The song is part of Rock Ed Philippines’ ROCK RIZAL album which celebrates our National Hero’s 150th birth anniversary. The video shows Rizal walking around a post apocalyptic Manila – a metaphor Arn used to symbolically represent the rampant corruption in our society. I have to admit that seeing the video for the first time moved me and made me put myself in Rizal’s shoes. What would he think, seeing the Philippines as it is now? Did he die for us in vain?

From Arnold:

I knew it would be a mistake to try and interpret the lyrics literally so I put a lot of symbolism in the video. We see the structures of Manila all destroyed — however the monuments are still standing. It’s my way of saying that with all the corruption, our country has deteriorated and because of consumerism, we seem to have forgotten our heroes and what they fought for. However their images are still intact and that’s one thing that should encourage us to go on.

You can read the rest of the “making of” notes on his blog.

Arn actually finished this in less than two weeks in between working on pages for a comic collaboration project with a friend (that I believe I can’t announce yet). I’m amazed at how quickly he’s learning the ropes in animation and no words can express how happy I am that he’s found a new medium for his stories.

***

Apologies for showing up only when I have something to promote (gosh I’ve become a hardcore internet marketer) but a lot has been going on behind the scenes. Renovations on our home, for one.  I also just realized that I wasn’t able to blog about our talk in Graphika Manila last year! It was an exhilarating experience for Arn and me and I have to publicly thank Aram Beheshti and company for being so patient with us. The truth is that he’s invited us to speak for years but it was only in 2010 that we (rather, I) had the guts to say yes. As I posted on Facebook last year, I’m deathly afraid of public speaking so I was glad to get it over with. Thankfully the feedback on our portion was surprisingly good so that’s a relief.

You can view the intro video we presented which features our combined design work below.

Graphika Manila 2010 Intro Video / Arnold &… by arnoldarre

***
I also purposely haven’t been taking on local projects and have avoided loitering around my usual social networking haunts for the last 12+ months because I want to enjoy my last year as a 30-something at my own pace. (There, I said it!) That’s not to say that I’ve stopped designing. In fact I was busy all year (secretly) blogging for my niches elsewhere and fixing and filling up all my online stores with merch, including these cute items for one of my latest ventures Funky Patterns.

Some of my designs are actually available on stationery locally via Paperio which has a store at Powerplant in Rockwell. Just look for my name and a small kitty logo at the back of the items. I don’t have the physical products with me so I can’t post them here yet but I hope you can seek them out the next time you drop by the store.

Bye for now.

Arn’s never animated before (except for the flip books he made in grade school — I’ve seen them, all his text books have little aliens and rocket ships flying all over the place) so I have to tell you that my jaw literally dropped when he showed me the first sequence he made.  Pardon my ignorance but I never thought something like it could be done right here at home, and he did it all by himself too!  Every morning for the past two weeks he would wake up early so he could work on the project — that’s how excited he was. As for me, I was ecstatic to see him drawing again because these last two years he was so preoccupied with making films that I was already thinking of how to re-purpose his desk.

Please check it out, it’s only 4 minutes long but it’s lots of fun to watch! Here it is, I’m proud to present to you

ANDONG AGIMAT: KANYA ANG KALYE, an animated film by Arnold Arre

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4tTsS7e6Oc

By the way, I finally gave Arnold’s website a makeover.  Please come by so you can see all his latest work!

My original design, a low-res image of which has been on Flickr and my Cafepress store since 2008 is on the left. The copycat’s “design” is on the right (watermarked with the statement “property of Invitation House”. Yeah, right!)

Totally Creative Graphic Design Studio copied my design

A friend who was browsing the Invitation House stall in Trinoma gave me the heads up. I’ve already written the proprietor, Jess Marquez — who may or may not know that the design is a rip-off – and I certainly hope something will be done about this soon.

UPDATE (May 31, 2010) ~ my friend, Rock Ed/ReThink Media Group head Gang Badoy Capati blogged about it on Tumblr this afternoon and the owners quickly got in touch with her so she set a meeting for tonight. We met with them just a few hours ago along with lawyer/writer Oli Reyes and I think it’s safe to say that we were able to reach an agreement with them. Apparently a freelancer artist/OJT student submitted the design to them and passed it off as her own (boo!).

The owners of TCGS and Invitation House, Mr. & Mrs. Jess Marquez seem like a pleasant couple and it turns out that they are willing to settle the mishap properly. I’ll give you details once we’ve finalized it but right now I am just thankful for the support of lovely friends who blogged/tweeted about it and gave tons of advice on how to handle the issue. It’s not about me getting compensated, it’s really about standing up for the creation and protection of 100% ORIGINAL work.

UPDATE: June 8, 2010

I received a tip as to the name of the so-called “artist” who ripped off my design in this entry’s comments page. Can anyone else confirm if the info provided is correct? By now I hope she’s learned that tracing over someone else’s hard work is SO not the way to success.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ykp_ZoUnMSU

Kaye for Komiks
Starring Mihk Vergara and Cathy Ferolino

The trailer also shows bits of the performances of our awesome friends Ramon de Veyra, Erwin Romulo, Wincy Ong, Marie Jamora, Carlo Herman, and Nina Villa-Herman. (I will hold off on mentioning the others to maintain the element of surprise. )

Written and directed by Arnold Arre

Special thanks to Sputnik Comics
Shop 60 Cubao X (formerly known as the Marikina Shoe Expo)
Gen. Romulo Ave., Cubao, Q.C (near Pure Gold supermarket)

Store Hours:
Mondays – Thursdays, 4 – 10 PM
Fridays, Saturdays, 6 – 2 AM
Sundays, CLOSED

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.

Sleeping Like A Marble Girl

(Thanks to DidipusRex for the beautiful photo!)

We had the exhibit opening for Frailty – the all-female exhibit I posted about before – last weekend. Some pics below,

Frailty Exhibit Opening

… and there are *tons* more via these links: one two three four five six seven

If you were there, in behalf of the 33 chickas young and old, thanks so much for dropping by and supporting the event!

***
If you’re wondering if Arn and I attended the most-talked about concert this year decade, why of course we did! And we had a blast!

The added bonus is that an impromptu reunion of sorts with almost all our friends who share the same love for the Eraserheads and their music happened right there in the open field. Lots of photos here.

And for those who missed it, there’s reason to smile because there is talk of a part two. As one of the band members said when I asked him about the possibility of a repeat show, “well we do have a show to finish”.

I would love to write more about how sentimental the concert made both Arn and me feel but I need to go back to work. In the meantime, this entry should speak of my fandom.

You can watch two songs captured live via SonyBMG’s Eraserheads channel.

***
As I probably won’t be able to update again in a while, I wanted to leave you with this song. Later, operator!

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.