Today began what could possibly be another great love affair…
Clay + me = mudhappy!
Day1 of Basic handbuilding for Beginners.
Can\’t wait to get on the wheel and make my own handmade pitchers and vases and pots!
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For the next few weeks (possibly more!), I\’ll be under the beautiful guiding hand of Mia Casal, a studio potter based in Blue Ridge, Quezon City. Visit the Clay Ave website or facebook page for more information on lessons and clay craft in general.
Green art and lots of handmade love at the 5th art fair last weekend, December 10-11, 2011:
10A Alabama is a home in more ways than one, and the Art fair is always, always a great time to slow down and reconnect with kindred spirits:
The Alabama community has grown in heaps and bounds since our first fair in May 2011, but it remains to be one of the most positive and enriching creative groups I\’ve come across.
Philosophers at work: Momok and Binggoy enjoying a game of chess (notice the upcycled keyboard pieces!)…
Mirrors for a cause, each one handcrafted by a participating seller:
Rock balancing fun:
10A Alabama was where I broke the ice and first put my works up for sale, and for all the handholding and support, I will always be grateful. This 5th Handmade Fair was extra special because I got to join as Montalut…
…and also as Estela, selling handmade pillows and clothes:
I wish I spent more time taking pictures, just to make sure the diversity of this group got represented properly! At the next fair, promise to do just that, but for now, here are more pictures, including some from the 4th Fair last October:
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The 10A Alabama Handmade Art Fair is held every 2-3 months, with the next one most likely in February 2012.
Our happy find yesterday: Beautiful tiles in such fun, fun patterns and colors!
I\’ve long been a fan of these \”painted\” tiles– which I mistakenly thought of as Vigan tiles– and first re-encountered them in a boutique shop in Cambodia last March 2011:
My friends and I fell in love with that place (we put up Estela Shop right after that trip) — all the colors and mishmash of lines and curlicues were just a feast for the senses!
More recently, I visited a friend\’s home in Manila, redesigned with an Industrial-Homey mindset (sounds familiar :P). Lo and behold he had these pretty handmade tiles lining his foyer, and looked surprised when I had no idea they were called Machuca tiles.
Turns out Machuca tiles are locally-made cement tiles by the Machuca family, with clients such as Antonio\’s in Tagaytay:
These tiles from yesterday, found just along the Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay road, are Malaga Tiles (in Spanish: Baldozas y Azulejos de Cemento), handcrafted designer tiles made by Habitiles, also a Filipino company:
The Malaga Tiles we are presenting here are handcrafted cement tiles. These types of cement tiles were introduced, and subsequently produced by the Spanish colonists in the Philippines during the 18th century. Large scale production of these tiles continued until the 1930\’s.
We have rediscovered this old craft and have started producing tiles based on the old methods.
Our wide array of designs includes those of Spanish origin, Islamic influenced patterns as well as antique tile designs from the other European countries. We also execute customers\’ own designs.
If you like handmade art, green art, and anything made with love, save the date: Oct 22-23, Sat-Sun. 10A Alabama has a great, open vibe– it\’s an old house now used as a creative space. I\’ll be selling montalut doodle art along with about 30 other artists, woohoo.
She just looked so happy, radiant even. And I felt the motherly energy of the woman behind it, Norma Belleza (found out later she\’s 75 years old–and still painting!).
Her name means Beauty.
Let beauty flow from beauty, create beauty, and effect beauty to those around it.
I\’m happy to welcome beauty to my Nuvali home.
Plus harvest is always a good visual– brings in abundance and prosperity!
THE BOYSEN KNOxOUT PROJECT: EDSA is an initiative to lessen air pollution on the longest of Metro Manila’s internal thoroughfares, through the use of a breakthrough air-cleaning paint in large-scale artworks. The project was recently announced by the sole project sponsor Pacific Paints (Boysen) Philippines, with the support of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.
Eight artworks, each about 1,000 square meters, will be painted in key areas of EDSA using the paint Boysen KNOxOUT, which transforms specific toxins in the atmosphere into safe elements. Project leaders say they “are in high spirits because of this strong mix of art and science” in an urban renewal venture.
Interesting to see that technology and art are now being used locally to join in the green brigade:
[Boysen KNOxOUT] is the first air cleaning paint in the world with CristalActiv photocatalytic technology, proven to neutralize the emissions of 10 cars per square meter painted. And the massive artworks to be featured in The EDSA Project are set to neutralize the emissions of cars passing through EDSA by 25%.
The project will run until early 2012 and started off with the May 7 inauguration of \”Ganap\” by social realist Jose Tence Ruiz (shown above).
Don’t you think it’s so hard to find a meaningful toy to give kids these days?
It’s always been a problem for me–I don’t buy into plastic toys and the PS2 generation–and come kiddie birthdays or baptisms, I always get torn between giving something I’d rather not give or just giving nothing.
Was so glad, then, to have met Tes Sobeng, a Waldorf mom who makes wooden toys for children (and children-at-heart!). She had access to wood craftsmen in Paete, Laguna and took it upon herself to make toys that resonated with love and encouraged imagination.
Do you notice the mini palayok (clay pot) on the shelf? I have so many fond memories playing with clay pots as a child!
Tes has an assortment of toys, but mostly for kids of school age. Most adhere to the Waldorf ideals of age-appropriateness and imaginative play.
Here’s one toy I took home for myself, inspired by a tansan (bottlecap) spinning wheel usually played in the provinces:
Hayyyy, what joy in being a child!
* * * You can look at Tes’s toy catalog on her website, toys and stuff, or contact her through
0908-492-3953 / 912-4056 or tesmsobeng@yahoo.com