations, blogging events *that really train you to socialize despite your introvertedness I swear*, invitations to talk about what you do *which really make you forget about the actual talking part until the last minute because you’re just so excited to lay-out your Powerpoint presentation…Yehesssss* & workshops, ta-dahhh, this girl was invited to co-host for INKfest 2016 again! 😀

*Wait. Why am I referring to myself in the third person?
Why the run-on sentence too? IDK.*

Anyway, it was just really fun to look back at all those years of me tolerating my stomach pain before talking to people and laughing at how life thrown me out of my comfort zone several times.

2) Ara & I tried not to fall apart after Ms. Bernie’s opening speech. – It was a pretty solemn morning.  It was 11am on a Saturday and one of the founders of Ilustrador ng Kabataan was talking about how INK started.  Ms. Bernadette Solina Wolf left her life in the city.   Aside from that, she shared how Manila can give you the money but how the provinces can give you a sense of fulfillment.  She said that INKies have yet to see how their works affect people.  If people can only see how these story books are read by children under a coconut tree–how their eyes light up when they see these illustrations and such…how some stories have been read to abused children and how they heal…

Just like what Fran(ces Alvarez) mentioned in her Candy Mag Online interview, a lot of the times, when you’re doing artworks, it’s so easy to get caught up in the process of chasing deadlines, making sure the parameters are met and such that it’s so easy to forget how the final work actually affects people.

My co-host Ara

Ms. Bernie also mentioned the unbearable lightness of being and how that energy transcend’s through one’s work.  After her speech, Ara & I tried not to cry when we were introducing the next segment.  I actually had to drink a loooooot of water before she ended her speech or I would have been a mess. I’m so grateful to have witnessed such a heartfelt message! 🙂 <3

3) Documentation, shopping & everything in between. – I have this thing with getting to record everything I see by way of taking photos.  I remember during my month long trip when I was 12, I was so worried that three rolls of film won’t be enough for the entire trip.

You know, I wasn’t trying to be artsy & all by shooting analog.  That was the only available technology and yes, you guessed it, I’m older than you. 😀 *Age reveals itself effortlessly. Nyahahahaha.*
Anyway, since I signed up for the documentation committee, I figured why not take photos too in between hosting.  By doing so, I realized that I was unknowingly shopping for merch through my lens! It was really fun to get to talk to a lot of artists about their projects and the like.   Most of them I’m really a fan of so I’m just really trying to keep it together. :D*

Postcards by Frances Alvarez of the Speculiars

Raine & Borg Sinaban team up for their merch station. 😀

Postcards by Brent Sabas
This is just so tricky. You can’t have one artwork without having the others so I ended up buying all three of them.

Postcards by Pergy Acuna (who never fails to crack me up with her status updates)

I ended up buying some stickers by Don Mikel Fumar, Brent Sabas, Robbie Bautista & Keny Tai. 🙂 JC Galang also did my portrait that day! 🙂 Wee! 😀

4) I got to do a side project: INKie portraits.
Years ago, we would have these INK portrait sessions where everyone gets to draw everyone in 5-10 minutes or so.  I was so frustrated with my works that I joked I’ll take everyone’s portraits instead while doing portraits.

Related Read:
INK Portrait Sessions

It was a sunny day and the lighting was really good outside Ayala Museum. It was a last minute idea and I saw the final output in my mind so I felt that I should go for it. 🙂 <3

Well, it started with Iori dressed up like someone who popped out of Frankie Magazine so I thought of asking everyone else to pose beside Ayala Museum. Hehe. Thank you guys 😀 <3
Angela Taguiang 
I asked her “how’s your lovelife” and she beamed. Hahahaha.

Yas rarely gets her photo taken.  She usually covers her face or draws a face on her finger as a stand-in so I’m really grateful she agreed to have her photo taken last weekend!

Aaron Asis
I still can’t get over how the illustrators tend to look like their drawings.  I’m also so amused with Aaron’s version of his portrait here.Robert Alejandro
Also one of the founding members of INK, I grew up with the art of Kuya Robert via Papemelroti.  I would always visit the store no matter what to look for new stationery to buy or illustrations to look at. 😀

Ara Villena
Ara was my co-host that day and I was joking that I would dye my hair back to red so we can be twinning! 😀 So happy she gave me her artworks too a couple of weeks back during the INK illustration masterclass. Thank you Ara! 🙂
Sergio Bumatay III

Serg is an award-winning illustrator but I’ve always admired his humilty and the way he has always encouraged the rest of us to join storybook & illustration competitions abroad. 🙂

Robbie Bautista
I found out about Ilustrador ng Kabataan from Robbie’s blog,The Creative Dork years ago.  I really enjoyed looking at his bright illustrations and reading his blog entries. 🙂

Don Fumar
I’m still laughing how Fran commented that the photo on the right could have been a photo on Getty Images filed under “asian laughing shy happy” Hahahahaha.

Frances Alvarez

I’m always so amused how tiny and intricate Fran’s painting are and how she was able to manage to smile in all these photos.  I was talking to her the whole time I was shooting. 😀

Rian Gonzales
Rian of RianbowArt & I would exchange Tweets from time to time.  While adjusting to my new life as a mom, I’ve been absent in so many INK meetings.  I was happy to have finally met her in person. 🙂

5) It was so refreshing to see everyone again! 🙂 The last few months have been very challenging for me in all aspects of my life.  I guess the only thing that has made me move forward was that sense of gratefulness that despite the craziness, there was still so much good that I shouldn’t be taking for granted.

I tend to judge an activity or an event based on the energy being passed on or the vibe I’m receiving.  It was just refreshing beyond words to see everyone again!  I cannot put it into words but the level of happiness / contentment / inspiration was something that you’d usually feel on your birthday. 🙂 <3

I will try not put captions anymore (I just reached 1,500+ words without trying…oops). I will let the photos speak for themselves.

Ilustrador ng Kabataan just celebrated its 25th birthday–yes, it’s a millennial! 😀  I was really tempted to ask everyone to sing for INK but I just didn’t know if we should or we shouldn’t have! Haha.

Well, that’s it! ‘Til the next INKfest! 🙂

INK has exhibits from time to time and is accepting new members every year so stay tuned for updates:

Website: Ang-INK.org
Instagram: Instagram.com/hello_ink
Facebook: Facebook.com/AngINK.org

XOXO,

Mommy Tippy 😀