Play & Learn
Before I had time to create art as frequently as I do now, I was a teacher. I love setting up learning invitations and hanging back while children freely explore and learn through a process of inquiry and discovery. I am an advocate of unobstructed play, natural materials and open-ended toys. Natural play needs to be protected in school settings and at home, as it has sadly been overrun by gadgets, structured playsets and worksheets.
I have yet to figure out how to create sustainable play materials through my art. I once painted 100 sets of story stones and couldn’t look at pebbles the same way again! For now, these card sets are useful tools for teaching and learning through play.
Playing Cards
Engkanto Series
On a trip to Bacolod with my kids, we engaged in a conversation with a local about folklore. This is the kind of thing I grew up hearing about from the adults in my home while they were preparing meals. They spoke about it as regularly as the evening news. On the contrary, my children had no clue what to do with these ghastly stories they were hearing for the first time and began to feel afraid. So, I painted them. The tikbalang, aswang, dwende and other creatures from folklore made their way into more friendly caricatures which eventually ended up on a deck of cards with fun (and somewhat still spooky) game suggestions.
Tindero’t Tindera
In the same vein, my children were not too familiar with local sidewalk snacks commonly sold on the streets around our old neighborhood. It wasn’t unusual to be woken from a nap by the ice-cream man blaring a tune from his cart, or a taho vendor with his melodic call. These days, and far away from the city, street peddlers never make it to our village streets. In an effort to bring it to their attention, the tindero’t tindera series was born.
ABC
The history of our alphabet is a curious one. It’s not the real deal, but it’s the (English) one we are taught at school. Add to the usual 26, letters ñ and ng and you get 28 letters in the modern Filipino alphabet. I did try to create a baybayin version (which are featured in the engkanto playing cards) but it is proving too complex to complete for now.
Here is the 28 letter Alpabetong Pinoy featuring fruits and delicacies commonly eaten by Filipinos for merienda.
Waldorf-inspired alphabet art
At a few open houses in our school community, I painted children’s names on the spot using nature-themed alphabet art. It was a hit with the kids and parents!
Inspired by Letras y Figuras, these are all original and hand-painted letters. Open for small orders.