Friday, February 17, 2017

Integrated Art Workshop for Children: Logic and Creativity in Harmony



You may take pride in having a state-of-the-art cell-phone, but not more than a painting you yourself made. A gadget can’t be part of you, but a piece of art you made – painting, melody, story, verse - is your own.  It is part of you. It is a prize you give yourself and no one else can take it away. It is a lifetime achievement; in fact it is your legacy. (

Dr Abe V Rotor (Organizer and Instructor) Website avrotor.blogspot.com
 3 to 5 PM Sunday (January 29, 2017) San Vicente, Ilocos Sur


 Formative years make the most important stage of development. This is the transition of childhood to adulthood. And how fleeting it is! Before we know it, the child has become a man or woman.  Our great concern is how a child sees the world as loving, caring, true and beautiful as he grows up.  The left brain seeks truth, the right brain beauty – though art.
[Children in the neighborhood find time to attend a makeshift art workshop on a weekend with the author at his ancestral home.  Dr Rotor is a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), a university professor, author of several books, columnist (Bannawag) and a civic leader.]



At first there were a dozen interested kids, a week later the number doubled.  Many more wished to join.  It’s fun; learning is fun with hands-on, and on-site approach, something they miss elsewhere. This tells us that kids are insatiable in learning, and discerning at that. Why not give the right brain the opportunity of expression through creativity and imagery?  We must – teachers, leaders, elders, all of us -  we have to, as Shakespeare said “The world’s a stage, and each one of us has a role to play.”  Our role to guide the kids is our legacy.   

Children need a break.  But not to indulge on TV and computer, and complacency.  In fact they don’t find relief and fulfilment from these gadgets.  Instead, they need to express themselves, and not to adjust to what the machine dictates. Dr Rotor plays the violin Ilocano and other native compositions, while the participants attend to their work. The workshop is conducted on Sundays (3 to 5 pm).           


Take time out with Nature from TV and computer,
from loafing around. Nature is your best teacher.











Kids learn early in life the struggle for excellence, not in the classroom or street, but in themselves. The greatest struggle is with oneself – it is the biggest triumph, but it can be the biggest failure, too.  Yet there is always the opportunity to conquer that opponent. This is the road to excellence. Each day you become a better person, ad infinitum.

Kids in the neighborhood and from afar come to experience the adventure of integrated art under a common denominator called talent.  Many ask - and doubt - if they have the talent at all.  I assure them they have. Each person has, in fact under a wide profile of eight realms. (See The Eight Realms of Intelligence handout).  Many don’t realize this potential. Kids see the world “complete” and “instant” from food, toy, music, show - to instant relationship. Why bother when it’s there at fingertip?  Perhaps we, grownups must tell them the truth.  Life is never designed this way. Good life is earned and it must be earned well.~

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