F.A.R.M. wins!

the ceremony was @ the SM City Naga activity center

competing at the highest level is not about winning. 

It's about preparation, courage, understanding and nurturing your people, and heart.

winning is the result.

my trophy

i knew about the first bishop gainza trade fair way back in feb, when jay showed me the plans he’s been working on.  such enthusiasm and idealism, i see in jay, no wonder, i always get caught joining his projects, and without an iota of regret, all the time.

my quest then became apparent:  i have to join the first bishop gainza trade fair (being an historical event, and as a show of support to the diocese for the 300 years of devotion to Ina) and take on everything that it calls for.  i planned for months of preparation, but, oh, these plans, they are but those.  bwahahaha.  i had the longest time to make the stocks ready, and just like everybody else, i cram!  so it was barely a month before the fair that i seriously worked on it, but working is not the right term for what i do, so i rephrase my previous statement:  i seriously played on it. now, doesn’t that sound fun?  certainly!  and i had the most fun.  

F.A.R.M. play

F.A.R.M.ing is fun!  

who wouldn’t trade their work for what i do?  i play with colors, textures and lovely people.  

my shoppe, for a month became just like Santa’s workshop when christmas is in the air.  one can hear naughty giggles, boisterous laughter (mostly from me, sorry neighbours) and occasional shouts from the mada’am.  bwahahaha!   

Sandy working on my F.A.R.M. boot

and when the day came to set up my booth, 

just like santa, i had my best reindeer in tow: Sandy.  

we didn’t have a sled,

tho, we just took the florencia bus to naga city!  on a hot, humid day.

with my Sisters in the Hood: ritz, lilette, tootsie, anne, too

with nene and arlene of AMAD-DA

with cous perlie and sis and niec

setting up the booth was a breeze, what with all my buttons, my arms and my precious F.A.R.M.er photos.  

SM beauties

i didn’t have to labour for ideas,

they just come and i simply execute, and voila:  

 the most photographed booth in the fair – 

the F.A.R.M. by bidibidi enterprise Booth.

with my cousins

from the first day till the last, the F.A.R.M. booth was the favourite, without a doubt.  when old and new F.A.R.M.ers come, i make sure they leave with a F.A.R.M. trinket and a smile.  everyone left with a happy heart, not only because they bought a piece or two or too many, but because they now know the F.A.R.M. story.  (i even thought of putting the story on tape, so i don’t have to repeat it again and again, but i soon realized that when i tell the story from heart, in person,  i tell it with passion and people get infected, and there is simply no cure.  bwahahaha!  afterall, this is what i am here for.)

my Ornaments from Trash class & Fr. Fidel Bagayawa

at the F.A.R.M. booth

i had the chance to teach the skill to a number of interested crafters, 

and a chance to present F.A.R.M. to the UBC (United Bicol Clergy) during a party at the Naga Parochial School, where all the bishops and the clergy converged in a dinner hosted by the Most Reverend Leonardo Z. Legaspi, O.P., D.D. Archbishop of Caceres.

during the UBC dinner @ Naga Parochial School

sisters/F.A.R.M.ers Mabolo

with Rosalie's uncle Ed and nephew Jay

the best day was sunday and the booth was overflowing with visitors old and new!  some are first time F.A.R.M.ers, 

most are repeaters., 

they just can’t get enough.  i was the best seller, too!  oh my, life is definitely good!

twin F.A.R.M. kids

and, alas, the best is yet to come!  

old and new F.A.R.M.ers

monday  was the last fair day, i didn’t have haste in mind, i lingered at home, and waited till after the rain waned.  took the slowest bus to naga, exhaustion was taking its toll on me, and nostalgia, too.  i had the best time meeting new F.A.R.M.ers!  although i longed for my unhurried time at the shoppe, i also felt i will miss my daily trips to and dealings in naga.

the booth was not as noisy, nor was it as busy.  my neighbor-booths were quiet, too.  there were still a lot of last-minute shoppers and people who are hesitant to travel all the way to my hometown and shoppe address, Baao, for a piece of my F.A.R.M.  they made sure they have the color to match their fave dress, their office uniform, etc.  and as always, i was there, to shake their hands, let them know about the good F.A.R.M. story, and put a smile on their otherwise tired and weary faces. 

students of the Ateneo de Naga University

i asked jay if i need to be at the Best of Bicol Awards Night, he replied, “yes, who knows, you might have an award”. that made me have the shivers.  i was not wearing an appropriate attire, for the occasion, and for a possible award. 

i was so sure, i’d get the Best Dressed Booth Award.  hah!  my booth was certainly 

the best dressed, 

most photographed, 

most interesting, 

with Mm. Sonia Roco

most visited, 

beautiful F.A.R.M.ers: yayet, angelita and melva

Baao beauties

and best-selling (in terms of quantity, and they judge this category not by the quantity but by the amount, so that a piece of furniture would equate to a hundred F.A.R.M. bracelets.  

bwahahaha!).   

cousin Luis and college batchmate Marie

the awarding ceremony started and it was graced by known personalities both in the bicol clergy and the bicol business community.  when the Best Dressed Booth award was called and i didn’t hear my name, i was so in shock and couldn’t speak.  which booth was more beautiful than mine?  and i was almost in tears, but i had to keep my mascara from running and making me look like a disgruntled panda.  i knew there were eight awards, and the emcee called one exhibitor after another, i could hardly hear.  i was so disappointed and sad.  the seventh award was The Most Promising Product Award, and I was thinking to myself, that certainly is not me, i don’t promise anything.  bwahahaha.   

receiving my award and certificate

 a picture of surprise and joy

so when the host said that the last award was The Best Product Award, i was not even paying attention, i was busy criticizing, well, not myself, i was sinning!!!   

when Fr. Wilmer Tria announced the winner and said:  The Best Product Award goes to : F. . .A. . .R. . .M. . . i almost lost it, my sound of surprise was genuine, well, unintelligible cacophony of sounds from moi. 

with Fr. Wilmer Tria

(haaaaah?  Waaaaaah?  Me?) bwahahaha! and the crowd applauded and cheered, and i was walking on air to the platform to receive my trophy, not minding my slippers, nor my ill-fitting pants, nor my old blouse.  that night, i was the BEST and that is all that mattered.

at my F.A.R.M. booth in the 1st Bishop F. Gainza Trade Fair

“i was feeling bad that i was not called for the Best Dressed Booth, little had i known that i had the best in store for me. sometimes, an early let down is but a moment of reflection, a chance for humility.”

art is a verb, not a noun,

most people don’t realize how much courage it takes for artists to show their work to people. 

courage, as defined by mark twain, is not the lack of fear, but rather being able to move forward in spite of it. 

i have recently realized that there is a difference between making art and making a painting (sculpture, photography, or whatever your medium is). 

Family - acrylic on canvass by Penera

Our Lady of Penafrancia - acrylic on canvass by Penera

three sisters - acrylic on canvass by Penera

expression of my unique form of creativity is an addiction that very few artists, like myself, have any choice about. 

Cafe Des Artes is the venue for the Hope in Art exhibit

it’s the need that drives me, identifies who i am as a person to myself as well as to others, 

and keeps me centered. 

Wilson Belarmino, artist chats with guest RED Tam

the Mayor appreciates the pieces

but, creating ART, takes more than just making the object. 

after years of talking to artists too timid or too scared to show their work, i’ve heard just about every excuse in the book:

fear of rejection, 

lack of time, 

Juanito Penera with his works - acrylic on canvass

not interested in exposure, 

not ready, 

Harold Gomez with his works - oil on canvass

the list goes on and on. . .

but for some, there comes a point at which they can no longer ignore the need for their artwork to be seen. 

it’s as if the artwork itself is demanding exposure. 

it is here, that the distinction between an object that sits on the wall begins the transition into becoming art.

as i define it, art is the activity that occurs in the space that exists between the eyes of the beholder and that object i have created. 

it is the interaction of experiences between the artist and the art viewer. 

it is only when this exchange takes place, that my work becomes art. 

it is when i share my creation with the outside world that i truly become an artist. 

sadly, for many artists, this is an experience they will never have. 

the central display area

Hope in Art event was opened by Hon. Mayor Gaite & DAR RED Manlangit-Tam

my goal, therefore, is to help prepare artists, local or not,  to take the leap from being an object maker, to being an artist. by understanding the responsibility i have to get my and their works seen, i can begin to take the important first steps in becoming an artist, myself and letting others become artists, too.

taking the details of each art piece

Hope in Art was featured in the local TV Patrol news as special interest 27 Aug 2010

Kate Delovieres of TV Patrol Bikol covers the event

rural defined

how big is too big? 

my living room at La Huerta

using my rural town Baao, as a guide, 

i came up with a standard for defining rural that incorporates something familiar to almost everyone—stoplights! 

any locale that has no stoplight belongs to my rural sense.

as i add more artisans to my F.A.R.M. trademark, i  make sure F.A.R.M. products have with them the following character:

- artists and artisans live and create products in Baao, or a neighbouring small town or community with no stoplight.

my pets: Chico, Cheeky, Choco

- products are made with care and with the knowledge that we have made them as safe, pure, and with the highest standards as possible. we follow safe manufacturing principles of cleanliness and sanitation to ensure the safety of our end products.   

- we have pride in that, the quality of our workmanship will bring pleasure to those who purchase and use them. in short, we make with love.

- F.A.R.M. as a trademark has been approved and certified by the Intellectual Property Office of the Department of Trade and Industry. 

- we  have a business license, enabling us to do business in a legal manner and report and pay our taxes appropriately.

Rosario's path is named after my mother - the gardener of my dreams

i believe that satisfying work makes a light heart, and that the products made with pleasure can pass along that happy vibration to those who purchase them, which in turn, supports those who make them.

vine-covered walkway at La Huerta

to be able to live in a small town and make a living,  
has been a challenge for me and for many in the past. 
i hope to change things for the better with the F.A.R.M. idea, and  i invite you to join in this new adventure.