A reflection on Sark’s 1989 article.
“How To Be An Artist”• Stay Loose- I am always loose. This is part of my personality. I always laid back, quite, not panicking and cool. Sometimes everyone was busy and running around but me, I just sit, relax, and watch everyone in his or her chaotic presence.
• Learn to watch snails- The last time I did this I think I was in the grade school days. When my family still lives in Fort Bonifacio before President Ramos sell the land and now known as the Global City or The Fort. Our village back then was full of huge trees and not far from our house is a long creek from that extends up to the golf course. I think I was around 9 years old that time when I and friends used to go sailing in the creek with our boats made from rubber slippers and Styrofoam’s, especially when its raining. Sometimes if where not sailing or making tree house we used to gather and pick up giant snails from the creek and race it on a smooth surface. They are all indeed very slow but my friends and I seem to be having fun just by watching them in hours. I do not why it becomes fun to us but we do it all the time.
• Plant impossible gardens- When I was in high school years my neighboring friends and I did an interesting hobby. Each one of us planted a branch of a tree or shrubs in a small pot out of recycled milk cans and paint cans. We made Bonsai plants in our own gardens. In China Bonsai, planting is an art, because for you to be able to make a beautiful bonsai plant it will take many years for you to archive it. But me and my friends are not aiming for the long term art but we just want to see how a small and dwarf like plant will able to produce flowers or fruit even if it’s too small. That is why we used to plant flowering shrubs and fruit bearing trees like sampaguita, rose, bugambilla, mango and wild tea.
• Invite someone dangerous to tea- I have not experience inviting someone dangerous for a tea and chitchat but I remember I was having lunch with a bunch of prisoners. Last 2007 I was hired to organize and facilitate an event at the Makati City Jail. All the Jails in the Philippines are celebrating an annual event. It was the National Correctional Consciousness Week. We organize a singing competition and a rock gig for the prisoners. It was fun and interesting especially during the event itself the jail authorities allowed some selected prisoners to volunteer for us as a production assistant. We had a chance to talk with them, bond and eat with them. I learned that day that prison is not actually a frightening place. The creatures inside it are not animals but human beings and most of them are victims themselves of various reasons in the secular world.
• Make signs that say “YES!” & post it all over the house- I am a huge admirer of graffiti art. An expression in the streets made by street artists, gang and fraternity members and political and social activists. It started in the western culture and extended its influence here in the Philippines. Last summer of 2008 I was hired to head facilitate and organized a graffiti competition on the streets and it happened to be the first graffiti competition in the Philippines. It was held at the freedom walls of College of Art and Sciences of University of the Philippines in Manila with the help of the schools’ student government. After knowing the people behind this growing street movement, I decided to be a street artist myself. I joined street paintings and sticker installation sessions in various locations. You might have seen some of my works in the street but do not have an idea that it was mine.
• Make friends with freedom & uncertainty- Uncertainty is always and will always be a part of our human lives. It’s one of those things that make us humans. Running away from it or making life short cuts will just worsen your problem. You thought that you are actually escaping from it but don’t know that slowly it becomes a cancer in your life. Not long enough it will reveal in your presence and too late for you to recover from it. Just like the doctor’s say, “prevention is better then cures”. Face it now or never. It is a choice that you and I have to face. In addition, I believe that in every storm there is always a rainbow after. That rainbow is the symbol and reminder of freedom from uncertainty.
• Look forward to dreams- When I was child I always enjoyed making drawings and colorings. When I reached teenage years, my father went to abroad for work some of his paint pigments and brushes were left in our house. As the aspiring artist in our family I decided to claim the stuff and make something out of it, I made paintings of course. Now, I’m a young adult one of those things that makes me busy nowadays is making paintings for gallery exhibits. I’m still new in the industry but still keep on looking forward for greater achievements in the visual art industry and keep on learning new things from techniques to creativity.
-When I was in pre-teen years I saw a different kind of a cartoon movie. It was one of my cousin’s collections that her parents, which is my uncles and aunties, bought for them. The movie is entitled Toy Story. It is different from all the Disney cartoons I have seen. It is the first 3D Animation movie I’ve seen. The toys look real as a plastic or wood. They move three-dimensionally and the texture of the environment looks real. Especially the green toy soldiers, which I had a chance to have those kinds when I was younger. From that day on I dreamed of becoming a 3d animator. Last 2006 I enrolled in a 6-month 3D Animation workshop in Makati City. After the workshop, my classmates and me made a 2 minute 3d animation for an animation competition. I am very proud of what we have made and up to this day, we still meet for an animation learning session and doing animation projects for our own satisfaction.
• Cry during movies- There are few films that have made me cry. Some of the movies are What Dreams May Come, Pay It Forward and others that I forgot the title. I’m really bad in remembering names and titles. I think it’s a disease that needs curing.
What Dreams May Come is a love story about a father (played by Robert Williams) who after dying went to his own heaven but left his heaven on a quest to look for his family because he thought that heaven won’t be heaven without the love of his life with him, which is his family.
Pay It Forward is about a young boy who went to school for his first day of school. He and his classmates met there new teacher in Social Studies and gave them an assignment to do. As the young boy makes his assignment little his family and friends know that this simple assignment will lead him in making a huge impact and create change in the world.
• Swing as high as you can on a swing set, by moonlight- I have never than this in the moon light but I have done this many times in the sun light. One of these days, I will try this in the moon light and see if there is any difference besides the sun and moon thing.
• Cultivate moods- I love acting, but acting does not like me. That is why I pursued directing than acting. Sometimes I still do this to dodge unwanted conversations, avoid alcoholic drinks or in a positive view get something I wanted.
• Refuse to “be responsible”- I’m guilty about this big time! I never ate the chocolates in the ref, I haven’t eat lunch yet, that’s not my trash, sorry I did not saw you, promise I’ll read your script tomorrow, etc. I even remember when I was in high school I used to sit in different chairs whenever we have a class break. We have respective seats assigned but since its break time nobody bothers when you sit anywhere. And whenever I sit in a different chair and found that a notebook or a book was left in the chair’s table I always grab the opportunity to doodle or draw something at the back of the books or notebooks of my classmate and when they found out the doodles they always look at me as one of the suspect but I never admit even ones that it was me responsible for doodling their personal stuffs.
• Do it for love- When you are in love you do many crazy things. Most especially when you are young and vulnerable to craziness. When I was in grade four, I joined a dance group to impress the girl that I like. When I was in grade six I always drive my bike in front of my crush’s apartment just to see her and impress her with my free hands biking technique. High school is crazy. I did most crazy things during this time of my life. I cannot even count how many crazy things and stupidities I did just to impress women. Some of which even lead me to sinful things and dilemmas. Now that I am older and closer to God that I realize all of those things are not for love but simply a dress to impress. I have live those years of my life in great expectations that you must perform to gain acceptance.
• Take lots of naps- My family and some friends can testify this fact. Because of my insomnia I cannot sleep too early, cannot sleep until I am tired and exhausted, or if I am thinking something or excited about something. For me to be able to sleep besides alcohol consumption, I must lie down in my bed and close my eyes in three to four hours before I could get my self into sleep. Hard enough that it cause me to play and direct my own dreams. Moreover, when I finally get my sleep it will take up to 10 to 13 hours of sleep. Long enough that it cause headache whenever I get up in bed.
• Give money away- This is one of the hardest things to do. Mainly because money is what I don’t always have in me or whenever I have it I bless my self first before others because money is a scarcity in my life. Recently I learned that God does not bless me with money because I do not bless others or give offerings to the church. If in small amounts I cannot bless others what more if have plenty.
• Do it now- Today, as I reflect on this article, I felt dirty. Therefore, I postponed for a while and have a quick bath.
• The money will follow- I have not seen the money following me. But I still believe it’s coming. Not today, not tomorrow, but who knows, I’m still going to bless God’s name and will still do the things I always love to do.
• Believe in Magic- I am a huge fan of magic. I like how the magicians make the fool out of me. It is very entertaining, mind blowing and fun. However, if you are talking about of magic as in fairy godmother, genie in the bottle, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Daughters things- I do not believe. Nevertheless, I do strongly believe that it is believable circumstances that you are possessed or have deceived by the evil itself. However, if it is in good or in kind, I prefer to call it “Blessings”, or if it is more magical to you, I prefer to call it “Divine Intervention”, because only God can do miraculous things.
• Laugh a lot- This is one of the great things I always love to do. Especially when the funny thing is so mind blowing, out of the ordinary, classical, causes you air in the stomach, makes you fart out loud, when you can’t breath, when you can’t voice out, when you’re in tears, when you feel like dying in laughter and most specially when it feels like you need to go to the bank and deposit some golden toxics.
• Celebrate every gorgeous moment- This day’s most people do two things: one, to look for ways how to get money (income), or two, be angry in life because they do not have money. I do the other way around one; I look for things that do not earn you money, and two, when I do not get money I celebrate. Weird and sounds stupid but it is very effective.
• Take moon baths- I experience taking a bath in public, be it showering in the rain, nude swimming in the streams or rivers and taking a bath in the middle of the farmland. But I haven’t experience doing this in the moonlight. Maybe because it’s too cold to take a bath outside during nights. However, I’m looking forward to experience this one time.
• Have wild imaginings, transformative dreams and perfect calm- I am expert on this. Professional enough that sometimes my friends caught me laughing alone and they don’t know why. The only side effect on this is people will think of you as a freak, crazy, maniac and psychologically impotent that needs help and curing.
• Draw on the walls- I still do this up to this day. Not just on the wall but also on the streets, on the gutters, on the abandoned lots, on the freedom walls, at the bathroom, and almost on any smooth surface in public or abandoned buildings that’s good enough to draw, to paint, to write things, to put sticker installations and any other way of outdoor expressionism.
• Read Everyday- I used to read newspapers and magazines, but its getting boring because it’s always the bad news, about showbiz personalities, advertisements that tells you to buy something you don’t need and pictures of sexy women in their sexy out fit. Now, I spend reading books I found on the second hand bookstores or wasting my time in the bookstores to read books I cannot buy because of its price. Reading is fun and adventurous; it brings to you to many different places without actually leaving your sit.
• Imagine yourself magic- I always do. How can others believe in you if you do not even believe in yourself?
• Giggle with children- I love children. They are so cute and so honest. Some of there thoughts about the world are mind blowing and funny. I always feel young whenever I am around with children. Like the famous TV show in America, indeed, kids say the darnest things.
• Listen to old people- Besides my mother, my grandparents are one of the people that brought me up and took care of me. I grew with them ever since I could remember. I am still living with them until now and hopefully be with them for longer years. They are part of whatever I am right now. I still used some of the teachings they taught me about life. I do not treat them as an extended family. They are all part of my one family.
• Open Up- People used to see me with many people, outgoing and out spoken. However, little they know that I’m a very introvert person. There’s a lot of things in my self and things that goes around my head but seldom people knew about it, even my own family. I always believe that privacy is very important to a person. Some things are better off not said than exposed. Like husband and wife’s sex lives , someone’s bank account number or email passwords. But I also believe that some things are worth saying. Especially if it will brighten up someone’s day, if it will bless someone’s lives or if it will bring closure to a long term quarrels. Like the famous sayings, open rebuke is greater than secret love.
• Dive in- I love this term whatever it means. Whether it means let’s eat up, or let’s jump in or let’s party, I’m game to join and dig in. Just make sure it will not step on other people’s life.
• Be free- One of the first jobs I did was being an illustrator in grade school textbooks. I did this for a year until I decided to quit on it. Because this work box me up in a small corner in the office, with freezing aircon, no one to talk to not until lunch breaks or pee breaks and the routinely type of work. It feels like I was working inside a birdcage.
• Bless Yourself- I love blessing myself. Whenever I earn money, part of it always benefits the worms inside my stomach.
• Drive away fear- Fear is also known as “issues”. When I was child, our own dog bit me. After a day, the dog died and its head was delivered to the veterinarian to check out the levels of its rabbis. Because of my curious instincts, I knew all about it and it scared the shit out of me. Especially when I experience being brought to the doctor weekly for an anti-rabbis injection that causes me trauma and fear for needles and dogs. Since then I grew up afraid of the dogs and injections. These are my issues until teenage years.
Not until I discovered the animal planet channel, encyclopedia and met friends who love dogs. Slowly I learned many facts about dogs. Until I realize one day that I am not afraid of dogs anymore.
About the needle issues, schools always have injection sessions. Yearly I was being injected with many of anti-whatever drugs from anti-tuberculosis, anti-polio to anti-hepatitis. When I was circumcised, I was injected 5 times because the drugs won’t effect on me. I was high on it that I never felt anything except bashfulness because the doctor who circumcises me was a women doctor assisted by three young nurses, and they were all looking at my thing. I get used to injections that one day I realize I was not afraid of needles anymore.
From this experiences I learned that fear is just an effect of innocence. Some things you do not know cause you fear and anxiety, but by educating yourself about the things that you fear will teach you to understand many things about its existence. I therefore conclude that what you know will save you. In short, truth shall set you free.
• Play with everything- I always love to play with everything. Even if it is work time, school time or chill time, I always find things or ways to play with. I remember one boring night at the beach house I catch two flying beetles and laid them upside down. The hunch on there back was too huge that the both of it couldn’t get up. All they do is spin and spin around with there feet. When they finally got up I make them upside down again and they will spin and spin around again. Watching there struggle is fun. Anyway, they just cause fear, panicking and screaming to my girl friends because they don’t know about this bugs, they thought it was in the family of cockroaches. Therefore, instead of letting them fly around I will just play with them instead and let them go when the girls are all gone.
• Entertain your inner child- There was a saying I read in a book a long time ago. I forgot the writer’s name but I always remember his words. It goes like, “Reclaim your inner child, take a big stick and whack something”. I think he is talking about creativity. I always remember this whenever I learn something in life. Be it technical, scientific, life’s inspirations or a wonderful experience worth treasuring.
• You are innocent- Most of the time children look on us older people to learn. Little we know that old folks likes us will learn more a lot in life just by watching the child. How carefree they are, how curious, how playful, how enthusiastic and how honest and eager to learn. I believe that by acquiring the innocence of a child old folks like us could do greater things in life because sometimes if we are too educated and acting too mature we tend to lose the consciousness of how to enjoy life and the idea that learning is an everlasting journey.
• Build a fort with blankets- I remember doing this with my younger brother and sister. We do not actually make forts but we make campsites and caves out of blankets and pillows. But my favorite was not made out of blankets but out of real woods and nails. I remember making a tree house with my friends as our headquarters and hide out from our imaginary enemies. One time we left a lighted candle and I think we forgot to blow the candle before we went home. When we returned our tree house was burning in huge flames and thick smoke.
• Get wet- When I was in grade six my friends and I used to play war games. One particular war game I enjoyed a lot was the water bombing war. We get plastic containers from our houses or buy an ice plastics used for selling ice. We fill it with water, wrap it up, put it on a bucket, and throw it on every spotted enemy. It was a wild and wet game. One time I quit playing the game because I found out that some of the players in the other team are putting there urines in the plastics and throwing it on us. It was disgusting that I decided to quit and just go home to watch anime.
• Hug Trees- I did this ones and it is not fun. The texture of the tree is not good to hug on. However, I love trees. I rather climb them and play monkey on the branches than actually hugging it.
• Write love letters- I used to do this when I was in grade school days and early high school. I also love reading love letters and receiving one, whether if it is a love letter from an admirer, a friendly letter or simply a greeting card. I even kept all them until now and they are all in my love letter vault. I love to show them to my kids one day or to my future grandsons.
Recci Bacolor 2009
4:00 AM/ July 04, 2009
