Re(Collection)
When I think about the sameness of the days, how it's the same room, the same place, the same time I wake up everyday, I can't help but wonder how 'normal' once was. It's hard to remember what things were like.
Was it the freedom of visiting loved ones whenever I felt like it? Or strolling in the mall, or eating out, or travelling?
Then again, once I sit down in my office and look out the window, I realise there's nothing the same about yesterday and today. The sun shines a little differently this season. The dragonflies are out. Perhaps it will rain. Or perhaps not. It's a bit humid.
Tomorrow the air might feel drier. I might go out for a walk where there aren't many people. A might see the birds that sneak around the vines and the wild fig trees, sipping nectar from little flowes. They aren't always there. I have to cross my fingers to see them.
Before I knew it, my notebook has filled up with new and exciting ideas. There is beauty in routine, in small spaces, in hidden corners, and unexpected visitors. There is beauty in simply being alive and breathing things in.
View From the Window
"The moon is beautiful, isn't it?" (月が綺麗ですね)
There is a story that tells of how novelist Soseki Natsume once taught his students that one mustn't translate expressions of love word-for-word. While one culture might say “I love you” a certain way, another culture might find direct expressions of love intimidating. Love, as one of the most beautiful things about being human, may be expressed as a form of reverence and respect. Sighing about the breathtaking beauty of the moon has, for some time now, been understood to mean "I love you” in countries like Japan and South Korea. Beyond romance, love is treated with a reverential distance that elevates the experience above mere emotions.
This person, this place, this view, has touched my soul in ways nearly impossible to express… thus, here it is, my approximation of love.
In J's case, love is family. Love is togetherness. And most of all, love is home.
She shared photos of Roxas City; its unmatched sunsets, sky red and blazing over the bay, and at the edge of the horizon, the moon rising in silver splendor.
J's specific words: "Whimsical and sentimental this time ❤️ water, sunset, home." Her earrings feature moonstones, indicolite tourmalines, padparadscha sapphires, rubies, blue sapphires, and tanzanite, to recreate her beloved view.
Debut Poetry Collection: We've Been Here Before
I am pleased to announce that my debut poetry collection, "We've Been Here Before", is forthcoming with Aqueduct Press. My book is a collection of poems I've written in the last 15 years, exploring themes of identity, transformation, and oppression in the eyes of a woman navigating her male-dominated family and society. Borrowing the voice of objects, animals, insects, and even robots, each poem tackles a salient experience of the silently oppressed.
Estimated launch date: February 2022
"We've Been Here Before" is my first book of poetry, but it is also the third published book in my writing career. Previously published work include my science fiction novel, The Light Bringer's Kingdom (2015, The Zharmae Publishing Press, now defunct), and Exis: Gods, Ghosts, and Battered Cellphones (May 1, 2010 by eTreasures Publishing).
The Art of Love
Local jewel artist brings a little extra sparkle and shine to Katipunan
Fresh from her New York exhibit, founder and jewel artisan Anne Carly Abad of Art in Jewels is back in the Philippines for a cozy little show for Valentine’s at The Arton Strip by Rockwell this February 13-16.
There’s nothing quite as exciting or as personal as customized jewelry. Whether you want to mark a milestone or use it as a form of self-expression, fine jewelry is an investment. From stone selection, consultation, design sketching, and finally, the finished product— Art in Jewels delivers flawlessly on all fronts.
Being a writer at heart, Anne’s aesthetic revolves around her poetics and the organic inspiration she draws from nature and the gems themselves. Precious and semi-precious gemstones like sapphires, spinels, garnets, and diamonds feature in much of her creations. She works closely with her partner gemologists and gem cutters to source exceptional gems from all over the world, enthroning them in flowing pieces of finely-crafted gold.
Anne has a unique background as an artist, fictionist, and poet, and has garnered multiple award nominations in international poetry awarding bodies, and was ultimately awarded the Poet of the Year in the 2017 Nick Joaquin Literary Awards. She came back to her first love, the visual arts, by using gemstones and metal as her medium with the help of skilled FIlipino jewelry artisans.
Philippine Jewel Artist Makes a New York Dazzle - New York, NY
Founder and jewel artisan Anne Carly Abad of Art in Jewels, is among 40 other exhibitors at the Metal + Smith Winter Edit, which takes place February 3 - 4, 2020 at 518 W, 38th Street. Anne brings to the exhibit table wearable art pieces inspired by her fiction and poetics. Natural gemstones like sapphires, spinels, aquamarines, and garnets are native inhabitants of her world of brilliance and color.
Anne works closely with her partner gemologists and gem cutters to source exceptional gems from all over the world, enthroning them in exquisite designs that are crafted into gold by master artisans in the Philippines.
You may follow Art in Jewels on Instagram, @artinjewels.