In this reality however, the revolutionary team of Uno Magazine invited me to illustrate a piece written by rock music journalist Aldus Santos about an imagined final Eraserheads album for their special April 2010 (Fiction) issue. Here’s an excerpt:

“In February of this year, I got an unmarked brown envelope that bore the label “Hubad sa Kalsada [Mix-Down 001/2007].” Inside was a CDR. Playing it back, it revealed a bare, guitar-and-voice recording bearing that unmistakable falsetto (with the voice double-tracked, and with a bit of slap-back echo, a la Spector’s Lennon recordings, as in “Instant Karma”). It sounded sort of gothic folk, but sang in falsetto. This was most unusual. Insanely enough, I sometimes get unsolicited demos over e-mail from indie bands who ask for professional advice — to which I invariably say, “I’ll be as much help to you as a sack of hammers; see if there is a listing under ‘Rico Blanco’ in the white pages” — but this can’t be one of those demos. More to the fact, it is unmarked. I personally brought this up with suspect number one, Ely Buendia, but he unnaturally shifted gears, “You know what we don’t hear a lot? Good whistlers.” Such a strange, eyeliner-wearing man.”

Read the rest of the story in Uno Mag’s April 2010 issue. It’s on a limited run and is only available until May 5, 2010 so hurry and get your copy now! Learn more about this special issue on the Uno Magazine website.

***
There are plenty of projects afoot but since I’m not allowed to say anything about them yet, I will just leave you with some new illustrations I made over the past few weeks for no particular reason. If I make more and have them printed as postcards, will anyone buy them? Let me know what you think.

1. Dreamtangle 1, 2. Dreamtangle 2, 3. Pigtails, 4. Sleeping Kitty

There are actually TWO things that prompted me to post an update.

1) A conversation I had with my friend Ramon a few nights ago. He said that he and Neva have been wondering why I haven’t posted anything new in a while. Often wondering about that myself, I arrived at the conclusion that, well, unless I do a major overhaul and talk solely about how I make money online¹, no one will pay attention to this entry, or even this blog. In this age of Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr, “About Me” blogs have become passe, I figured . They are so 2001 and so is this site. *mopes*

but then…

2) Surprise! A comment came this way (why thank you Rand Al Thor) and this fact offered me some assurance that this site is still getting visitors! Triple exclamation points!!!

… (silence)

… (cricket sounds)

Aaaanyhoo ..  for the benefit of the lovely readers who still drop by every now and then (yes, all three of you LOL), I will try my best to fill you in with what I have been up to since the last time I checked in.

Eraserheads The Final Set

* Eraserheads: The Final Set. You all know that this band holds a special place in my heart so naturally, we were there for their last. ever. reunion. concert. Arn has videos of some of the performances on his Youtube.

KL Design Week 2009

* KL Design Week 2009. Arn & I flew to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with our good friends Carlo & Nina to stalk Stefan Sagmeister… I mean, to see, meet, and listen to some of the world’s top graphic designers talk about their thought processes and showcase their latest work. Aside from Stefan Sagmeister, other highlights for me were the presentations by Kuntzel&Deygas (the French duo behind Caperino & Peperone and the memorable Catch Me If You Can opening title sequence) and Lava Architects (the Australian firm that designed the glorious Water Cube that was launched at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, among others).

Nins and I did actually manage to corner Stefan Sagmeister and ask for a photo with him each — twice — so that’s now off the bucket list.

* Volunteering for Rock Ed Philippines and designing / maintaining Rock Ed Radio‘s website. I first met the brilliant Gang Badoy in the early 90s but she flew off and lived in the US for a decade.  Armed with several masters degrees, she put up Rock Ed Philippines upon coming home in 2005. Rock Ed is a volunteer group dedicated to promote alternative education through holding classes on different areas of knowledge such as music, the arts, sports, science, and cultural studies. It has been (and still is) always a pleasure knowing that our contributions, however small, are helping make this country a better place.

* Saying goodbye to Wedding Essentials Magazine as Design Director. It was a difficult decision to make² since Editor-in-Chief and good friend Marbee and I make up the “we” in Wedding Essentials. We saw the magazine from its inception, to its birth in 2004, and through its growth into the big player that it is now (seeing how successful it is now kinda makes me feel like a proud mom). I thought it was time for me to move on since I knew the magazine would be in very able hands with Marb and Kitten at its helm anyway, although I am still with them in spirit. The issue above is the last one I worked on.

…but wait, Marbee and I have a wedding blog, We Heart Weddings. Because we really love weddings (and we really do like working with each other!)

* My Arn made a short film, his first ever. Arn has always wanted to make films, ever since he was a kid, so now that he can, he did. This is the trailer for the suspense/thriller short he made called Chapter:-0ne. We held screenings for it during the second half of last year at Fully Booked (twice) and Nomnomnom. He hopes to make another one soon, so watch out for updates on here.

* Uno Magazine named me one of their “Women on Top”. Me? Really? Aaaawwshucks *blush*. Being in a 12-page spread along with smart, innovative, trail-blazing women makes me feel that I probably am doing something right in my life.

***

That’s it for now. Next time, I will give you a sneak peak of the super secret project I’m working on. (Clue: it starts with an E , ends with heads and it will come in a box)

1. just see how many hits this site will get with that keyphrase plugged in!
2. many tears were shed, yes

* My husband Arnold Arre is Powerbooks’ Author of the Month for February!

Arnold Arre Book Signing at Powerbooks

Arn has a book signing at Powerbooks Trinoma this Saturday, February 28 from 3-6 pm. Come one, come all! You may RSVP here.

Check out the awesome trailer he made for the event. We hope to see you there!

* Together Forever: A Valentine’s Day Exhibit at Pablo Gallery/CubaoX
Arn & I are honored to have been invited to participate in Pablo Gallery‘s Valentine’s Day exhibit. Other artist couples who participated are Bru & Marcushiro (Electrolychee), Nico & Katwo (27+20), Ryan & Garovs (Everywhere We Shoot), Ivan & Pauline (Acidhouse), Mitch Mauricio & Paolo Ferrer, and Jowee Alviar & Momon Punzalan (Team Manila). It’s still ongoing so please do drop by if you find yourself in the vicinity.

Chances Are by Arnold & Cynthia Arre

The task was to create an artwork to reflect symbiosis and each couple had to produce two works (each individual working distinctively on one piece) that when combined creates a holistic, definitive expression of their partnership.

View the photos (here) or watch the video my husband made (above).

* Not By The Book by Tippi Ocampo
My dear friend, fashion designer Tippi Ocampo had her first ever one-woman fashion exhibit (a first of it’s kind too!) in November of last year and she also came up with a whimsical little book to go with it. The book’s design was a collaboration between Tippi, Lizza Gutierrez, Chinggay Labrador and myself. (Photos below are by Sheila dela Cuesta)

Not By The Book by Tippi Ocampo

The book is filled with Tippi’s sketches, pics of her award-winning work, and some bits and pieces about her work ethic & design philosophies. You will also find some fashion tips and DIY projects you can try your hand at. It’s bound in brown shantung silk and the title & logo are embroidered on a fuschia ribbon label because we wanted to keep the overall look within the fashion theme.

You can have Not by the Book delivered fresh to your doorstep by shooting them an email.

Check out the photos of her exhibit pieces & setup here and opening reception here.

and finally,
* Fruitcake 2.0
The new edition of the Eraserheads’ Fruitcake, a book I illustrated in 1996, is now available at your favorite bookstores. Because of the high demand for E-heads merchandise after last year’s reunion concert, Anvil decided to re-release the book in December of 2009 and the new edition boasts of a new foreword written by Ely Buendia as well as a tweaked cover (by yours truly). Please grab a copy when you can! Only P295.

Fruitcake by the Eraserheads circa 2008

1. the subject heading, I mean. It’s a song lyric like always

Turn up your speakers and head on over to the MLB site! [ GO ]

***
In other news, the Eraserheads concert CD is now out in stores! The record company (very nicely) told me that they had to alter some of the design elements so I’m posting my original design here for posterity -

You can’t imagine the pressure I was under working on this because I knew everyone was waiting for it, not to mention the fact that it was already announced in Philmusic and other sources online that I was designing it *gulp*. Arn and I made over 10 studies, including a highly-detailed and fully-illustrated comp but the record company chose the simplest and most straightforward one of all. Well… I guess people will buy it for the E-heads’ music and not for the inlay design so I’m cool with that.

But what exactly happened, you ask? Weeeell, I neglected this blog for too long that spam comments corrupted my WordPress installation and so I had to do a total overhaul. It gave me an excuse to de-clutter and fix this page though so no worries, it’s all good.

***
Anyway, much went on since my last entry before the unintended hiatus.

1. Three issues of WE have been published (I hope you can check them out, dear brides and grooms to be)

2. WE’s E-I-C Marbee Go and I started blogging at www.weheartweddings.com

3. I designed the album packaging for our dear friends, the Itchyworms. (Yes, there really are “Itchyworms” canned goods and other items in the supermarkets, LOL.)

4. I’ve concentrated on managing and marketing our online shops, Poptastic Tees and The Paper Basket. If you live, or have relatives, in the States, I really would appreciate it if you can point them to the stores.

5. I also worked on many other stuff like wedding invitations (not really my thing but I would do it for friends… and for my brother of course who’s getting married in December), some more gocco-printing, helping out Arn with his projects, etc.

***

I’d also like to invite you to Superficial ll: Frailty – a group show featuring the works of 33 female artists opening September 13, Saturday 7pm at Pablo Gallery, Cubao Expo.

The participating artists are Carina Almonte / Jessica Antonio / Cynthia Arre / Bru / Mara Bernaldo / Mica Cabildo / Bea Camacho / Denise Castillo / Abi Dacayap / Liza Flores / Lala Gallardo / Marie Gan / Garovs Garrovillo / Abi Goy / Honey Hipe / Wiji Lacsamana / Ene Lagunzad / Hannah Liongoren / Mitch Mauricio / Feanne Mauricio / Jhoan Medrano / Gabie Osorio / Katwo Puertollano / Genie Ranada / Sunshine Reyes / Pepper Roxas / Sharon See / Mia Singson / Joyce Tai / Lette Teodosio / Pauline Vicencio / Shawn Yao / MM Yu

More details here.
***

Taken when I was designing either Pillbox or Fruitcake, 1996

Lastly, it seems that all of Manila is a-buzz about the upcoming Eraserheads reunion concert. Naturally Arn and I are going², given our history with the band so if you’re going, we’ll see you there.

Nest & Budz Loveteam, photo taken in 1997

1. Well I am 36 y.o. after all
2. AND through the generosity of our dear friends Buddy & Nest who invited us as early as July, before the complicated ticketing details were even announced.

Meet Iris Able, the smartest kid in MacGuffin Plains. She has an encyclopedic knowledge about science, technology and math that it seems she has the entire internet in her head. But because she keeps to herself a lot, the other kids in school don’t know much about her and have resorted to calling her Private Iris.

Private Iris, masterminded by Jamie Bautista and Arnold Arre¹, is a mystery comic series that challenges kids of all ages to match wits with the brilliant but secretive super sleuth, Private Iris. When Danton, the most popular boy in school, joins forces with Iris, the most intelligent loner in town, you get a crime-solving team that can’t be beat! Get to know more about Iris, Danton, and the rest of the MacGuffin Plains gang by visiting their flashy new headquarters on the world wide web right here.²

The Private Iris team

Hope you can check it out, friends. I can promise that it’s a really cute, very well thought-out book and I am sure that kids will love it³. The launch is slated for next Saturday, April 19 at Fully Booked in Bonifacio High Street. Please visit the Private Iris site for details.

***
I’m touched that this blog still gets hits despite my sporadic updating. I’ve actually been up to a lot of things since my last post but I’m still up to my ears with work on our next issue among other projects so I’ll save the stories for later. For now, I’ll see you on Twitter or Tumblr.

1. the same team behind Cast
2. You gotta see the site! It’s really cool!
3. Call me biased but I can tell you that Jamie’s tight story and witty dialogue and Arn’s hilarious illustrations always gel so well together. You’ll see for yourself when you read Iris.

1. Click on the link if the music player takes too long to load.

Now to prove that I never really stop working, here’s a real project. Lori of Dessert Comes First, one of my favorite food blogs, recently asked me to design headers for her website using photos that she took. The food shots were gorgeous so I made a simple template to allow the images to do the “talking”.
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Yummy, huh? The fourth one is my favorite – photo and layout-wise.
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Fortunately she liked 5 of the 6 studies I submitted so I suggested that maybe she can ask her programmer to make them all load randomly each time the page refreshes, kind of like what I did for my friend Tippi‘s site. I’m happy to see that it’s now being implemented.

1. Back from when I was a college freshman so hello, that was 20 years ago!
2. By my OC self. There’s no one else to blame, really.
3. He’s the other way around, he churns out illustrations like they’re liquid.
4. Yet another activity I haven’t done in years. Let’s see if that metaphor is true…

UPDATE (9.20.08): Exciting news, everyone! I just found out that the Gocco and its supplies are available here in the Philippines! Tin, a stay-at-home-mom based in Iloilo sells Gocco kits, inks, bulbs, and other paraphernalia you will need to lead the Gocco life via her cute little shop, One Tiny Party. Her site also features pics of her pretty Gocco’d artworks and a lot of helpful tips and links for everyone interested in going Gocco. [go!]
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So let me take you through my enjoyable Print Gocco experience.
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1) Aww, that’s little PeeGee with all her accessories inside her crib. Since Gocco supplies are hard to come by in the Philippines⁴, I made sure to stock up on inks, screens, and bulbs when we were in Japan.
2) I wanted to conserve my bulbs and screens (the bulbs especially since you need two bulbs per print and they can only be used once) so to make the most of them, I made 4 gift tag designs to fit one 4″ x 6″ screen. I used the special carbon ink based pen that’s specially made for use with the Gocco to sketch my master.
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3) The bulbs are now screwed onto the print hood and my master has been inserted into the PG window.
4) A quick, heavy press on the lid will cause the bulbs to flash, indicating that the master image has been burned to the screen.
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5) And the fun begins: here’s my screen after I squeezed paint on it. I made sure to put blocking tape in between the portions where I didn’t want color to bleed into each other.
6) The screen is now positioned inside the PG’s lid again and we’re ready to get it on. Printing via Gocco produces results similar to silkscreen printing except that the process is easier, less messy, and lots of fun but, okay, more expensive because of the limited availability of supplies.
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7) Tadah, my very first print!
Here they all are, waiting to dry. Incidentally, the wooden case is a cassette tape crate given to me ages ago by my brother. I haven’t used it in a while⁵ but I discovered that it makes a good card-drying rack.
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Not so bad for a first print although I would’ve wanted it to be less colorful. And now I can’t wait to try using layers and different paper patterns and textures so I guess you’ll be seeing more of these printing experiments from now on.
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(For those who ended up on this site looking for Print Gocco PG-5 instructions, allow me to point you to the excellent tutorial by Felt Cafe which I myself referred to while working on my prints.)

1. PHP 2,565.20 according to the XE-UCC
2. PHP 7,868.25
3. But if you can’t wait and must have it NOW, then it’s worth coughing up the dough for.
4. And ordering online internationally is mucho expensive.
5. Who listens to tapes anymore?

This way, those slabs of wood can still live in their “home”.

1. Whatever for did I watch all those episodes of Merge, Clean House, and Design Remix when we still had the Lifestyle channel?
2. Before you label me a slob though, can I just remind you that — ahem — Creative Minds Are Seldom Tidy.
3. This office space used to be a bedroom and the cabinet was meant to house clothing, hence the size and depth.
4. I would’ve wanted to stay below the P10,000 mark but we wanted to invest in sturdy shelving and storage and I think that decision will save us more money in the long run.