The Gallery of Maria Pureza Escano
NEWS ARTICLES AND REVIEWS
WORKING MOM: The Color of Hope
"The Color of Hope"
Working Mom
December 2009 to January 2010 Issue
Photos by Mian Sta. Cruz
The raging flood waters almost destroyed everything in artist Puchette Escano's home -- but left three things and a lesson she will never forget.
Artist Puchette Hernandez-Escano delivered this speech at the opening of "When I Grow Up" exhibit at the Power Plant Mall last October 12, 2009, for the benefit of the children of CRIBS Foundation. Typhoon Ondoy damaged all her works except for the fragile watercolors that she had prepared for the exhibit. She realized God's message was to use our talents to create beauty and to do good...
"I was busy preparing for a solo show when I was invited to join this exhibit. I had second thoughts about joining. My solo show was supposed to be this October and I have not completed my series yet. But when I learned who the beneficiaries would be, I couldn’t find it in my heart to refuse. Who am I to say no to the children of CRIBS Foundation? How are they different from the orphaned kids of Baguio whose cause I am espousing in my solo show?
A Feverish Hope
I consulted with my husband. I needed to be reassured that I could swing it – make additional paintings for another exhibit when my solo show was drawing so close. And Rad said that I worry too much. If it’s God’s work I am doing, God will help me beat deadlines.
And so because the date of this exhibit was nearer I concentrated first on my entries for it and was able to paint three watercolors in less than two weeks. Strangely, while I was doing those paintings, it was as if I was touched with fire, feverish even in my passion to portray those images… inspired by memories and dreams of my own childhood… goaded by the fervent hope that through these works I, just like CRIBS, would help make a difference in the lives of children less fortunate than my own but nevertheless, equally deserving of love, caring and the hope of a better future.
Dangerous Currents
I was nearly finished with another work, when the typhoon came. Merville Park was flooded. From the creek at the back and the streets in front, the muddy water came inside our bungalow. We had to evacuate before it reaches any higher or my husband, my children and I would be swimming in the dirty water or worst. But the current outside was unbelievably strong, chest-deep and roaring. We have three kids in the house – our three-year old daughter, our two-year old son and my brother’s new-born baby girl. How can we safely cross without endangering their lives and health?
Ride to Safety
Quick thinking or the hand of God made us notice our kid’s inflatable swimming pool which was then already floating in the lanai. Two by two, the yayas and the babies first, we rode it across the flooded street guided by men who held on to a rope, braving the strong current to see us safely through to our neighbor’s two-storey house. My husband almost got swept away by the current and I praise God that he never let go off that rope.
When it was my turn to cross I remembered my paintings and my spirits dropped. Some were already submerged and some floating in the murky water. A year’s worth of work gone. But the sight of my children in my neighbor’s house, unscathed, laughing and still excited about their unexpected boat ride lifted me. We are all alive and safe. Nothing can be more important.
Saved by the Angels
When everything cleared up and we were able to go back, everything was wet and muddy. Most of my works were damaged but could still be saved. Restoration would take time so I postponed my solo show.
Amazingly, it was the most fragile paintings, my new watercolors, which suffered no harm. Little Hero was saved because it was at that moment with ART ASIA (Thanks to Seb Chua!) and the two others were still wrapped in plastic from the framers. My brother had put them on the bed when the water rushed in. The bed was soaked but its surface was dry. And so are the paintings.
Overwhelmed by gratitude at the sight of them in pristine condition, I thought that maybe the angels preserved them because they are for the more immediate noble cause, the children of CRIBS.
The Art of living with Hope
The road towards where I am standing now had been specially long and arduous after the storm. However, I believe in my heart that the flood was a blessing-in-disguise. It was a new beginning, a chance to start again.
We had to find us a new home and I could not paint for a long while, not when, first, we had to reorder our lives, so I had more time with my children. For days my husband had to stay home from work and so we had a chance to bond together and to reappreciate and enjoy each other. And everyday when I wake up in our new, safe and beautiful house, I thank God for the realizations and changes that happened to us after the flood.
Blessings in disguise
It may sound selfish of me to say these things when thousands of Filipinos are suffering horribly and many have even lost their lives in the storm. My heart goes out to them and I can’t even begin to contemplate the magnitude of their brokenness at this moment.
But I think that maybe the flood, just as it had been for my family, is really a blessing in disguise for all of us. You see, I believe that every bad occurrence is God’s way of giving us an opportunity to do good.
Lord, make me an instrument
Remember the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi? And maybe it was no coincidence that his feast day which is October 4 happened so closely to the aftermath of the typhoon and the date of this exhibit. St. Francis prayed,
“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy…”
The trauma and the despair of the children of CRIBS Foundation is an opportunity for us to bring them healing and hope. God has given us a chance, through this exhibit, to be stewards of their fate and it is my fervent wish that this stewardship shall not end with this exhibit but rather that we should always be ready to answer their call as we would if it were our own children or loved ones.
Whenever I feel sad seeing all my damaged artworks, I only had to look at the faces of my two kids and feel enormously blessed. They are the real treasures any mother-artist can hope for… for they are God’s own living artworks, the genuine masterpieces of His love. All children are.(WM December 2009 - Januray 2010)
God bless all the children of the world and every child within us all.
EDITORIAL: Creativity in the Storm
Not all of us are painters, but we are all artists. We create our lives; we exhibit our talents and principles; we leave behind our masterpieces, our children.
Sometimes storms in our lives threatens to destroy what we do. But that is part of the art of hope. We take the bad and transform it into a chance to do good. We choose to see grief and despair as part of a greater canvas of joy, hope and heroism.
We create our perspective towards tragedy.
And we can hold our brush in our hands and say "Lord, make me your instrument. I can create a better world with You."
And no matter what the storms destroy, the watercolors remind us of one thing : "The time spent on a work done with love is never, ever wasted."
Working Mom
December 2009 to January 2010 Issue
Photos by Mian Sta. Cruz
The raging flood waters almost destroyed everything in artist Puchette Escano's home -- but left three things and a lesson she will never forget.
Artist Puchette Hernandez-Escano delivered this speech at the opening of "When I Grow Up" exhibit at the Power Plant Mall last October 12, 2009, for the benefit of the children of CRIBS Foundation. Typhoon Ondoy damaged all her works except for the fragile watercolors that she had prepared for the exhibit. She realized God's message was to use our talents to create beauty and to do good...
"I was busy preparing for a solo show when I was invited to join this exhibit. I had second thoughts about joining. My solo show was supposed to be this October and I have not completed my series yet. But when I learned who the beneficiaries would be, I couldn’t find it in my heart to refuse. Who am I to say no to the children of CRIBS Foundation? How are they different from the orphaned kids of Baguio whose cause I am espousing in my solo show?
A Feverish Hope
I consulted with my husband. I needed to be reassured that I could swing it – make additional paintings for another exhibit when my solo show was drawing so close. And Rad said that I worry too much. If it’s God’s work I am doing, God will help me beat deadlines.
And so because the date of this exhibit was nearer I concentrated first on my entries for it and was able to paint three watercolors in less than two weeks. Strangely, while I was doing those paintings, it was as if I was touched with fire, feverish even in my passion to portray those images… inspired by memories and dreams of my own childhood… goaded by the fervent hope that through these works I, just like CRIBS, would help make a difference in the lives of children less fortunate than my own but nevertheless, equally deserving of love, caring and the hope of a better future.
Dangerous Currents
I was nearly finished with another work, when the typhoon came. Merville Park was flooded. From the creek at the back and the streets in front, the muddy water came inside our bungalow. We had to evacuate before it reaches any higher or my husband, my children and I would be swimming in the dirty water or worst. But the current outside was unbelievably strong, chest-deep and roaring. We have three kids in the house – our three-year old daughter, our two-year old son and my brother’s new-born baby girl. How can we safely cross without endangering their lives and health?
Ride to Safety
Quick thinking or the hand of God made us notice our kid’s inflatable swimming pool which was then already floating in the lanai. Two by two, the yayas and the babies first, we rode it across the flooded street guided by men who held on to a rope, braving the strong current to see us safely through to our neighbor’s two-storey house. My husband almost got swept away by the current and I praise God that he never let go off that rope.
When it was my turn to cross I remembered my paintings and my spirits dropped. Some were already submerged and some floating in the murky water. A year’s worth of work gone. But the sight of my children in my neighbor’s house, unscathed, laughing and still excited about their unexpected boat ride lifted me. We are all alive and safe. Nothing can be more important.
Saved by the Angels
When everything cleared up and we were able to go back, everything was wet and muddy. Most of my works were damaged but could still be saved. Restoration would take time so I postponed my solo show.
Amazingly, it was the most fragile paintings, my new watercolors, which suffered no harm. Little Hero was saved because it was at that moment with ART ASIA (Thanks to Seb Chua!) and the two others were still wrapped in plastic from the framers. My brother had put them on the bed when the water rushed in. The bed was soaked but its surface was dry. And so are the paintings.
Overwhelmed by gratitude at the sight of them in pristine condition, I thought that maybe the angels preserved them because they are for the more immediate noble cause, the children of CRIBS.
The Art of living with Hope
The road towards where I am standing now had been specially long and arduous after the storm. However, I believe in my heart that the flood was a blessing-in-disguise. It was a new beginning, a chance to start again.
We had to find us a new home and I could not paint for a long while, not when, first, we had to reorder our lives, so I had more time with my children. For days my husband had to stay home from work and so we had a chance to bond together and to reappreciate and enjoy each other. And everyday when I wake up in our new, safe and beautiful house, I thank God for the realizations and changes that happened to us after the flood.
Blessings in disguise
It may sound selfish of me to say these things when thousands of Filipinos are suffering horribly and many have even lost their lives in the storm. My heart goes out to them and I can’t even begin to contemplate the magnitude of their brokenness at this moment.
But I think that maybe the flood, just as it had been for my family, is really a blessing in disguise for all of us. You see, I believe that every bad occurrence is God’s way of giving us an opportunity to do good.
Lord, make me an instrument
Remember the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi? And maybe it was no coincidence that his feast day which is October 4 happened so closely to the aftermath of the typhoon and the date of this exhibit. St. Francis prayed,
“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy…”
The trauma and the despair of the children of CRIBS Foundation is an opportunity for us to bring them healing and hope. God has given us a chance, through this exhibit, to be stewards of their fate and it is my fervent wish that this stewardship shall not end with this exhibit but rather that we should always be ready to answer their call as we would if it were our own children or loved ones.
Whenever I feel sad seeing all my damaged artworks, I only had to look at the faces of my two kids and feel enormously blessed. They are the real treasures any mother-artist can hope for… for they are God’s own living artworks, the genuine masterpieces of His love. All children are.(WM December 2009 - Januray 2010)
God bless all the children of the world and every child within us all.
EDITORIAL: Creativity in the Storm
Not all of us are painters, but we are all artists. We create our lives; we exhibit our talents and principles; we leave behind our masterpieces, our children.
Sometimes storms in our lives threatens to destroy what we do. But that is part of the art of hope. We take the bad and transform it into a chance to do good. We choose to see grief and despair as part of a greater canvas of joy, hope and heroism.
We create our perspective towards tragedy.
And we can hold our brush in our hands and say "Lord, make me your instrument. I can create a better world with You."
And no matter what the storms destroy, the watercolors remind us of one thing : "The time spent on a work done with love is never, ever wasted."