High School Art

high on art

When I started this blog, I only have one field of interest that I really felt comfortable writing about. And that is, of course, art– most specifically, the visual arts like drawing, painting, cartooning, calligraphy, sculpture, and the like. The reason is because it is the only thing that I think I have an idea of– at least to my own personal knowledge. Although I never had any formal art training, I always felt– even at an early age– that I could draw. And like most children, I started with stick drawings of people, things (like balloons, tanks and houses) and animals (like dogs and roosters). While most people stopped drawing these stick figures as they matured, I did not– well, not completely (playing with toy soldiers and cars always took away most of my time when I was a kid, and– as I grew older– daydreaming about pretty girls). The attraction with the visual image, I believe, is what got me hooked in art all my life.
There were no artists by profession in my family. So any interest out of the ordinary would have to be sustained by something, either by encouragement or a doggone-persistent personal dedication, for it to last until adulthood. I had more of the former. My family, seeing that I like to draw a lot as a kid, gave me the art materials I needed (pencils, paper, markers, paints, inks, etc.) and a lot of time of my own to experiment with my imagination. This served as my first art education: time alone on my own to play with marks on paper and dabble with creativity.
But the most significant art experiences that I’d never forget were the four years of my high school! In fact, those years were probably the best actual experiences that I had to ever put my artistic skills to good use! And I’m crediting it to my science adviser at that time, Mrs. Alicia O. Maza (GOD Bless her for this!) This humble teacher saw that I could draw so she always fielded me in poster-making and painting competitions in all of the four years of my high school. Because of that, I had the privilege– and blessing– of meeting, and competing against, the best young artists in the country! Looking back, I can say that I’d seen a lot of them with talents way, way better than mine and even far ahead of their time! And although I would feel humbled by their artistic proficiency, I would also feel challenged and encouraged to improve on my own skills. It was a time of experiences and lessons being learned.
Not only did my adviser, Mrs. Alicia O. Maza, give me these invaluable personal experiences at art competitions, but that she essentially trained me as well! She made me artist of our science newsletter and she made me do all the letterings on the welcome board in our school every time there’s an important occasion. All these for four years! (See, if you have no actual art teacher supervising your work, there’s only one way to learn and deal with it: by trial and error! In time, you would learn what worked and what didn’t work– aesthetically!) The only other remarkable event in my young life aside from my art development was my relationship with my first girlfriend in high school. That, of course, is a different experience, although both are rooted in beauty and self-expression!
So, even if I didn’t take up fine arts or any related art major in college (I took up engineering), I already had the affinity for art early on in my life. Ahh, those four years in high school…! I will never forget them! Those were the years upon which all my confidence in art was built! And all this is not complete without me giving my heartfelt, sincerest thanks and gratitude to my science adviser, Mrs. Alicia O. Maza, who saw what gift I had as a young man and showed me what I can do with it! Thank you, Ma’am Maza, from the bottom of my heart and GOD Bless you always!!!