Cathedral

Cathedral, Ho Chi Ming City, Vietnam

Dr Abe V Rotor

A cathedral – but where is its door?
A barred gate, heavy lock at the rear,
Forbidden view the eyes couldn’t tour,
Footsteps only radar could hear.

That was before; the war is over now.
I knocked at the door. A kindly nun
Let me in and showed me all around.
Through the stained glass, I saw the sun.

Into the Crypt I dared not tread,
My shoes dusty, I was in slack,
Yet I dared to ask from the dead
And the martyrs the courage I lack.

Between two guards I pass,
Walk the aisle to the altar
To hear the Holy Mass
I hear the heavy doors close.
How deep is my faith?
I did not look behind.~

Light from the Old Arch 2, AVR

Papait, Kalunay, Ngalog...dagiti atap a mulmula a mabalin a kanen wenno sidaen.

Some Wild Food Plants:  Kalunay, Ngalog...dagiti atap a mulmula a mabalin a kanen wenno sidaen

Dr Abe V Rotor

Wild ampalaya, eggplant, native patani and alukong (himbaba-o)

Ngalog or Portulaca

Dampalit

Talinum

Fortunately Ilocano has remained vigorous and progressive. This is principally because of one distinct trait of the Ilocano - his loyalty to his language, and pride he carries with it as Ilocano. He carries it across the oceans and plant it in the community in which he is integrated. He is so regionalistic that he influences people around him, more than the other way around.

No only that, Ilokano is integrated with culture like horse and carriage. No language can best describe pinakbet, basi, Biag ni Lam-ang, Angalo, Apo Lakay, and a thousand-and-one indigenous terms that describe native practices and beliefs, historical places and events, heritage and values of this proud regional race.

This article and other articles in Ilokano which I wrote in this blog were inspired by Dr Nicholas L. Rosal, author of Understanding an Exotic Language - Ilokano (1982). His work explores the significance of the syntactical structures and grammatical forms of Ilokano, a language spoken by (more than) three million Filipinos and recognized among the eight Philippine languages amidst eighty-some dialects. I had the opportunity to visit Dr. Rosal many years ago in his residence in New Jersey where he and his family reside. Dr. Rosal taught graduate education courses at Seton Hall University, and became director of the Perth Amboy Adult Bilingual High School, one of its kind in New Jersey and elsewhere in the world.

I invite the Ilocano reader to interpret this article and share it with fellow Ilocanos and non-Ilocanos as well.
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Adu dagiti atap a mulmula a mabalin a kanen wenno sidaen. Ammo da apongtayo daytoy.

Ti saluyot (Corchorus olitorius), gagangay laengen ta saanen a kas idi a dagiti laeng agtubo iti babaet dagiti mula a tarong ken kamatis ti tarayen a kettelen. Ita, addan dagiti agmulmula iti ilakoda.

Adda met dagiti mabalin a kanen a ganggannaet iti imatang wenno di ammo a kanen ti adu kadatayo ita. Kas pagarigan, ti nami (Dioscorea hispida) wenno karut. Makasabidong daytoy ngem ammo dagidi apongtayo nga ikkaten ti sabidongna sa lutuen (salapusopan) a kanenda.

Idi met panawen ti Maikadua a Gubat, napilitan dagiti tattao a mangan kadagiti dati a dida kankanen a kas iti bunel ti saba (nangruna ti balayang) ken magey tapno mapedped ti bisinda. Adda met dagiti mangmangan iti bunel ti wild taro wenno aba a paminduaenna ti tayag ti tao ti tayagan dagiti lupakna. Pispisienda daytoy sa lingtaenda iti mabayag tapno di makaulaw.

Kadagupan dagiti atap a mula a mabalin a kanen, adun ti dandani maungaw. Maigapu daytoy iti panangipamaysatayo iti panagpatanor kadagiti mula a gagangayen nga am-ammo dagiti aggatgatang, dagiti nakairuamanen ti dilatayo ti ramanda.

Ita, aglatlatak manen dagiti makmakan a kunkunada nga organic—saan laeng a ditoy Filipinas, no di pay ket iti ballasiw-taaw a kas idiay America— adu manen ti maibaw-ing ti imatangna kadagitoy a naipakpakanigid a mula. Kayat ngamin a liklikan ita dagiti tattao dagiti makmakan a narnek iti abuno ken pasuyot iti pestisidio, wenno dagiti mula a kunada a GMO (genetically modified organism).

Isu a makitkita manen kadagiti tiendaan dagiti lako a ngalog (Portulaca), dampalit, katuday, papait, kalunay wenno kuantong, balleba wenno ballaiba (Vallisneria), tartarabang, talinum, alugbati, kumpitis, rosil, gulasiman, atap a paria wenno ti aw-awaganda iti simmaron, ken alukon. Adda payen aglako iti bunga ti singkamas. Awan met ngata ti makitkitayo a mapaspasuyotan iti insektisidio a bunga ti singkamas, ania?
* * *
Okeyka, Apong!
Dagiti Tawid a Sirib ken AdalColumn of Dr Abercio Valdez Rotor, Ph.D.
Bannawag Magazine

Mask

Abe V Rotor

Mask, mask, mask,
You're like the rind of a fruit;
What's inside if I may ask?
Belie not an intent mute.

Mask, mask, mask,
Each a personality inside
Hidden as long as one must
'Til revealed to the outside.~

Light from the Old Arch, AVR-UST Manila

A Boy and A Frog

Green Pond Frog

Abe V Rotor

Lately, a young boy was caught by surprise when a frog in a pond leaped and landed at his feet. His reflex action nearly ended tragic to the hapless creature. Or to the boy.

As I was by chance a witness to the trivial incident I asked the boy why he was so afraid of a little frog.

“It’s a harmless little fellow,” I said, “maybe he just wanted to play with you. Remember the story of The Princess and Frog Prince?”

He was silent for a while. On gaining his composure he hesitantly asked. “Di ba ang palaka, nakakahawa ng sipon.” (Isn’t the frog the cause of colds?)

I was dumbfounded. Then I remembered the TV advertisement of a frog that clings like phlegm.

Just then a woman came and scolded the boy. "Di ba sabi ko sa iyo, huag kang lalapit sa tubig?" (Didn't I tell you not to go near the water?) And took him to a waiting car.

Poor boy, I muttered.

Then I realized. Poor frog! ~


Living with Nature 3, AVR

Part 2: Which of these specimens are not seaweeds?

Abe V Rotor








Answers will be posted in a week's time.

Living with Nature 3, AVR

Part 3: Twelve (12) Guidelines in Basic Painting Using Latex Paint

Claude Monet's most popular painting. One of his last
paintings before he became blind. Impressionism. Nymphaea

Painting on Peace, poster making contest in school.

Glass painting, experimental. Apocalypse. AVR

Stained Glass, experimental. Seaweeds in the Deep, AVR

Atoll from the air, palette and brush on marine plywood, AVR

Rocks and water, starter's favorite subject, brush and
palette knife on canvas.

Latex can be used like watercolor at the same time.
Just add water as you paint. Use Oslo paper or
illustration board. Water strider.

Dubbing, pointillism, palette painting combined. Still life. AVR

Composite painting, from three views, conventional
semi-mural for sala, AVR

Abe V Rotor

Yes, you can paint.

Young or old, art knows no age. Art is not correct or wrong. It is theory, and it is your own. This is what is known as expression. Art is expression. A holistic one because it takes many faculties to create one - from logic to imagination, from visual to touch, traditional to contemporary.

But first, how do you begin?

1. You need only three primary colors - yellow, red and blue. Plus a lot of white and a little black. You can create all the colors of the rainbow. And you can do more in various hues and shades.

2. Red and yellow make orange; yellow and blue, green; blue and red, brown or purple. If you combine the three primary colors in equal proportion, you'll get black.

3. Secondary colors lead you to tertiary. If you get lost you can trace it back to secondary. And you will not deviate from your color scheme.

4. White makes any color lighter: red to pink, yellow to cream, navy blue to sky blue, black to gray, orange to tangerine.

5. Black darkens colors. It is used to make shades and shadows. Contrast. If too much, your painting become drab, even "muddy."

6. You need simple tools. Hardware paintbrushes 1/2" to 3" wide are relatively cheap. For artist brushes, buy from bookstores and art supplies. Get flat brushes - smallest 1/16", biggest 1"). Get one or two round brushes. Because latex is water based, you need only few brushes; you can wash them while painting.

7. Use disposable palette board such as cardboard and plywood. You can make your own canvas. Canvas is sold by yard from upholstery stores. You can make several paint canvases from a yard of 60" wide canvas. You can use illustration board. For murals I use marine plywood 1/2" to 3/4" thick, 4 ft by 8 feet.

8. Do not be afraid to experiment. Try finger painting. Palette painting. Paint as you imagine and feel. Don't be exacting, unless your subject requires it.

9. Foundation or primer is the same white latex you will be using. I prefer gloss white latex. Get more white than any of the colors. Allow the primer to dry, sandpaper it before you start to paint. Latex dries fast, so you have to work fast, too - unlike oil, it takes hours or days.

10. As much as possible mix colors first on the palette board before your apply. Of course, you can experiment by mixing colors now and then on the canvas itself. You will discover new techniques and develop your style. Never use oil and latex at the same time, latex and lacquer. But you can use permanent ink markers for lines and margins, and to enhance details.

11. Work on the light areas first, like sky, then proceed to the dark areas, like group of trees, bottom of rocks, shades and shadows, last. Work spontaneously. You know when to stop, then prepare for a second or third - or nth sitting. One sitting is 30 to 60 minutes.

12. Never abandon your work. Every painting is a masterpiece in your own right, as long as you did the best you could, honestly and lovingly. Treasure it.

And remember, painting is not just a hobby. It is therapy. It is prayer. It is universal language. It is timeless. Art is a bridge of the known and the unknown, the Creator and His creation. ~


NOTE: I'll be posting more guidelines. But first, start painting. Listen to Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (School-on-Air). DZRB 738 KHZ AM Band 8 to 9 evening Monday to Friday
www.pbs.gov.ph - Ka Abe and Ka Melly

Living with Nature 3, AVR

Part 2: Use Latex Instead of Oil Paint.

Abe V Rotor

What kind of paint shall I use?

Well, use water-based acrylic. In hardware stores, it is called latex paint. It is multipurpose and the most popular paint today - from art and house paint.

I prefer latex paint to oil for art painting - especially for children. These are the reasons.

1. Latex is less toxic than oil paint. Both however, contain materials not good to health, like lead, hydrocarbon and dioxide compounds. By the way, there is no paint that is completely safe to health and the environment. The most hazardous is lacquer paint - the one in canister or used on automobile. It is among the CFC materials that destroy the ozone layer.

2. Latex is much cheaper and it does not entail additional costs for solvents like turpentine, linseed oil and kerosene as thinner, spreader and cleaner, and in the case of lacquer, volatile solvents.

3. Latex is easy and convenient to use. Because it is water-based, paintbrush is easy to clean and it will last longer. Stains can be easily removed, especially when paint is still fresh.
Latex paint dries in minutes, oil in hours or days.

4. Waste from latex paint is easier to dispose. Generally let the paint dry first before it is disposed just like any garbage, except of course, when dealing with large quantities. Wash paintbrush in sink, don't wash on waterways and open areas.

5. Latex is versatile and has wider application. It comes in different colors, primary or mixed. It is sold in your nearest hardware stores in different brands and sizes. You can use rollers, paintbrush or palette - or in combination, specially in art painting. It is used on any surface - canvas, wood, concrete - and even metal after a suitable primer is made.

Living with Nature 3, AVR