Art Speak

Being able to work in an actual event was a complete different experience compare to participating as a visitor was completely different. I didn't get the chance to see the many different performances that happened that day which was unfortunate. I really wanted to see some of it. However, being able to work with the families that stopped by to participate in the art activity was fun as well. There was a lot of different creative designs happening everywhere around me. I'm amazed! There were also times when it wasn't so pleasant, like when glue was spilled but other than that everything else was fine. The overall experience was really good, a bit long but it's alright. 

-Dayna

Last Sunday was a Target Sunday, so of course, there were more visitors. But that wasn't the only reason. It was a day to celebrate Filipino American History Month! It was our first day working on a cultural day, but it was so exciting. The music and performances were amazing. Especially the singing. I know the other interns and I really wanted to just take the mic and sing. It would have been so much fun if we did!

I thought that it was really great seeing people making their vessels and just making art. This was a more individual, personal project so most people just wanted be left alone. So I mostly just taught people how to fold the paper canoes and cleaned up after visitors who had left. This was definitely a very messy project due to the few spills of mod podge and some people leaving behind materials that they did not use, but clean up is part our job right? 

The messiness was the only thing I could complain about. The pros definitely outweighed the cons, and I am really looking forward to the next cultural celebration! 

- Queena

Hello Everyone! Are you ready for this? Drum roll please. Drrrrrrrr. It's.... 

Filipino American History Month Celebration and Target Sunday! Hooray for Target Sundays! 

The museum was filled with smiling faces and lively voices. My first Cultural Celebration Experience was the best! I loved the music and the special events. I also enjoyed teaching adults and kids how to fold a paper canoe. They were so excited after learning and wanted to show their parents or friends. Many visitors enjoyed the crafts and especially decorating their canoes. I think Cultural Celebrations at the Asian Art Museum allows a lot people to understand and learn more about difference cultures, especially if they are not exposed to other cultures. I really enjoyed the festive air and happiness the Filipino American History Month Celebration brought! I can't wait for the next celebration and more good times with everyone!

-Ivy

Today was a great success in terms of the amount of families we got involved in our bangka making project. By the end of the day, we barely had any materials to pack up! Strangely, it was one of the first event I experienced where participants didn't feel the need to ask questions but rather figure things out for themselves. Hopefully, I didn't intimidate anyone. I've heard that I make angry faces subconsciously.. I think my biggest take-away from this project was really learning how to deal with a crowd that comes and goes. The important point I learned from that was you have to be prepared for both situations. I'm interested in the next cultural celebrations coming up in the near future and the project to go along with them.

It was great having guests like Mylene and Nestor coming to talk about the things they do and how the things they do affect the many other people or how it is a way to bring people with different cultural background together. The biggest take away for me from Mylene was basically everything she talked about because everything she said was all new concepts to me. So it was really great to be able to learn something new. I especially like the part where she told us about how or what led her to do what she does today. I think that story really showed the level how engage she is with what she is doing and it's always good to know, for what reason you are doing it for. Also, the meditation session with Nestor was great. It was really relaxing and very reflective.

Even with the all day art making, I don't think I had enough time. NEED MORE TIME! In the beginning I tried to make my vessel out of the plastic cup but that didn't really work out that great for me. So I decided to just make my vessel out of wood. I started off binding the wood together with thin wires but that didn't work out very well either so I changed it to strings and it was coming along. Though it's still an art project in progress.

-Dayna

Last Sunday, we got to make canoes with Mylene and Nestor along with meditation and a small presentation as well. The idea behind my bottle was that I wanted to created something out of pure recycled material but still make it aesthetically pleasing. I tried to mix old and new by cutting off the bottom of a sparkling water bottle to use as a propeller in case paddles fail. I also managed to make a bridge over the boat with raffia and styrofoam to symbolize new beginnings. I feel like I've put the most effort into the project out of all the ones we've done so far because it represented me the most. I think a really smart idea that Mylene introduced as well was drawing the canoes if we didn't feel comfortable building one. I'm sure that this will be really popular with kids because it's totally open ended and a great way to bring your imagination to life, in 3-D. 

last sunday we got to meet with Mylene, who's organization builds canoes as community builders! we got to enjoy a small presentation on the Bankas(canoes) that Mylene and her companions specialize in, followed by a truly wonderful meditation session. finally we spent the rest of our time with Mylene making canoes of our own! Despite what most of us may have had in mind going into the project most of our canoes were quite unconventional. this was all or course to prep us for this sundays workshop and I can hardly wait to actually put this work into practice with visitors! I think it'll be a really great activity that almost every can get involved in! 

Getting to meet Mylene and hear about all the amazing work she's doing with communities and survivors of trauma, in an attempt to reunite herself and her community with their Filipino culture and sea bearing ways, was really amazing and awe inspiring. To many of us in America who have heritage in other countries are loosing the culture that we come from. Although for some this is completely fine, for others it is truly devastating and even though they aren't apart of my culture, I feel that it is so important that people like Mylene are around to inspire her people for years to come.

-Sophia

Last Sunday was a really fun day and I enjoyed it very much. We were lucky enough to have had Mylene from Bangka Journeys to make a presentation and help us make vessels as well. When she shared her personal experiences and explained what the vessels and canoes were supposed to represent, it really touched my heart. 

One of the greatest parts about the presentation was the little bits of humor here and there. For example, if you call one of the vessels a boat to the natives, they would throw you into the water. Now, that sounds fun and all, but I don't know how to swim, so I have to watch what I say...

Making the little canoes was really fun. I made mine out of a green plastic bottle, chopsticks, corks, raffia, tape, and glue. I also made a little paddle out of the chopsticks. It's still a work in progress, but I hope to put it in the water one day and see if it actually floats. I did not learn anything new about myself, but I did learn that plastic bottles are really hard to hole punch! you need quite a bit of strength to be successful. 

And here's a picture of my boat! I named it Guppy. :D I made a mast part, but I'm still debating whether or not I should put it on. We shall see.

The Guppy

- Queena

Hi!

I recently attended a session at the Asian Art Museum where Mylene talked to us about her organization Balik sa Dagat Bangka Journey (Return to the Sea). Balik sa Dagat Bangka Journey is a group that makes canoes (don't call them boats unless you want to be tossed in the water) to reconnect with their Pacific Islander heritage. Many lessons are learned when creating these vessels like patience and teamwork. This group also advocates using canoe building as a way to heal from trauma whether it be sexual assault or ancestral suffering.

After hearing about this amazing group we got to make our own canoes out of recycled bottles, paper, glue, sticks, etc. I made my canoe, which I named Lily Pad, out of the bottom of a plastic bottle, green and blue tissue paper and double sided tap.
It was a really fun and simple project, and it's going to be offered at the Asian Art Museum during their Filipino American History Month Celebration October 5th. Come try it out. 

- Aliya

CANOES! The first all-day art making workshop was incredible. I loved learning about the Bangka Journey and the background behind it. The most memorable thing I learned was that people would work on a canoe would put their mind, body and spirit into it. I thought that was very inspiring since modern people tend to multi-task instead of focusing on one thing. While making my own vessel, I discovered that the process was very relaxing and I enjoyed it a lot. Even though I did not have a plan of what I was going to create, I just grabbed some materials,worked with them and got ideas along the way. In addition to the canoe crafting, we also did a meditation session with Nestor. I felt very relaxed and comfortable during it. It's a great way to distress! 

Here is my Canoe! I used a round plastic bottle and wrapped it with raffia. The bottom of the canoe has tissue paper glued to it to provide color. The green raffia outlines the letters of my name!

-Ivy