Simple Joys

A colossal splash of colors graces the walls of the Saint Theresa's College Folklife Museum because of the artworks of Paulina Constancia, a folk artist raised in Cebu, trained in various cities abroad, and now a resident of Calgary, Canada. A musician, a painter, a sculptor, and poet, this world-renowned Cebuana was back home two weeks ago to launch her first yearlong exhibit at the said museum. Aptly named "Simple Joys," this selection speaks of the simple delight people get from being in harmonious connection with the environment around them.

Aside from Paulina being a graduate of STC, she was invited by the school primarily because she is a woman. "She has gone on a journey," the curator of the museum, Tonette Panares, said. "When she started as an artist, she started with the simple joys of a woman…nature, the garden." True enough, nature is very evident in this collection. But what is more evident is the sparkle she adds to it – like the sun with its distinctly Filipino orange-hued rays is smiling or the cat that's on the side, merrily dancing.

Whether it is on quilt, tiles, a cabinet door, or on canvass, the images she create are always brimming with color and vigor – a peculiarity she has taken from the vibrant culture of her homeland. Her subjects, however, are not limited to Filipino experience alone, but to human experiences that people all over the world go through, such as childhood, friendship, romance and death. She refreshes these moments and makes us see them in a different light, through her rose-colored glasses as she points out the little details we forget also matter, the little details we forget to celebrate. Like how cotton candy made us smile, or how a past love made us feel like we were surrounded by the most beautiful flowers, or how we overcame loss by being together. Paulina magnifies these things with the use of color and positive insight in her artwork.

"People like to complicate things," the artist shared. She stated that sometimes people have no idea what they truly need and as a result they long for the wrong things. As expected from someone who is closely in touch with nature, she likened the situation to a seed. Like a seed, each and everyone has his or her different necessities. Some seeds may need both water and sunlight, while others only need water. People, for them to bloom, must know and appreciate those simple things that keep them alive. These are what she calls as simple joys.

Paulina was happy to note that her vision of man and woman communing with nature will hopefully be realized through the promotion of Permaculture. It will be promoted alongside the exhibit. Permaculture is a cross-discipline science about designing ecological human habitats for sustainable living. She is affiliated with Cebu Permaculture Initiatives, a non-government organization which is also one of the presenters of her exhibit. So far, they have developed the Kamagayan Green Zone, a vegetable garden right in the middle of downtown Cebu City. The project has proven itself to be successful with its first harvest recently. With her artworks doing the talking, this promotion of permaculture will no doubt be a success as well. This is in line with her mission of "art in the service of life."

A percentage of the proceeds of the "Simple Joys" exhibit will go to the STC Folklife Museum Foundation. It will be for the financing of the training of museum volunteers who will carry out the mission of preserving the history and culture of Cebu.