School Librarian in Action: Kora Dandan Albano

Towards the end of September, a colleague dropped the idea of using a painting for an appreciation post in the school's internal social media platform. Picking up the idea from him, I put together three posts to follow through with recommended readings for reflection and de-stressing. The painting, Aral-aralan by Kora Dandan Albano became the centerpiece of the art and bibliotherapy service.

Aral-aral by Kora Dandan Albano

Here is the three-part post which featured content online. There is poetry, a virtual tour of a garden, articles about play and the value of carving space for one's self in this time of the pandemic.

Part 1 - September 28

From appreciation to reflection. Breathe.

From reflection to meditation. Breathe.

From meditation to contemplation. Breathe.

What catches your attention when looking at Kora Dandan Albano's Aral-Aralan, a painting inspired by Fernando Amorsolo? There are four elements at work here. An open field. A mango tree. Children learning through play. And, the act of teaching. What feelings stir in you as you engage and read the art work? For a moment, be aware of that feeling. Recognize it. Stay there and be.

Breathe.

It is going to be a tough week. Hang on. We have companions in the journey.

Part 2 - September 30

The open field and the mango tree in Kora Dandan Albano's Aral-Aralan are images that invite the reader of the art work to remember days when it was very accessible to walk (or run) on roads and paths in the neighborhood or to sit under the shade of tall trees, with a sheltering canopy. Time spent with nature can be rejuvenating. Hermann Hesse has something to tell us about this, especially on the wisdom that we can learn from trees.

"Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts, they preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life."

Watch and listen to the entire essay as read aloud by Natascha McElhone, A Passage About Tress.

Part 3 - October 2

Children at play is a constant theme in Kora Dandan Albano's works. This is the center piece in her recent art Aral-aralan. As Teacher's Month draws to a close (September 5 - October 5), we are sharing some poetry for appreciation of the work that teachers and school personnel do for students. Also, these articles on the value of play and art integration in teaching and learning with high school students bring to mind the importance of learning as an expressive art that can be developed as lifestyle and culture.

Have a fruitful Friday. Quarter break is just around the corner. Rest easy, Griffins!

Sunday, September 27, 2020

Kuwentong Musmos Author Interview: Kora Dandan Albano

Si Kora, Ara at si Itok!

Isang karangalan ang ma-interview si Kora Dandan Albano. Hindi lamang siya isang batikang illustrador, isa din siyang premyadong manunulat ng mga aklat pambata. Ang kanyang aklat na may pamagat Tara, Itok! ay ginuhit ni Ara Villena at nilathala ng Adarna House sa ilalim ng proyektong Kuwentong Musmos ng Room to Read.

1. Bakit ka nagsusulat para sa mga bata/kabataan?

Hindi ko ito pinag-iisipan... Basta nagsusulat lang.

2. Paano ka nagsimula sa pagsusulat ng mga kuwentong pambata? Ano ang iyong origin story?

Dumalo ako sa poetry clinic ng LIRA (Linangan sa Imagen, Retorika at Anyo) summer ng 1993. Si Rio Alma ang mentor at ginaganap ang palihan tuwing Sabado sa Adarna House. Noon ko lang nalaman na may Adarna books pala. Kalaunan, nalaman ni Sir Rio na FA graduate ako at nakaguhit na ng isang libro, Ang Paglalakbay ni Butirik (OMF, 1993) kaya tinanong niya kung interesado akong gumawa ng character study para sa librong Si Pilandok at ang mga Buwaya.

Fast forward sa 2018, bukod sa 10 libro sa Adarna House na naiguhit ko – 8 doon ay isinulat ni Sir Rio at 5 sa kanila ay Pilandok series - inilathala ng Adarna House ang aking tulang pambata na Kung May Dinosaur sa Kamalig ni Lolo. Kaya masasabi ko na I have come full circle. Nabalikan ko ‘yung pagsusulat ng tula: ang orihinal na dahilan kung bakit ako napadpad ng Adarna House noon.

Sa tingin ko naging malaking salik ang pagguhit ko ng halos 50 mga aklat pambata sa loob ng 25 taon para ako maihanda sa pagsusulat naman ng mga akdang pambata sa ngayon.

3. Magbigay ng tatlong salita upang mailarawan ang karanasan mo bilang isang fellow ng Kuwentong Musmos Workshop?

Natuto. Nahasa. Nagpapasalamat.

4. Anong aklat ang sana ay ikaw ang nagsulat?

Where the Wild Things Are

5. Magbigay ng 5 tips o payo para sa mga gustong magsulat ng kuwentong pambata.

Balikan ang inyong pagkabata.

Makinig, makipag-usap, makipaglaro sa mga bata.

Magbasa nang magbasa ng mga aklat pambata.

Pigilan ang sarili na magdikta, magturo at magsermon sa batang mambabasa.

Mag-enjoy sa iyong sinusulat.

Kora Dandan-Albano is an award winning children’s book author and illustrator. Her picture-poetry book Habulan (Anvil, 2016) is a Best Read winner at the 5^th National Children’s Book Awards in 2018. A graduate of Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from U.P. Diliman, she is the illustrator of over 40 well loved children’s books including All About the Philippines (Tuttle, 2015) which won a Gold at the Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards 2016 in the US. Tara, Itok! is Kora’s third book as an author.,

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Illustrator Interview: Kora Dandan Albano

With Ms. Gidget Roceles Jimenez

Kora Dandan Albano shares with us her joy in working with Gidget Roceles Jimenez in their book, All About the Philippines (Tuttle, 2015). She has some tips for budding artists on the use of watercolor as medium for art. Read on and you might just learn a thing or two about watercolor painting!

I love your spreads for the book, especially the ones on the end pages. Why Banawe and Pahiyas?

Sagada and Pahiyas spreads were actually inside illustrations for the Travelling Together and Fiesta sections. But he editors decided to use them as end papers for the book.

Your control of color and water is amazing! How do you do it? Any tips for aspiring illustrators and artists who are using this medium?

Watercolor is an unforgiving medium. So careful planning is important. Hindi pwede yung attack ka lang ng attack. Calculated lahat - from the amount of water that you mix into the paint to the degree of dampness of a pre-wetted paper - lahat iniisip at pinaplano muna. Sa una parang ang hirap, pero if you’ve been using the medium for over 25 years like me, it becomes second skin, instinctive na.

For me, there is no substitute for a good drawing, so I always draw my pencil sketches on plain paper first, adjusting and revising until I’m happy with them. Then I trace them on quality watercolor paper using a light box - this is to avoid damaging the paper with too much erasures. Arches and Canson Montval watercolor papers are my favorites. I always paint from light to dark. Highlights are leave outs – kung ano yung kulay ng papel, iyon ang whites or highlights sa illustration. I don’t use white paint as much as possible. I build up my images one layer at a time. Like in the Sagada spread, I painted the first layer of clouds first, then while letting that area dry, I tackled the first layer of the greens of the rice terraces next, and so on and so forth until the entire paper is covered with first layer of paint. Then I work on the next layer, starting at the parts that are already dry. I move my drawing board a lot while painting. I even paint some parts upside down sometimes. Normally it takes about four to five layers of paint to finish an illustration.

More tips:

> Always clean your mixing plates to avoid muddy mixture of paints. Huwag manghinayang sa paint.

> Always use fresh water for washing and dipping your brushes. Replace the water when using a different hue. Like, if you are painting a part that is yellow and your water is already blue, you will end up painting it green if you don’t replace your water with a clean one.

> Sketch pad papers are not watercolor papers. Don’t use them.

> Invest on good quality watercolor paints. I use Winsor and Newton, and Holbein paints.

> If you want to be good in watercolor, paint in watercolor most days of the weeks, at least 2 hours at a time.

At the book launch or All About the Philippines

Describe the experience of working with Gidget and Tuttle.

We were a good team! Just like with most of my children’s book projects, I only worked closely with the editor/coordinator of this book. I really appreciate it that Terri, the editor from Tuttle in the U.S., involved me from the planning stage of the book up to the edits. For this project, Terri and I exchanged about 250 emails between us and each one I got from her is a “feel good” email. Her reactions to my submissions were always - Awesome! Fantastic! Wonderful!

Though, Gidget and I knew each other, we never met to discuss the project. It is only during the edits that the three of us worked together via email, proofreading and making sure everything is in place. But it was good to know afterwards that Gidget really loved what I have done with our book. Looks like, even if we didn’t discuss a single illustration while I’m doing them, our vision for the book were practically the same.

What is your dream book?

I want to write and illustrate a book about my childhood in Bulacan.

Photo source: Grabbed from FB with permission from Ms. Albano and A-gel Ramboyong.

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Author Interview: Gidget Roceles Jimenez

Ms. Jimenez at the launch of All About the Philippines

Gidget Roceles Jimenez, author of All About the Philippines answers these questions for this blog's author interview feature. All About the Philippines was launched in National Bookstore last August 15, 2015. Ms. Jimenez writes poetry and non-fiction books for children. Her book, Can We Live on Mars? (Adarna House, 2009) won the National Children's Book Award Best Reads of 2010.

How long did it take you to write All About the Philippines?

Tuttle Publishing contacted me at the start of 2011 about the possibility of writing this book. After a long process of deciding what we would include in the book, it took me about a year to research and write the book.

What was the most challenging part of writing the book?

I think the most challenging part of writing the book was trying to decide what were the most important aspects of presenting authentic Filipino children growing up in such different parts of the Philippines. I was very thankful to have the input of the very knowledgeable team of Charlotte and Kiko Benitez to make sure that my information was accurate and relevant.

Author and illustrator together: Gidget Roceles Jimenez and Kora Dandan Albano

Describe the experience of working with Kora and Tuttle.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with Tuttle. My editor Terri Jadick from the Tuttle Office in Vermont was a joy to work with. Though I had limited interaction with Kora while I was writing the text, it was wonderful to see how beautifully she complemented what I had written.

What is the book you wish you had written?

I honestly cannot say that there is a book I wish I had written because I love my favorite books exactly as they have been written. Among my favorites are those by Douglas Wood and Jon J Muth whose picture books have life lessons for all ages.

Photo source: These two photos are from Ms. Jimenez. Permission to post was granted by her.

Monday, November 5, 2012

The Drawings of Kora

This one is for Kora Dandan Albano who is selling her art works for a very, very good cause. Got wind of this info from her Facebook account so when I learned she was selling I immediately reserved one of her Ampalaya artworks. This is an original drawing from the best seller Alamat ng Ampalaya by Augie Rivera, published by Adarna House. Ampalaya is such a character, but, Kora's red hot sili (pepper) is a scene stealer. I have always wondered what that pepper knows that the reader does not.

Interested to buy Kora's art works? Go to her FB page, Kora Dandan Albano, and check out the photo section.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Pinoy Children's Books I Won't Miss Reading to a Filipino Child

Carla Pacis, writer friend from the industry, sent an email requesting for my top five Pinoy children's books. Here's my list --

1. Ang Alamat ng Ampalaya by Augie Rivera - My all time favorite. This is the book I wish I had written. It is solid in plot and characterization. It speaks of justice and fairness. It does not moralize on the lesson of consequence. Kora Dandan Albano illustrated the book and her playful addition of the little red chili in every page adds "flavor" to the story. It becomes a character too, who, along with teh reader witnesses the unraveling of Ampalaya. Fantastic!

2. 'Sandosenang Sapatos by Dr. Luis Gatmaitan - Gatmaitan's best work, I believe. I like Gatmaitan's use of dreams (dream, rather) in the story. Unlike many a Pinoy children's story, the dream sequence in Sandosenang Sapatos amplified the mystery of love connecting the lead character, a handicapped girl, to her deceased father. Instead of using dreams as an instant solution to problems or an immediate response to change of bad attitude to good, Gatmaitan played on the magical element found in dreams as a way of channeling the metaphysical to the real and the palpable. Now that's putting back a sense of wonder in Pinoy Children's Literature! Beth Parocha-Doctolero illustrated the story.

3. Chenelyn! Chenelyn! by Rhandee Garlitos - Garlitos wrote this story the night before the Salanga deadline. Culling out his mother's experiences as a laundry woman and domestic helper, Garlitos crafted a poignant story that reflects the way we treat and relate to our humble house helpers.

4. Bruhaha! Bruhihi! by Ompong Remigio - Remigio's technique on onomatopeia and play of words is amazing! The story is short and easy to read; directly focusing on the relationship of the young girl and the old lady, one would understand the stereotypes and belief system that robs us of compassion for others.

5. Pop Up Dinosaur by Jomike Tejido - Tejido merged paper art and creative non-fiction. The result is brilliant! This book probably led to his development of Foldabots. The child needs to play and Tejido brought that to book making art.

Looking at my short list, I could not help but marvel at the genius of our Pinoy writers and illustrators. Mabuhay ang Filipinong manunulat at illustrador pambata!