Tuesday, June 10, 2008 The painted quilt By Ritchie landis doner quijano
WHAT'S the latest development with the Canada-based Cebuana artist Paulina Constancia? She’s back home though I can’t say that her return comes with a vengeance. She brought with her a new collection of painted quilts, which she will show at the Ayala Museum in Makati on June 20. It is aptly called “Quiltopia.”
Let’s do something different for this feature. I’ll do away with my usual descriptive, narrative, ism-filled stuff so I can let the artist herself speak in her own words the content and substance of her paintings.
So go Paulina and fire! The artwork, titled Choices, is a paintitching (paint and stitching) on canvas. According to her: “Life presents us with so many choices. And as much as we want to be in control of the things that happen in our lives, sometimes we just have to learn to trust and let go.
“In this piece there is a cat with a horn and a bird. They symbolize the people who like to tell us what to do or influence our decisions.
“The message is: if we listen to the beatings of our heart, the answer lies inside us.”
As for Jungle Earth, she said that “it presents the world as it should be and can be, there mutual respect, cooperation and
sharing.” Pas de Deux is “about sharing the dance of life with another and taking chances.” She explained the sunny faced artwork titled Shine, Shine!
“The sun is the source, it can symbolize a higher being or the ultimate source of all and this is the force that enlivens us and unifies us.”
Paulina Constancia continues to do meaningful works and even though she now lives in a foreign land, her paintings’ form, color and content are still consistent as ever and spread a message that is universal to mankind.
