Lego + Beybi Bibe = CREATIVITY

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Illustrator of the Month: Beth Parrocha

Illustrator and woman of wonder, Beth Parrocha lent me her time for this blog feature. I have heard her talk on several occasions but in this interview, Ms. Parrocha speaks from a well spring of love and dedication for her chosen craft. Read her insights on the book industry, especially on the illustrator and publisher relationship, her creative process and the benefits of curiosity and play for the growth and the development of the artist.

1. In your years as children’s book illustrator, name three things that have changed PH Children’s Literature and three things that have remained the same since you started out. These changes and constants may vary from the stories you worked on, the community that supports you as an artist, the publisher-illustrator partnership and opportunities beyond the archipelago. 

 3 things that have changed:

 There are more children’s book illustrators now.

 More picture book stories that are relevant to what is happening with children in the Philippines.

 International publishers are recognizing Filipino illustrators a lot more.

       3 things that have remained the same:

 There are still some publishers that are unaware that to nourish their place in children’s book publishing, they will have to nourish the people that are a part of the industry like the writers and the illustrators.

 IPR and copyright laws still need to be established in people’s minds.

 I still illustrate for children’s picture books ☺

2. You have an amazing and wonderful body of work. I find them playful and whimsical. Quiet, cozy and comforting too. What keeps you going? 

What keeps me going is that I’m curious.  I’m curious as to how the main character would look like.  How the visual elements would conspire to make the story come alive to the reader. Whenever a publisher gives me a story to illustrate and would tell me of their excitement to see the illustrations. I always reply, “I’m excited too!”  For me, I don’t really know what would come out until the book has been printed.

More than anything else, I am a storyteller; the picture book is where I am free to express my narrative.  

It’s not an easy process, but worth it. To undergo with each new story the process of exploration and the thrill of seeing everything connect together at the end.  Illustrating a book is an adventure; I will not deprive myself of that.  

I love it when publishers give me stories, it’s like they are kids themselves and they are asking me to play.

3. What is your take on awards and recognition as an artist? 

When people especially your fellow artists acknowledges your work, express your gratitude but don’t let the trophy or the recognition define you. There are a lot of other artists that are better than you. It’s just that at this moment, you are the one that is being recognized.  That thinking will keep you grounded, or else that trophy can destroy you, by making you complacent. So you wonder why you’ve reached a plateau with your art? That is the reason why.

The sense of wonder and enjoyment that you will feel, whenever you create something that you can actually see and touch out of an idea, that feeling, that is what you should work on. Only you can give that to yourself.

4. How does play factor in your work and in the life of an artist, in general? 

A circle is just a circle until the artist decides that it be something else, stretches it, twists it on one end, and calls it a fish. That decision is the spirit of play.

A line is just a line until the artist grapples with it, chases it around with a pen, a pencil, brush or even a mouse and it becomes anything that the artist wants it to be. That is play.

A story becomes interesting when you have toyed with it enough to see through the tiniest of ant holes just so you can look at it from a different perspective.

Play is important to the artist or else everything about his work would look static.

5. Kindly give your 5 recommended activities for  artists and children’s book illustrators. 

There are lots of things that you can do to make yourself a better artist and illustrator that you will have to discover for yourself.  I cannot limit your experience based on what I know.  But perhaps I can help you with how you can conduct yourself while you are having those experiences.

 Be curious.

 Suspend judgment.  Do not conclude in the beginning what may or may not happen at the end.

 Hold your emotions in check. You might miss something important by indulging in your emotions.

 Clear your mind of clutter so that the experience flows in to you unhampered.

 Be firm in the belief that you will be learning something.

Ms. Parrocha will be conducting the ILLUSTRATORS AT PLAY II* A Hands-on Workshop on Making Picture Book Art with Beth Parrocha. April 27 (Saturday) | 1:30 to 4:30 PM Glass Space, Ayala Museum

The Lighthouse Diary Entry 6: Works of Students As Part of the Library Collection

The International School Manila I know as a child has a Children's Media Center where I would visit during summer break. Of the many collections of books in the library, there was a special shelf for books made and written by students. Most of the books were short stories and collection of folktales, poetry and essays written in English class. The librarians and teachers in ISM value their students literacy journey that they included them in the library's collection.

As an eight year old reader, seeing books made by kids and reading them made a lasting impression. I discovered that shelf filled with books, bound by hand and some by a binding machine written by kids my age and older. There were stories similar to The Little Prince with towering trees and starry skies. There were books on folk tales jazzed up into crazy and contemporary versions from old motifs (this was in the 80s). I was in awe. I wanted to write too! So, I did by starting a journal. It was only years and years later that I gathered up the courage to write my own stories.

In Xavier School, while working as a school librarian in the Early Education unit, I teamed up with Nursery and Prep teachers for book projects. Our boys made picture books, wordless books, counting books and flash cards they can use for telling stories. I kept them in a special cabinet. Now I wonder if those books and storytelling flash cards are still in the EED Library.

Fast forward to where I am today.

Imagine my joy when I discovered a packet of zines on my table one morning!

The zines were made by our grade 10s and our English teacher donated them to the library. What precious additions to the library's collection! Apart from the Personal Projects and copies of Extended Essays, I am a proud curator and guardian of these "books" and student made projects. 

A few years ago, I was part of the team who organized the Early Readers Online Project. Our high school students made stories for readers in the early grades and these are all accessible on our school's website. The stories can be downloaded for free. Visit the Community and Service of the Beacon Academy.

Ah, a few of the many things I love about my job. - being a part of the creative process as well as designing structures for data and information access so knowledge can be derived from them thrills me to no end (I know I am geeking you out!) The best thing is, I get to curate, chronicle, and document these symbols and representations of thought and creativity. What a privilege!

I know so little. Yet, I am happy knowing only this much.

Illustrator of the Month: Ruben "Totet" de Jesus (Part 2 of 2)

Totet has a funny bone: Totetious Pandakusorious

Did you like part 1 of the interview with Mr. Ruben "Totet" de Jesus? You can recall the interview by clicking the highlighted link. 

Here now is part 2 of the interview where Totet shared his approach in illustrating Big Sister. We will run a workshop on writing and illustrating children's stories during the Manila International Book Fair (MIBF) at SMX, MOA Pasay City. Abangan ang press release!

4. Ano ang feeling na mapili sa Kids' Choice Top Ten?

Masaya siyempreng mapasama sa sa Top Ten ng Kids’ Choice sa katatapos na National Children’s Book Awards. Sa totoo lang, malaki ang pakiramdam ko na mapapasama sa shortlist ang Big Sister dahil sa simpleng charm ng kuwentong ito, ang prosesong tinahak ko para mabuo ang mga ilustrations ko, at ang mga positibong feedback na natatanggap ko para dito.

Ang tema ay napakasimple pero madaling maka-relate ang mga bata (at ang mga hindi na masyadong bata) sa ugnayan ng mga karakter sa kuwento. Kung ikaw ang mas batang kapatid, alam mong hindi parating nakakatuwa ang iyong ate. Kung ikaw ang mas nakatatanda, minsan masarap kulitin ang bata mong kapatid. Pero, kahit hindi perpekto ang ugnayan ng magkapatid, mangingibabaw pa rin ang pagmamahalan sa isa’t isa. Nagkakaroon pa rin ng pagkakataong makita ang kabutihan ng kalooban sa iyong kapatid.

Isang challenge para sa akin ang iguhit ang kuwentong ito. Paano ko gagawing mas interesante ang karakter ng ate kahit na sa umpisa ay parang hindi nakatutuwa ang asal niya sa kanyang mas batang kapatid? Ang naging solusyon ko ay gawing multi-faceted ang karakter ni ate. Marami siyang talento at kakayahan. Pinakita ko ang versatility ni ate. Nagba-ballet, nagka-karate, nagbe-bake, kumakanta, nagba-bike at mahilig magbasa.

Paano ko gagawing interesante ang paraan ng pagpapakita ng bata ng kanyang pagpapahalaga sa kanyang ate? Dito ko pinalabas ang kakayahan ng batang lumikha ng kakaiba at malikhaing paraan para ipakita ang kanyang pagmamahal sa kanyang ate.

5. Saan ka kumuha ng inspirasyon para maiguhit at mailarawan ang Big Sister?

Meron akong dalawang ate. Sila ang una kong pinaghugutan para umpisahan ang paglikha ng karakter ni ate.

Mahalaga ring balikan ang simpleng pagpapakita ng mga emosyon sa pagguhit ng tuwa at inis, takot at payapa, saya at lungkot sa mga sitwasyon ng kuwento.

Pero ang unang biswal na tumatak kaagad sa isip ko ay ang yung nasa cover – yung agawan ng dalawa sa remote control ng TV. Alam ko kaagad na ito ang magiging biswal ko para sa cover.

6.  Anong medium ka pinakakomportable sa paglikha at paguhit?

Watercolor, color pencil at fine-point pens.

Ronnie del Carmen and the Risk of Making Mistakes

Last Tuesday, I was fortunate to be invited to listen to Ronnie del Carmen. He is an animator and film director at Pixar Animation Studios. If you visit his Twitter account, he has a very cool description of what he does and what he is. He is a Quantum Temporal Continuity Engineer. Simply put, he is a storyteller.

For forty five minutes, he talked about his history as a creative and the back stories of the works he has done in the Pixar and Disney studios. It sounds like ordinary stuff, something that can easily be accessed, but what made his presentation meaningful was his talking points about the creative process. Here are snippets or "sound bites" I got from his talk:

* You felt it. You experienced it. That is storytelling.
* You need to hear from your storytelling brothers and sisters to know what is working and what is not.
* Creativity thrives in exploration.
* Prepare to be wrong.
* Storytelling and creativity are valued in any industry.

By the time he was at the Q and A part, I was already welling with pride to be a part of the Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY), because, our current effort in promoting quality children's literature and young adult literature has been very creative. The attempt to try out new things and innovate began with the National Children's Book Awards of 2010. It is not perfect. It presents many challenges. But the process of instituting this new mechanism of raising the bar in children's book publishing in the country involves collaboration (particularly with the NBDB), a lot of mistakes and a tremendous courage to take risks. As far as my experience goes, limited as it is, we have kept our ears on the ground. True creativity begins when one listens, empathizing with people who are at the battle field.

I look inward.

There is nothing else to do but to go back to the origin of things.

My what if: research plays a big role in the creative process. Introduce and present research writing as a way of telling a story. After all, what is personal touches on the universal.

Author of the Month: Rhandee Garlitos

I have featured and wrote about a good number of Filipino writers for children in this blog in the past. Turning five this year prompted me to make it a regular feature. So, every month the blog will have an Filipino author to meet and know about.

For this month of April, I've asked Mr. Rhandee Garlitos to answer five questions that tackle his experiences as a writer for children; the books he has published; the recent book that won him the prestigious Salanga Prize last year; and the creative process involved in his writing.

I hope you all enjoy his honest and sincere disclosure.

1. When did you start writing for children?

Before I started writing literature for children, I first became an interested reader of children’s books, and this goes all the way when I was still a young two-year-old kid. I was fascinated not only with the pictures but also with the words, trying to mouth them or when my grandfather read them to me, listening to every word that he says. Though I started writing poetry and essays when I was still in grade school, the topics I was writing about were way too “heavy” — fear, romantic love, death, sadness — something that I continued doing until I finished high school.

It was only when I was in college that I started writing literature for children, when I became a staff member of Malate, the literary magazine of De La Salle University. At the time, Rio Alma, who would become my mentor in poetry and a major influence in my writing, visited DLSU for a lecture. Adarna House, which he founded, was selling his poetry books and also children’s books that I grew up with. I started buying children’s books and wrote my first attempts to write children’s stories, with the aim of getting them published at the literary magazine. And when an announcement for a children’s book-making contest sponsored by a big publishing house was posted on one of the school bulletin boards, I decided to join, mainly out of curiosity and the experience. I asked an art staffer of my magazine to illustrate the story I will enter for the contest. Luckily, we won and months later, the first book I have written, Ang Paglalakbay ni Pepito Piso, got published in 1996, when I was only 18 years old.

2. What was your inspiration in writing May Higante?

My latest book, May Higante sa Aming Bahay, is a personal two-year writing journey towards coming up with a story that glorifies and demystifies the Filipino father. In a society where the Filipino mother is always put in a positive light and the Filipino father relegated at the background, I decided to write a story that could possibly break ground on the way the Filipino child considers an important figure in the family. The father in this story is a sketch of the father-figures in my life: my uncle Lenito Gatchalian who was a tall but gentle surgeon and loving father, and my mentor, Virgilio S. Almario (aka Rio Alma) who, despite his imposing credentials and strong voice, is a father to many Filipino young writers.


3. Describe the "creative process" you went through when writing May Higante. Did you undergo the same experience writing your other books?

It was a story that was never easy to write, mainly because of my detachment to my own father. Our relationship was like that of Shiva and Ganesh: my father is so absorbed with his own thoughts and problems so the rigors of raising a family fell to my mother, who became very over-protective and defensive, to the point of sometimes being insecure and overbearing; I was the stubborn child who protected his mother so we took all the attention and love she could give to her husband. Nevertheless, he was the guiding light that made this story possible. Too bad that he passed away not seeing this book coming to light.

Compared to my other work, it was written several times all over in a span of two years. I was carrying the idea in my head for a long time, struggling to get it done but trying to find a way to make it a fun story to read; that is, I want it to become a profound tribute without being a tear-jerker. I think that watching my own daughter growing up helped me understand the character of the father in my story. I put myself in her shoes and how she imagined me to be — a “giant” of sorts. I was literally the tallest and biggest figure in the family, my height and weight an imposing feature of me that I used as a detail to the character of my story. The rest of the details developed as time went by, but only got finalized in print in time for the deadline of the PBBY Salanga Writers’ Prize.


4. How many of your stories have been published into children's books and which is the most memorable?

I have written and translated several stories, but I was fortunate that almost all of them were turned into children’s books. Each of these books has a particular special place in my heart because I think of the rigors that come with their creation.

My first book, Ang Paglalakbay ni Pepito Piso, was memorable because it was my first children’s book. I was only 18 years old and in college when it came out in 1996. Although the story’s characters were dated, the lessons of the story are timeless — courage to discover what is new, ability to pick one’s self up from tragedy, and being rooted to your family and community.

My popular book, Chenelyn! Chenelyn!, was easiest to write. I finished writing it on the computer for only 30 minutes. The funny circumstance with this story was that it was my mother, more than anyone else, who inspired this story. I was frantic and stressed out while coming up with a story to beat the 5 p.m.-deadline for the 1997 PBBY Salanga Writers Prize, having decided to change my entry at the last minute. I kept on asking her to get things for me (something to drink and eat, a pillow, etc.) and she gladly obliged to my requests. Then I thought, why not write about a story about a maid who could do all these things and make it appear so fantastic to her ward? It was followed by ceaseless typing and after that, rushed to the PBBY office where I made it just in the nick of time, the last entry accepted for that day. The rest, as they say, is history.

I wrote Mga Lihim sa Gabi ni Ruming in verse form because of the influence of poetry in my creative writing experience. Most of my stories were written not in paragraph form, but in sentences broken into lines that simulate the appearance of a poem. This book was written out of a fascination with an image. At that time, I was still at the office at 9 p.m. when I saw the silhouette of a cat on one of the windows. I thought, what if I write about the night habits of cats? The name of the character was inspired by a cousin who frequently goes out at night, usually to drink with buddies or meet his girlfriend.

5. As a writer for children, where do you see yourself ten years from now against the backdrop of Philippine Children's Literature?

I see myself still writing books for children, enjoying the process along with fellow children’s book writers and friends, and inspiring and teaching those who would like to pursue the craft through talks, writing workshops and school visits.