Antipolo - Montalut

House inspiration from Pinto Gallery

Sharing some design ideas I got from the home and gallery of Dr. Joven Cuanang, the visionary behind Pinto Art Gallery, which I finally got to visit for the Antipolo Earthfest 2011. Only had a few hours to spare that day, but could’ve spent all day and night there– such a recharging place 🙂

I liked the loose, open feel to the whole complex…

Lots of daylight coming in…

The adobe-inspired walls (made of styled cement?) made me feel that the gallery was breathing.

The distressed, shabby-chic look gave it a more informal, practical vibe, one that encourages interaction and actual use (I don’t like anything “for display only”!):

Even these stairs felt so cozy to me:

Are these tiles or just polished concrete?

Wide open spaces in white and concrete. Easy on the eyes (and pocket), right? 😛

I like the bay windows and rounded wooden table:

Also interesting way to hang art–by the corner:

Asked around for outdoor garden sets like this before–they don’t come cheap so will hunt down an old bed or maybe a bench that I can repurpose into an inviting daybed:

The Pinto Art Gallery and Museum has great, great energy to share and pass along, as with anything made with love.

Wouldn’t it be great to have a home with the same positive, enriching energy?
🙂

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Pinto Art Gallery is in Garden Heights, Antipolo. I’ve been told that the best time to visit is in the late afternoons– wait for the sunset! More pictures from the Antipolo Earthfest 2011 on facebook.

Green communities in our midst

I\’m deeply thankful that green communities are sprouting and becoming \”accessible\” all over the Philippines.

In Antipolo, there is an active group of Earth-conscious artists, farmers, foodies and business owners called Duyang Luntian, which spearheads environmental campaigns in their respective communities, among which is the Antipolo EarthFest 2011 this April 30 and May 1.

In Palawan, my friend Pi of of Bahay Kalipay is also birthing the Maia Earth Village. Been waiting for these mudhouses since November–glad to already see them up and so lovely! Will get to visit this June, also very excited for that.

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(Image from the Maia Community facebook album)

All this talk of green community is making me giddy for the Nuvali counterpart! We\’ll be the urban earth community not in the mountains but right smack in the plains and fields of the city, hopefully not just to benefit ourselves but to make everyday green living something relatable and replicable for all Filipinos. 😛

Antipolo Earth Fest 2011 this weekend

Green Communities Sustainable LivingAntipolo

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Really excited to go to this green party!

The Antipolo EarthFest 2011
will be a weekend-long celebration of our dear Mother Earth
through arts, music, wellness and wholeness.

It will be a gathering of like-minded people and groups who are willing to share with others
their time and energies, passions and advocacy, skills, wisdom and knowledge on environmental issues
and most importantly, solutions and ways to help build a more environmentally-aware and Earth-conscious lifestyle.

Look forward to the workshops, the green booths at the marketplace and delight of delights, will finally get to visit Pinto Gallery. Yay. Organizer Irene also says Cynthia Alexander will be playing at 2pm onwards on Sunday. 🙂

The Antipolo Earth Fest blog lists the following participants so far:

Clayton Horton of Greenpath Yoga
will be honoring us with his presence and doing a couple of yoga and meditation workshops for the weekend
Bhairavi Nihiltantra & Jim Tantranuevo
will be sharing with us their passion and wisdom about Tantra Yoga, Traditional Tribal Music, Culture & Chanting, and more!
Djotay Soluta from Bahay Kalipay
will be sharing with us his Healing Music and doing a Sound Healing workshop for us
SugarLeaf
The very kind folks at SugarLeaf will be joining us that weekend for a special Earth Talk on Healthy Living & Foods That Nourish and will also be selling organic products & superfoods!
WWF Philippines
WWF Philippines will be setting up a booth to educate and inform us all about important environmental issues and ways we can be part of the solution!
Palamuti ni Autumn
— beautiful hand-crafted necklaces, earrings, bracelets and more! Plus, cute handpainted Earth bags, too! All by one of the most talented, most creative 10-year-olds we know. <3
Ubots (one of our favorites!!)
— \”Ubots are robot charms welded from \”techno detritus\” (electronic & mechanical trash). UBots is a word sliced from the Filipino word \”Abubot\”, which means small decorative stuff, accessory or trinket; It also stands for \”Upcycled Robots\”.
It is more than a charm, it is a green inititative, a creative exercise in upcycling, & an appreciation of sentimental objects.\”
Cookie Jar!
— homemade cookie treats baked with love by one of the youngest homebaker we know. At 14, she bakes yummy cakes, cookies and other baked treats in between homework and Justin Bieber Youtube videos! ;p The Cookie Jar will be setting up a banig for young ones to frost and decorate their own cookies for the weekend as well!

I checked out Palamuti ni Autumn\’s site–they have interesting items. But I\’m especially curious about the Ubots!

More info on the Antipolo Earth Fest 2011 at www.antipoloearthfest.com, with activity schedules for the weekend, and also on the Antipolo Earth Fest 2011 facebook page.

A peek into green Antipolo

Green Communities Green Design and Architecture Sustainable LivingAntipolo

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Enjoyed looking at these lovely Antipolo places with so much heart! $\":)\"$ They\’re from the album, \”This is the Beauty of our Neighborhood\”, by Kristine Garcia, who supplies organic produce via Emporium Antipolo. Met her at a very successful raw food workshop at Leaf Kitchen last Saturday.

She says:

There are actually three Antipolo destinations shown in these photos: Vieux Chalet, Pinto Garden Museum, & LAYA. Also in this album, we intend to show more places that you ought to check out in Antipolo.

Emporium Antipolo is an organic shop which operates as a homestore: we supply organic food provisions, basic commodities and other local, eco-friendly & healthy stuff.
You can see in the photos above a bunch of green-minded people who are working (together with more green-minded pals) to make Antipolo an Art & Wellness destination.

Seeing pics like these makes me think back to when Antipolo was on my shortlist for where to set up my home… The south and Tagaytay eventually won over Antipolo for the breezy weather, but wow, now that I\’m seeing lots of young artist-entrepreneurs in the Antipolo neighborhood, I\’m feeling a tinge of regret that I didn\’t give Antipolo a deeper look! And just look at those mudhouses in Pinto — exactly how i want my home to feel like– alive, organic, free form, with real traces that it was made by people\’s hands… haaaay… $\":)\"$

Join Kristine in her green adventures through Emporium Antipolo\’s facebook photos, where each album feels like a storybook! I love how she makes going organic so charming–just like her physical workspace below, which also sometimes serves as her daughter Katie\’s playground:

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Made with so much love. 🙂