The Luceat Lux Lifetime Achievement Award and A Splendid Night at Xavier's Exemplary Alumni Awards.

Last friday, I was able to join the Xavier School community in welcoming 2011's Xavier-Kuangchi Exemplary Alumni Award winners at the Angelo King Multi-Purpose Center. We honored two outstanding Xavierians who have made great contributions in their respective fields. One of them was a proud leader in the scouting organizations of the Philippines, and the other served as a top ophthalmologist, helping a lot of people who can't afford to have eye surgeries.

Aside from these two individual awards, the Luceat Lux Lifetime Achievement award was also handed out to a unique persona; Fr. Ismael Zuloaga of the Society of Jesus. His great contribution and leadership helped to create the foundations of Xavier School, and even at his old age, he continues to create a stirring influence of progress within the hearts and minds of the students. During his speech for the ceremony, Fr. Zuloaga explained that he believed in the ability of Xavierians to become doers in life. He mentioned that while other people simply think and plan, Xavierians learn to act and react to the different situations that are presented to them. Growing up within this community myself, I've learned that the best way to create change is by being a catalyst for it yourself. Doing things and dreaming things are not the same, but we need both in order to gain significant accomplishments in our own fields. Whether it be in medicine, the fine arts, scouting, or business, I'm very proud of Xavier School for training its students to be ready for a complete emergence in any of the diverse industries that await them.

I created a sculpture for Fr. Zuloaga, to symbolize his lifetime achievement at Xavier School, and to remind him that the entire body of our community supports him and honors his lasting influence. The sculpture was made as the emblem for the Luceat Lux Lifetime achievement award that was bestowed upon Fr. Zuloaga after the two Xavier-Kuangchi Exemplary Alumni Awardees gave their own speeches for the night.

Meeting up with old and new friends like Jan Benedict Yap, Mauro Tongco, and Karol Yee made the night an even more enjoyable experience. I was also able to see some of my old professors like Sir Exxon Yu, Fr. Guy Guibelondo, and Sir James Rivera.

Major 8.9 Earthquake and Tsunami just hit Japan.

I just got back from the other room. The Live News on CNN is broadcasting the rapid flooding of farmlands in Japan right after an 8.9 earthquake... This was so suddenly shown to me, but from the looks of it, the waves are moving in quite fast, it's scary to imagine being there. Cars are being swiped off the roads and buildings are being crashed into the waters. Let's hope it mellows out, but for now, please pray for the victims of the catastrophe and if you're anywhere near the coastal areas of Japan, move to higher ground right now. Turn on the TV and see what's happening to keep yourself and your family updated.

The Everyday Morning Art Sessions

Early each day, my routine usually starts with breakfast and stretching. Although that's not entirely accurate- I usually skip breakfast, forget stretching and go straight to the attic studio. These days I've been sculpting in clay for about 4 hours a day, and the summer heat sometimes makes the art material softer. This can be a good thing when you're shaping the design composition, but it can also work against you when you're creating balances that work against gravity. Most of my sculptures rest on a metal connection to their bases when finished, but during their clay forms, nothing holds them in place aside from the central rod and the thin wire armature.

The best thing to do is simply add more support for hot sunny days like this. Recently I've been quite resourceful in finding structural aids for my clay modeling sessions. I've found that the Gorilla Pod for cameras is an excellent and flexible support for modeling. I just had to wrap the ends in plastic so as not to damage the pod.

Some of my more recent works have been more curvaceous at the top or torso level. This is more of a personal taste issue for me, because I really prefer artworks that look as if they defy gravity. With my sculptures' rounded lace foundations, I try to create the visual illusion of floating or free stranding on the flat wood. For every piece that comes out of my studio, I have to make sure that the balance and center of gravity is in tune with normal standards, otherwise they might become accident prone when tipped. So far, I've had no trouble with this issue anyway.

The best thing about working upstairs in the morning, is the sunlight. I sometimes work till 12pm or 1pm, but I wait for the sunlight to engulf the attic in steaks of bright ambiance. Not only is it a clear way to work, but my benefit is that I am able to see the tiny bumps and uneven surfaces on the sculptures. This is how I create an almost seamless exterior in the end. Normal lamps or pinlights don't do the trick because they are angle-biased. My attic windows are large and surround the sculpture from every angle, so a good 360 degree work station is possible. It makes me happy to go up there every day and do my sculpting in a good environment. The only thing I wish for is that aircons get cheaper so I can finally use it when I sculpt. It gets extremely hot up there.

Xavier School Alumni's Upcoming XAG Art Exhibition this April.

Recently, we've been active in an art group called the XAG or Xavier Alumni Art Guild. It's the very first of its kind and the pioneering group for Xavier School's artist community. We'll be having an exhibit sometime soon, although details are not yet set in stone. I believe the schedule right now is set for a date in April at the Sining Kamalig Art Gallery at Gateway Mall. What's really interesting about this gathering of Xavierians is the amount of participation gathered into a single purpose. The Gallery owner, group management, and even some writers and graphic designers are all Xavierians. It's a proud honor to finally see that my school for 13 years finally has a great base of alumni supporting an artist group.

Me and my dad; Seb Chua from the Artasia Fine Art Gallery will also be a part of the exhibit. We'll be showing some of our newer contemporary sculptures and paintings throughout its duration. I'm currently working on some of the pieces that I'll be unveiling for the show. The media for works to be showcased during the exhibition will be painting, sculpture, photography, and digital art among others. Participating alumni artists are recruited across different batches as spread as 20 to 30 years apart in age (I probably contribute a lot to this generation gap). Variety in style is among the things to look out for when you guys visit the show.


I'll be sure to update everyone when more details are through to me, but for now this is just a teaser for what's to come. 

I believe that with enough support, this group can become a truly impressive collective that can also benefit back to the Xavier Community. It can be a leap forward not only for us, but also for the younger generation of students who will now have an outlet for art once they graduate to college or even after.

Man-Made or Machine-Made : A Touch of Imperfection Goes a Long Way

What makes art so valuable to collectors? When set against traditional or contemporary decor, what notable differences do we see? Decor is fashioned out of an assembly line production in a well-organized factory. Each product is individually checked for quality, and the company's expensive machinery can make its traits picture perfect. An idea can be stolen- replicated by technology. So what's stopping mass production companies from absorbing the art market? The answer to that is nothing. Nothing prevents them, so why is the art world still as flourishing today as it was back in the olden times?

If rapid prototyping using 3D printers take over physical human labor, factories can then be mechanized to produce perfect quality designs like never before. They can eliminate the "human error" that sometimes occurs when creating tangible creative output.

If art was that simple, then it wouldn't even exist. There is a reason that people are drawn to the world of art, sculpture and painting. When someone has a story, it is first told by word, then told by writing, and sometimes (but rarely) told through other forms. Art is a narrative of someone's life. You see, no matter how much we want to be perfect at everything, we still cling to this randomness inside of us. Art is a language for what we are and who we are. The state of an artistic work allows us to revel in the implications of imperfection. We find ourselves astounded at the delight that there is something that we cannot explain. For all our logic, secretly we want to transcend it.

So why is an original man-made artwork more valuable than a perfected piece of machined decor? Because it relates more to you and me than its competition. Because you can imagine doing it by hand, sweating, toiling and finally.. succeeding in creating something beautiful out of your own imperfect experience. Art is to human, as product is to robot. We are what we do, and we do according to who we are.