pretty things

They’re just paper cuts, I’ll sellotape them up.

Because I have a new efficient workspace, I thought of giving my nearly two-year-old yet never-been-used Print Gocco a whirl today.
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Gocco
Finally! It’s been sitting inside that box for too long. These pics were taken in October 2006.
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I bought my Print Gocco PG-5 at the Shibuya Tokyu Hands in 2006 for an amazing 6825yen (or US$63.60)1 — I say amazing because it can cost as much as US$1952, about thrice what I paid for!, in some US Gocco supplier shops so I would say that Japan is the best place to get it from3. Just remember to pronounce it this way, Purinto Gokko, to avoid awkward Rost in Transration moments. ๐Ÿ˜‰

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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Gocco Step by Step
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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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Gocco Step by Step
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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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Gocco Step by Step
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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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Gocco Step by Step
7) Tadah, my very first print!
8) 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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Gocco
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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[ back]
  2. PHP 7,868.25[ back]
  3. But if you can’t wait and must have it NOW, then it’s worth coughing up the dough for.[ back]
  4. And ordering online internationally is mucho expensive.[ back]
  5. Who listens to tapes anymore?[ back]
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Put your lights on the tree (put them on the tree, put them on the tree)

A recent conversation I had with our friend Luis inspired me to ask you guys this question1: Can you name the top five songs you’ve recently discovered (or rediscovered) while your mp3 player was on shuffle? This way, we’ll get to find good music together.

I’m guilty of downloading songs then forgetting about them until they creep up on me in shuffle mode. Or sometimes, when I listen to a song for the first time, it doesn’t make an impact on me until I hear it again on shuffle. Weird I know but maybe it has something to do with what comes before it. If the song preceding it is blah, chances are the song in question will sound better in comparison, right? So anyway here are the top five songs that’s been in my hard drive forever it seems, but only recently 5-starred:

1. The Wrath of Marcie – The Go! Team
2. Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk – Rufus Wainright
3. Hospital Rooms Aren’t For Lovers – The Bear Colony
4. Beatific Visions – Brakes
5. Secret Someones – Laura Veirs

And because Christmas is the season for giving, I’ve uploaded them for you: tadah! The link is good for one week. So what are you waiting for? Download! Now! ๐Ÿ™‚

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And if you’d like to give me something for Christmas (…awshucks), you can always mosey along to any of my two online stores and buy something for your loved ones.2. The Paper Basket, in particular, carries my Christmas design collection:

The Paper Basket Christmas Designs

We have keepsake boxes, greeting cards, note cards, magnets, button pins, and all that jazz. And hey, if you buy (or have bought) at least 5 items3 from either The Paper Basket OR Poptastic, let me know via the comments link below and I will send you a FREE T-SHIRT OF YOUR CHOICE4 from Poptastic, oh yes I will. How ’bout that? ๐Ÿ˜‰

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Just in case I don’t get to update again before Christmas, I’d like to leave you with this adorable video from the amazing Sufjan Stevens.



Happy holidays!

  1. I’ve already asked a similar question to my friend network on Facebook and it’s gotten a slew of fascinating responses.[ back]
  2. That, my friend, will raise you to ROCKSTAR status in my book![ back]
  3. Button pins, stickers, and magnets not included.[ back]
  4. Shirt styles included in the offer are the ringer tees, plain white tees, and tank tops.[ back]
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All that we are, all we do is here forever.

Just in case you heard rumors about it through the extremely tiny Metro Manila grapevine, please allow us to finally confirm that yes, it’s true: Unitel Productions acquired the film rights to Arn‘s 2006 graphic novel “Ang Mundo ni Andong Agimat”. We couldn’t announce it formally1 until they released the press release. The following came out in today’s Inquirer:

Andong Agimat cover

‘Andong Agimat’ to the US film mart
By Bayani San Diego Jr.

MANILA, Philippines — Unitel head Tony Gloria has a new baby.

“This is my pet project,” he says of “Ang Mundo ni Andong Agimat,” a popular graphic novel by prize-winning author/illustrator Arnold Arre.

Gloria has acquired the rights to “Andong,” which he plans to produce into either a feature film or a TV series. Or both.

“It can start as a feature film and we can later turn it into a TV series,” he says.

For the role of Andong, Gloria is eyeing Robin Padilla.

“He’s not your typical hero. Andong’s a loner and an ex-convict,” he explains.

Unitel is preparing an audio-visual presentation on “Andong,” which Gloria will screen at the American Film Market, running from Oct. 31 to Nov. 7 in Santa Monica, California.

(You can read the entire article on the Inquirer site or in my Multiply blog)

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As you can tell, I am beyond happy that Arn and his fantastic book2 are getting the recognition they deserve.3

If you haven’t read it yet4, “Ang Mundo ni Andong Agimat” is available at leading bookstores (Fully Booked, Powerbooks, National) and comic book outlets.

Related entries:
Si Andong Agimat, andito na!
More Andong, more projects.
Si Andong Agimat, parating na!

New blog for Andong Agimat:
http://andongagimat.blogspot.com

  1. Although of course family & close friends have known about it for a couple of months now.[ back]
  2. Ok, biased since I’m the wife, but I strongly think that Andong is one of the most ORIGINAL takes on the Pinoy superhero out there.[ back]
  3. Much thanks go to Mr. Gloria, Unitel, and Arn’s agent Dennis Cruz. (:[ back]
  4. Huwaaaat????[ back]
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I'm Cynthia Bauzon-Arre, a Filipino watercolor artist & graphic designer. I live in QC with my graphic novelist husband Arnold and our friendly marmalade tabby Abbas. This blog has been chronicling my life, likes, and loves since 2001. [ more ]

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