Unusual places that inspire creativity

* originally published on Yahoo Philippines, also seen on Vera Files *

Pam Quinones

Fashion stylist Pam Quinones has a library in her home, which is accessible only by using a ladder. The library’s unusual location (the loft) is not due to space constraints; on the contrary, her French-themed house with its high ceiling and muted earth colors is quite spacious.

Quinones’ home is featured in Curious Setting, a new inspirational website about “cool spaces and interesting people.”

“The site is devoted to finding inspiration in the cool and unusual,” according to Bea Ledesma and Ria Prieto---the brains behind Curious Setting.

Their paths crossed through their jobs. As lifestyle editors, Bea and Ria would frequently run into each other during events. So they started hanging out and that’s when they discovered they have so much in common: i.e., flipping through coffee table books, looking at interiors, and scouting for thrift shops.

Since then, the stylish duo had been sharing with each other pictures and stories of cool places and interesting people.

The idea of an inspirational website stemmed from the success of their first venture, Narra jewelry line available in Greenbelt and Rockwell.

“Curious Setting all happened organically,” Bea recalled. “We wanted to work on an online platform but instead of aggregating news, we wanted to generate content.”

“We started the blog because it was an excuse to get inside interesting homes and places,” Ria added. “Because we have a blog, we aren’t snoops. It makes what we do legit.”

“Everyone’s a Curious Christy, that’s why tabloids make so much money,” Bea quipped. “It’s in our line of work to shoot interesting things. [Curious Setting] was really just a lateral shift in thinking.”

Bea & Ria

Bea runs the fashion section of The Philippine Star’s YStyle section while Ria is editor in chief of Red Magazine---the monthly insert of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

The Curious team includes three local photographers: Jo Ann Bitagcol – a former model, Edric Chen – an egg farmer by day, and Tammy David – a photojournalist and the duo’s good friend.

They also have three contributors---Lesley Choa, Tin Legaspi, and Mara Milano, whom Bea described as bright and hardworking, “all of them...slaving behind the scenes.”

Asked about what a “real home” should be like, Bea and Ria seem to have a common denominator. They both agree that a real home should be a personal space where you can feel free to express your personality, and at the same time, satiate your lifestyle needs.

“Modern minimalist homes are great but could I live in them? So while I dream of the obsessive neatness of a Patrick Bateman pad, my place is more likely to resemble the home of that dude who skinned girls in Silence of the Lambs – minus the cave and the murder part, obviously,” Bea joked.

“If the owner feels free to do whatever he loves regardless of trends or other people’s opinions, then that’s a home sweet home,” Ria added.

Some of the coolest finds featured on Curious Setting (aside from Quinones’ house) are fashion designer Hindy Weber Tantoco’s farm with its charming pergola, London-based designer Lesley Mobo’s airy light-filled townhouse, and a super fancy bathroom of Bea’s friend which she described as “light years fancier than my entire apartment.”

an arty couple's home

Designer Eric Paras’ A11 pad in Pasay City is the focus of “Home Is Where the Decor Is” while “The Arty Couple’s Home” story takes a look at a ‘60s-inspired roomy residence filled with local art. Another interesting piece is about the artsy and minimalist abode of Carlo Calma, which he designed himself.

For Bea, her dream feature article for Curious Setting would definitely be about singer Mariah Carey’s house. “I adore her. Ever since I saw her house on MTV Cribs, I knew she was insane and yet that only made my admiration grow to a full- fledged fandom,” she confessed.

As for Ria, her dream feature would be the house of architect Daniel Romualdez. She said: “His place gets featured abroad but, sadly, he isn’t ready to have it featured here in Manila. A lot of Filipinos admire him and his taste is exquisite and exciting.”

Aside from showcasing cool places and interesting people, Curious Setting will also be having a store on their website. “It is going to be a really cool mix of objects and artist collaborations,” Bea added. “Things fall into place easily enough when you’re willing to pursue something wholeheartedly.”

“We enjoy what we do and sharing it makes us happy,” Ria added.

Wander Lost

* originally published on Yahoo Philippines, also seen on Vera Files *

Ian Fabro

“Not all those who wander are lost,” said J.R.R. Tolkien in his book, The Fellowship of the Ring.

They discover a thousand and one things. Some even find themselves.

Seven young artists from the University of the Philippines show their stirring take on what wandering, being lost, and subsequently found.

Their artistic interpretations of this state of “wanderlust”---or the strong desire to travel---are on display in the ongoing “Wander Lost” exhibit that runs until Feb.28 at the Republikha Art Gallery on E. Rodriguez Avenue, Quezon City.

The featured artists include Karla Aggarao, Brisa Dominguez, Ian Fabro, Francis Natividad, Miguel Puyat, Camille Quintos, and Roman Soleño.

“I’ve always experienced wanderlust,” says 20-year-old Aggarao. “There’s a certain joy in being outside our comfort zone and experiencing new things, not only physically. I also get to travel with my mind.”

For Aggarao, wanderlust is a universal feeling which everyone experiences, feels, and sees, through various forms, even in dreams. Using mostly acrylic or ink, Aggarao’s artworks for “Wander Lost” accentuate her love for travel.

She migrated alone to the Philippines when she was 17. Living independently has taught her to vividly explore her imagination and discover herself more through art and words; she writes prose and poetry as well.

Aggarao says she admires the works of Ramona Dela Cruz-Gaston, Dave Lock, Jason Montinola, Katrina Pallon, Rodel Tapaya, and Ronald Ventura.

Roman Soleño

Dominguez, 20, usually makes use of a mishmash of media, like watercolour mixed with dust and frottage, and organic sculptures highlighted with fluorescent colors.

She recycled her room’s old door for her artwork, called “Bag of Thoughts.” She emphasized her expression of wanderlust by putting rusty objects onto it.

“The rust signifies a phase in my life when I used to feel stuck – immovable. It also reflects the controlled life in the city,” Dominguez explains.

She also incorporated a self-portrait on her old door. “In spite of getting lost, I know there will always be an open door for me,” she says.

She gets inspiration from the works of her father (who is also a painter) and those of artist Ling Quisumbing Ramillo.

Dominguez, an active member of the UP Artists Circle Sorority, teaches young natives of Mountain Province to paint murals.

Fabro’s contributions to “Wander Lost” center on how a person deals with exploring what’s beyond his comfort zone. “Overcoming doubt and fear is one of the hardest things to do – it limits me... (my desire for) experiencing and learning new things,” says the 19-year-old artist.

He admires the artworks of Victor Balanon, Alan Balisi, Dave Lock, and Onib Olmedo.

Natividad, 26, is fond of textured abstracts, assemblages, and black and white portraits. He extracts ideas from delving into culture and eccentric environments.

For his artwork “Again Hello Goodbye,” he used metal sheets as canvas. To convey his interpretation of wanderlust, he chose vibrant color schemes to illuminate his geographical, physical, and even spiritual personal and interpersonal wanderings.

“It represents long-lasting relationships and their imprints, which make me, as a wanderer, lust for them repeatedly,” Natividad points out.

This young artist is also into interior design, fashion, and jewellery. He is also currently affiliated with Artworx Studios in Cambodia.

He is inspired by the works of Santiago Bose, Benjie Cabangis, and Nestor Vinluan.

Brisa Dominguez

“Wanderlust may be expressed by travelling,” says Puyat. And this sums up his take on their collective show.

One of the youngest in the group at 19, Puyat likes working on found objects. In his artwork called “2200 Meter Mark,” he used a different medium – dust – to literally and figuratively illustrate the concept of leaving trails when a person travels.

He loves skateboarding and plans to incorporate this extreme sport into his art.

Puyat admires the works of Argie Bandoy, Bernardo Pacquing, and Ramillo.

Quintos, 27, abandoned the corporate world a few years ago to study painting in UP Diliman. Still in the process of finding her art’s direction and style, her current works, which are usually self-portraits, explore life, death, spirituality, and identity.

In “BLEH!,” a series of her self-portraits,Quintos tries to come up with something different.

“I feel like I’m having an artist’s block so I made something unusual,” she shares. “To get new ideas, I need to travel to new places, meet new people, learn new things, and have new experiences – just like wanderlust.”

She is influenced by the works of Christina Dy, who was also her former teacher.

Soleño thinks that wanderlust is similar to falling asleep – like a form of escapism. “When you’re sleeping, you don’t think about your problems,” he says.

The 19-year-old artist also plays the drums, and creates film projects.

My life currently revolves around the movies/series that I watch from night 'til morning (in this order because of my maybe-permanently reversed body clock) and my cat who occupies almost half of my bed when he sleeps. My life is currently totally uneventful, in other words.

I miss writing about things that interest me. Or about my feelings, which I coat with a playful, or at frequent times - vague, selection of words. I miss having an urge, a momentum, a drive to do things. Doing something that's relevant, that's what I'm really missing. I guess.

On the one (empty) hand, the first month of the new year has just passed by, leaving trails of careless but worth-the-moment decisions. On the other (full) hand, I have a lot of unfinished businesses, like pending photo projects and a couple of songs that I have to work on. I also actually have a number of websites that are constantly open for my article contributions. But here I am, still just waiting to pounce on *that* opportunity that would lift my spirit up again. What it is, I really don't know yet.

All of these thoughts is honestly sickening. (Some people really sicken me, too, but that's another negative story that I don't want to get into right now.) Point in fact: I'm already in my mid-late 20's (which freaks me out all the more) and I need to get out of this rut...

Maybe after watching another film or two.