Maidens all

This improbable group would give a hearty laugh at being called maidens. Like most artists, they can laugh at themselves, and the big joke is they call themselves Mang Ato’s Fan Club – "Mang Ato" being their mentor and "fan club" because many members of the group are or are approaching that stage in life where constant fanning is often necessary to combat hot flushes. But though they can laugh at themselves, they take their art seriously – serious enough to be able to launch their maiden exhibit, Takip Silip, at the Le Soufflé Restaurant at The Fort on Dec. 19.

Admittedly they never thought of art as a career and, without exception, they continue to juggle work, business, family and painting. But Mang Ato, or artist Renato Habulan, hand-picked them after numerous classes at the Ayala Museum because he believed that they had the ability and the discipline to become professional artists. Thus, what began as a hobby, an escape from everyday life, has become their first step in becoming professional artists and their first exhibit.

"I want to show that artists do not always have to be born but can develop their talent through training, discipline and having the right outlook," says Mang Ato. "If you look at work as just a hobby, then that is all it will be. But if you look at it as a professional and work towards that goal, you have just as much chance at making it a profession as anyone else. And if you already a have a profession, what’s wrong with having a second one? Many do. This group can give other professional artists a run for their money."

Clay Dalid is a widow, bringing up a child and managing two businesses. Rubee Alcantara manages the family business. Carol Tanjutco is a lawyer and must spend the day dealing with crime and corruption. Mia Virata teaches riding, manages horse stables, and is a food supplement distributor besides being a wife and mother. Aina Zulueta Valencia is a young wife and mother and manages a business. Fanny Zulueta is a wife and mother of grown-up children, and is involved in various business, social, religious and civic activities. Other members of the group include Bettina Tuazon, Mhel Cabriaga, Allison David Christina Dee, Kriel Lopez, Canday Santos and Stella Torres.

I asked them why they started painting.

Clay Dalid: I accidentally discovered I had it in me. I felt I had lost myself and I found myself through painting.

Aina Valencia: I feel that it would be a disservice to myself if I didn’t paint – almost like a kasalanan sa Dios.

Rubee Alcantara: When I finished school, I found I had lost the sensitivity to nature and color that I had as a child in the province. I wanted to find it again.

Carol Tanjutco: I can forget crime and corruption. Nothing is more disappointing then justice in this country.

Fanny Zulueta: I was so busy being busy I had to do something else. I had to find time for myself.

That seemed to be the common denominator: Time for themselves; time to think of themselves.

But, how does one turn obvious good therapy into becoming a professional artist?

"Well," says Mang Ato, "first of all, these women have the intellect and the exposure to become good artists. All they need is to develop their skill. So it’s back to the basics for everyone. I look at my classes as mentoring. Every mentoring group focuses on one objective. For this group the object is to crop, to zero in on something, much like a close-up lens of a camera. Hence, the title, Takip Silip. Other groups will study different aspects of space. But all groups must have one goal, and that is to exhibit. I will not take anyone not aiming for that goal. In my many years of teaching at the TUP and St. Scholastica’s, I taught a lot of young people who went on either to become popular artists or to further studies abroad. But my time with them was so short. My objective, with my mentoring groups, is to be able to work with them for a longer time and mentor them into becoming successful professional artists."

It must take something more than technical skill to become a professional artist. This is where the individuality of the artist comes into play. Before setting up the canvases, the group started with "baring your soul" sessions, making road maps to self-discovery, getting to really know each other, bonding and holding nothing back. All this would be reflected in the individual artist’s painting.

The group is unanimous in its evaluation of why this class is different from other classes they have taken and why they are confident of their success.

"The difference is Mang Ato" they say. "He is very generous with his talent. He holds nothing back. He forces us to be disciplined, to learn the basics, to learn to paint in all media. He treats us like real artist – not just hobbyists. He is positive and encouraging."

There is a message in those words for all teachers.

Just to be mischievous, I ask: "How do you account for the fact that this group is composed of all women?"

Mang Ato’s reply: "Men should accept that now is not our time. This is the time of women. They are in the forefront. They are more dynamic. They have jobs but still they can paint. In painting you don’t only learn the craft you learn more. Artists are basically honest."

No comment.

"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it," said Goethe. Well, this group has begun it with their maiden exhibit they call Takip Silip at the Le Soufflé at The Fort on Dec. 19.