#mt makiling and all the stuff

[abyssmal-skies]

drawing something with hsr!psy's homeworld and the aeons that influence it hehehe

yaoshi is so complicated to drawwihiifsklfjaklf

if any fellow pinoy hsr players wanna pitch in, feel free to, i don't wanna overstep in anything since i am just a QC girlie

[ittybittywaterlily]

Thinking abt moana again... actually, no, i’m just thinking abt that scene with Te Fiti, haha

Anyway, i know the movie is mostly based on pacific island customs and mythology, but te fiti’s character is kinda similar to a filipino myth

Okay so uhhh I can’t put a read more since I’m on mobile, but the ramble starts here, you have been warned ^^’

Okay so. te fiti. She’s the mother island, giver of life and stuff. Creatures wanted to take her heart for themselves because of the power it would give them, and once her heart was stolen, her power slowly faded, leaving islands to crumble and die, and also becomes te ka, a being of fire and lava and stuff

Also, did I mention that when te fiti lays down to rest, her body becomes the shape of the island itself? Keep that in mind

So. There’s this myth where i live about the mountain we live near. Mount Makiling.

And it goes something like this: A long time ago, there was a diwata (like aaaaaa... a spirit or a fae or smthng, other variations of the story depict her as a mortal woman, but I’m sticking with the diwata) who lived on the mountain named Maria Makiling. People loved her not only for her beauty, but also because of her generous nature, since she shared nature’s gifts with people and made sure they all thrived. Eventually, however, people began taking advantage of her kindnesses, some versions of the story say that she was heartbroken by a mortal man, but anyway. Something happened, and Maria decided to keep herself away from people ever since.

And remember that bit where te fiti’s body forms the island? Guess what—

Mt. Makiling’s shape resembles that of a woman laying down. And makiling’s also a dormant volcano, kind of like how te ka’s just.. a being of fire underneath the beauty

idk it’s late and i felt like rambling

[magpiespress]

Magpies in Makati

Despite the uncomfortable commute due to the heavy traffic (and, well, technically being a region away) it takes for us to go to the metro (because yeah, we don’t have cars), your one and only struggling, anxious independent publishing collective from the boondocks of Makiling was able to participate in two art expos in Makati last November 2017. The experience we gained showcasing and selling our zines made all the effort worthwhile, not to mention all our time for bonding. *grouphug*

Komura; Book Fair An “intimate gathering of people & books,” Komura Book Fair invited individuals and groups specializing in varied forms of literature such as comic artists, specialty publishers, owners of indie bookstores and zinesters (us!) to gather on November 18, 2017 in Warehouse Eight, Makati to “explore the different ways to consume literature.” We were honored to have our zines carried by the Kwago table alongside zines by artists and writers such as Diklap, Andoyman, Rai Hamid, Gantala Press, and Marguerite Alcazaren de Leon.

The event that opened at 11 in the morning featured many interesting activities such as a talk on crowdfunding for independent publishing by The Sparks Project, an open theatre story telling project by Joachim Antonio, Bookworms Meetup by Kwago where book lovers can exchange books, and musical performances by Alyana Lea Carmela, Hoochie Coochie Mikkie and Gentle Universe.

Screenshot from InqPop’s photo article on Komura; Book Fair: our zine Los BaNews got featured!

It was a different experience for us to not man the table and sell the zines ourselves, but having our zines on the Kwago table not only meant that our zines get to be browsed alongside other cooler zines, but also that we have our hands free to (hold a beer instead and) check out other Komura stuff. What really seized our attention was the wide-ranging photobook library set up by Thousandfold, a space dedicated to contemporary photography in Manila.  Browsing the photobooks and zines by the Thousandfold artists (their photolibrary includes Magpies’ Mac Arboleda’s The Face of a Marcos Apologist! That was when we discovered Magpies’ Sam Pablo looked like the average face of a Marcos apologist) and the photobooks by international artists featured in their library reminded us to produce more quality photo zines (ha-ha) and of our work-in-progress zine library.

Vinyl on Vinyl Market Day One proof that zines are getting more and more popular these days is that art markets that previously feature only paintings, ceramics, photography prints, comics and other more familiar art forms are now inviting zinesters like us to participate. This also highlights how zines stand in the border between visual art forms and literary forms – they could be a hybrid of both!

Last November 25, 2017, Vinyl on Vinyl Art Gallery, a gallery that incorporates contemporary and underground culture elements in their exhibits and other activities, invited us and a few other zinesters in the art market they regularly hold. It was quite a long market day because it started from 1pm and ended by 9pm. Good thing is, as a collective, we can take turns watching over our table and gallivanting around the event.

We came there not really sure if people who will attend would be interested in our works because  we’re not sure if they suit the Makati-art-scene aesthetic. To our surprise, a lot of people really stayed in our booth, browsed through our works, and bought them. Some were nice to give comments of appreciation! Almost every work we brought was sold out, even Los BaNews which is a speculative community newspaper that looks at the headlines of news in Los Baños, Laguna in 2020.

Studio Soup’s literary zine archive also participated in the Market Day, and was set up just across our table! In the ample amount of time we had, we took the pleasure of perusing the zines on display. Artists Apol Sta. Maria, Josel Nicolas, Pancho Karambola, Garapata, Hulyen, and a whole lot more also put their works for sale.

We took turns manning our table, checking out the other VoV Market Day tables, and exploring the neighboring galleries. A bonus: we got lucky that the gallery next door had an exhibit opening and we not only got to see the artists’ paintings but we also got a snack from the gallery food and beer! Hard work (in making zines and commuting for zines) pays off! Now back to Mt. Makiling!