Feature story on Maria Isabel Lopez and Art at the Source in Sonoma West Times
http://www.sonomawest.com/sonoma_west_times_and_news/news/art-at-the-source-providing-a-vehicle-to-expose-art/article_51956818-6463-11e8-a3f8-ffd8176b80f6.html
Showing posts with label Newsblogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Newsblogs. Show all posts
Thursday, May 31, 2018
Monday, December 4, 2017
Saturday, July 29, 2017
Art Therapy Workshop with the Lumad Kids (Indigenous kids)
Lumad kids (Indigenous children) came to Manila from Mindanao to call on the government, the Church and the people to stop the bombing and harassment of teachers in their schools. The artist, Maria Isabel Lopez, had the chance to give them an art therapy workshop at the University of the Philippines International Center, to help them express their feelings, fears, and hopes with the current declaration of Marital Law in Mindanao by President Duterte.
 |
| Lumad youths from Alternative Learning Center for Livelihood Education (ALCADEV) and Tribal Filipino Program of Surigao del Sur (TRIFPSS) and educators called on the government to stop all forms of political persecution and militarization in their community. |
The artworks reflect situations happening in schools-some razed by fire, some teachers being harassed, abandoned schoolhouses. The Lumads are fighting for their ancestral lands, preservation of their forest and rivers, and the right to self determination.
Hand made beads and scarves sold by an indigenous from the Manobo tribe.
Top L: Lumad Frederic interprets kids who walk hours on the trail to go school.
Top R: JanRex creates an abandoned school now occupied by the military.
Bottom L: The artist shows the deforestation of her community.
Bottom R: Junel fears for his school in Davao where teachers are accused of being rebels.
Top L: An artwork depicting the harassment of a teacher kneeling on the ground begging for his life at gunpoint, with the school children helplessly looking.
Top R: Reyna from Bukidnon shows an unfinished school-construction was halted due to military presence in her area.
Bottom L: A lumad youth shows his family, being kicked by a soldier, with his father at gunpoint. He was inside the house observing from the window.
Bottom R: John illustrates villagers running away from their community as a chopper makes numerous rounds of their area.
Bottom R: John illustrates villagers running away from their community as a chopper makes numerous rounds of their area.
 |
| Tribal chieftains of Datus show messages to the government calling for an end to martial law in Mindanao, and to call on the military not to bomb the Lumad schools and to prove that it is ready to create a positive condition towards genuine peace in Mindanao. |
Top L:Using acrylic housepaints, and donations of brushes and paper from the artist,
Top R: Youth leader Jong Monzon of the Manobo tribe, and a datu.
The art workshop started with visualization of their actual experiences in their community.
"Martial law will not bring about peace but in fact an increase in violations of human rights, including military attacks on schools and communities of national minorities."
Sunday, June 4, 2017
Press Democrat "Art and the Garden" Cover Story on Sonoma Home
"Art and the Garden" cover story by Meg McConahey for the Press Democrat
on the weekend issue June 3, 2017 featuring the art of Maria Isabel Lopez
and the gardens of Ranchito Milagro for Art at the Source 2017.
Friday, May 5, 2017
Saturday, February 11, 2017
Sunday, November 20, 2016
The Mosaic Art of Maria Isabel Lopez - Manila Bulletin lifestyle section - October 9, 2016
The Mosaic Art of Maria Isabel Lopez
Maria Isabel Lopez, a lifelong artist, goes solo with her show of framed mosaic art pieces
Manila Bulletin
Lifestyle Section
Sunday, October 9, 2016
by Alex Y. Vergara
Images by Noel B. Pabalate
“You handle glass like you handle men—loosely. Never handle them tightly. The more you tighten your grip on them, the more you get cut.” Coming from actress-painter Maria Isabel Lopez, such words of wisdom gain more resonance. The former Binibining Pilipinas Universe, a Fine Arts graduate from the University of the Philippines before making a name for herself as a sexy star in the mid-1980s in such films as Silip, Isla, and Hubo sa Dilim, should know her art as well as her men. “Even with the bubog (shards of glass), if you make kalkal (go through them), you have to be gentle,” she says of her newfound love affair with mosaic art one afternoon inside her third-floor office, part of a modest Quezon City townhouse she shares with her children Mara, 25, and Ken, 19. “You can wear gloves, but I don’t. I love to feel the texture, especially certain types of glass with wavy texture.”Her marriage to Japanese national Hiroshi Yokohama, the father of her two children, was annulled years ago. She’s now in a long-distance relationship with California-based American Jonathan Melrod, who started out as one of her art patrons. Lopez credits him for encouraging her to further explore mosaic art by introducing her to the right schools and teachers in Chicago and Berkeley. They also once traveled together to Ravenna and Venice, where she saw for herself all sorts of possibilities after seeing up close and personal fine examples of Italian-style Byzantine mosaic art and stained glass on a number of old churches and public buildings.
“He also encouraged me to put up a studio in California,” she says. “Long-distance relationships are
possible, but they’re very costly. He flies here. I go there. We meet up, say, in Cannes when I was there for ’Ma Rosa. If I’m an ordinary employee, say, a waitress at Jollibee, how can I sustain that? It’s going to be just a cyber relationship. As partners in life, you have to physically meet, bond, and do some traveling.” After years of joining what she describes as a “smorgasbord” lineup of artists in group shows, from fellow actors such as Cesar Montano, Rosanna Roces, and the late Vic Vargas, to fellow ex beauty queens like Evangeline Pascual, Nina Ricci Alagao, and even Melanie Marquez, Lopez is staging her first one-woman art show at SM Megamall’s Passion Arts Gallery.
Dubbed as “Body and Soul,” Lopez’s art equivalent of a launching movie, runs from Oct. 19 to Nov. 2. Not only is it a solo show, it will also showcase for the first time her artworks—all 16 of them, including an embellished fiberglass torso—as a mosaic artist using mixed media such as stained glass, stones, pebbles, Boracay sand, and marble chips, and combining them with
more conventional elements like acrylic and modeling paste.
The concept behind her first solo exhibit is the glorification of the female body and various symbolisms representing the forces that shape it, she says. As an artist, Lopez has had a lifelong fascination with the nude female form as well as tactile elements on canvas, which she again explores in “Body and Soul” by deftly combining old and new media. She’s equally comfortable and adept with color as she is with texture, which is evident in the changing and gradating hues in her artworks, depending on the light and time of day.
“For me, creating is a spiritual journey, a spiritual trip. So when I do nudes, they’re usually contrasted with other works such as crucifixes. I believe I can create because I’m also God’s creation. It’s that power within me that allows me to create. And these are the results,” she says.
Creation is also her way of expressing gratitude and making full use of God’s gift. Although she describes herself as a Christian, Lopez loves and respects all beliefs. Despite her public image as an outspoken and independent woman, she humbles herself before “one God” and prays, especially before she sits down and begins doing an artwork, whether in her small home studio beside her office or on the set of a movie or telenovela.
Instead of engaging in idle gossip in between takes, she brings with her a mobile studio on the set. It’s a small luggage, says Lopez, replete with all the materials she would need to pursue her second career. If an artwork is too large, she tries to do it one section at a time by bringing on location a mesh material, which doubles as her temporary canvas.
Friday, November 18, 2016
Thursday, November 17, 2016
Baring ‘Body & Soul’
SOUL THIS TIME – In the past, Maria Isabel Lopez has bared her body (and acting talent) in many a movie. At 59, she is also baring her soul via a one-woman show featuring her mosaic art. Maribel uses found objects like river pebbles, shells, sand mortar, and natural stones, creating highly textured compositions.
The one-man show is billed “Body & Soul,” opening on Oct. 19 and lasting until Nov. 2 at the Passion Arts Gallery, 4F SM Megamall Art Walk, Mandaluyong City.
Maribel calls “Body & Soul” a visual journey through the physical and the spiritual, a symbolism of the female anatomy and the forces behind it. “I create as I am God’s creation.”
She is a member of Society of American Mosaic Artist and has taken lessons in mosaic painting in Chicago, Illinois.
She also took up workshops in stained-glass medium in Berkeley, California.
Maribel is a fine arts graduate of the University of the Philippines.
•
FELLOW ARTISTS – Maribel is founder and event organizer of The Film Artist Group, which inspires other beauty-queen visual artists to show their creative talents.
Fellow artists include Vangie Pascual, Nina Ricci Alagao, Alma Concepcion, Pilar Pilapil. Maribel was Bb. Pilipinas-Universe years back. Come to think of it, why not invite Doña Stella Marquez de Araneta to the opening on Oct. 19 and show the primera dama of Bb. Pilipinas that she’s more than a sexy star.
Other painters in showbiz include Cesar Montano, Louie Ignacio, Cris Villanueva, Solenn Heusaff, Heart Evangelista, Tom Rodriguez, Ian Veneracion (his dad Roy is a professional painter).
Source: http://tempo.com.ph/2016/10/10/baring-body-soul/
The one-man show is billed “Body & Soul,” opening on Oct. 19 and lasting until Nov. 2 at the Passion Arts Gallery, 4F SM Megamall Art Walk, Mandaluyong City.
Maribel calls “Body & Soul” a visual journey through the physical and the spiritual, a symbolism of the female anatomy and the forces behind it. “I create as I am God’s creation.”
She is a member of Society of American Mosaic Artist and has taken lessons in mosaic painting in Chicago, Illinois.
She also took up workshops in stained-glass medium in Berkeley, California.
Maribel is a fine arts graduate of the University of the Philippines.
•
FELLOW ARTISTS – Maribel is founder and event organizer of The Film Artist Group, which inspires other beauty-queen visual artists to show their creative talents.
Fellow artists include Vangie Pascual, Nina Ricci Alagao, Alma Concepcion, Pilar Pilapil. Maribel was Bb. Pilipinas-Universe years back. Come to think of it, why not invite Doña Stella Marquez de Araneta to the opening on Oct. 19 and show the primera dama of Bb. Pilipinas that she’s more than a sexy star.
Other painters in showbiz include Cesar Montano, Louie Ignacio, Cris Villanueva, Solenn Heusaff, Heart Evangelista, Tom Rodriguez, Ian Veneracion (his dad Roy is a professional painter).
Source: http://tempo.com.ph/2016/10/10/baring-body-soul/
The art of Maribel Lopez DIRECT LINE By Boy Abunda (The Philippine Star)
The art of Maribel Lopez
DIRECT LINE By Boy Abunda (The Philippine Star)
Those who take the good with the bad are people who are solid and happy.
Maria Isabel “Maribel” Lopez belongs to this group of self-starters. Years after organizing exhibits with fellow artist-beauty queens, Maribel is finally mounting a one-woman show of her mosaic art at the Passion Arts Gallery, fourth floor, SM Megamall Art Walk starting Oct. 19 (it ends Nov. 2).
The exhibit, dubbed as Body & Soul, is her first one-woman show.
“I used to be afraid about people rejecting my art. That’s why it took me decades to have a solo exhibit,” Maribel admits.
Close Ad X
But Louie Ignacio, himself a visual artist, believed in her. He told her she can do it.
This, plus her faith in herself, made Maribel gather her mosaic art, the earliest of which used found objects — river pebbles, sand mortar, shells and natural stones — and presented them to the powers-that-be in the gallery for consideration.
Her work, Maribel recalls, passed through the proverbial eye of the needle. Being a celebrity is no guarantee that your works will be approved for exhibition.
But she took the risk.
“I told myself there’s no reason for me to be afraid. I love and approve of myself. So rejection doesn’t matter to me anymore,” says Maribel.
She also realized that, “I’m approaching senior citizen status (she’s 59).”
So, Maribel decided to plunge herself into doing what she loves most.
Her background as a graduate of the UP College of Fine Arts (major in Advertising) shows where her heart belongs. She studied mosaic art, Ravenna style, at the Chicago Institute of Mosaic Art.
Visual arts makes Maribel feel good, not because others like seeing her work, but because it’s where she finds fulfillment.
“There’s a difference between happiness and joy,” Maribel points out.
“Happiness comes from outside forces. It’s what you feel when you win in the lottery or bag an award. It also comes when you fall in love.”
Joy, she explains, comes from within. It’s yours when you’re in the middle of heavy traffic, and you choose to think positive and keep from complaining.
“Joy is important to me, even if outside forces are not good, or even if life is smooth-sailing,” Maribel goes on.
So, she exercises regularly to produce happy hormones or endorphins that fight stress. She expresses herself in art instead of bottling up feelings — good or bad.
No wonder Maribel doesn’t succumb to depression, even when the chips are down. She doesn’t sulk if she has no movie to shoot.
She may not be the lead star of the Philippine entry to the 2017 Oscars Ma’Rosa (Cannes Best Actress Jaclyn Jose is). But that didn’t keep Maribel from trending on social media when she turned heads in her emerald green Albert Andrada gown.
“Don’t allow happiness to be dependent on outside forces,” she advises. “Try to make it radiate from within.”
Still, she wants to let everyone know looking good matters.
“It contributes a lot to happiness.”
Yes, her boyfriend — an art patron and human rights lawyer — makes her happy. But you won’t see Maribel wearing a long face or acting like it’s the end of the world if he’s not around.
“I’m blessed. But it doesn’t make me less of a person if I don’t have a boyfriend. I don’t need a partner to complete me.”
Maribel knows she can assume many other identities. She’s a mom (to actress-surfer Mara Isabella Yokohama). She’s an actress. She’s an urban agriculturist who cooks what she plants.
Most of all, Maribel declares, “I’m a child of God.”
No wonder, Maribel continues to bloom — be it on the Cannes red carpet or inside an art gallery.
source:http://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2016/10/04/1629983/art-maribel-lopez
DIRECT LINE By Boy Abunda (The Philippine Star)
Those who take the good with the bad are people who are solid and happy.
Maria Isabel “Maribel” Lopez belongs to this group of self-starters. Years after organizing exhibits with fellow artist-beauty queens, Maribel is finally mounting a one-woman show of her mosaic art at the Passion Arts Gallery, fourth floor, SM Megamall Art Walk starting Oct. 19 (it ends Nov. 2).
The exhibit, dubbed as Body & Soul, is her first one-woman show.
“I used to be afraid about people rejecting my art. That’s why it took me decades to have a solo exhibit,” Maribel admits.
Close Ad X
But Louie Ignacio, himself a visual artist, believed in her. He told her she can do it.
This, plus her faith in herself, made Maribel gather her mosaic art, the earliest of which used found objects — river pebbles, sand mortar, shells and natural stones — and presented them to the powers-that-be in the gallery for consideration.
Her work, Maribel recalls, passed through the proverbial eye of the needle. Being a celebrity is no guarantee that your works will be approved for exhibition.
But she took the risk.
“I told myself there’s no reason for me to be afraid. I love and approve of myself. So rejection doesn’t matter to me anymore,” says Maribel.
She also realized that, “I’m approaching senior citizen status (she’s 59).”
So, Maribel decided to plunge herself into doing what she loves most.
Her background as a graduate of the UP College of Fine Arts (major in Advertising) shows where her heart belongs. She studied mosaic art, Ravenna style, at the Chicago Institute of Mosaic Art.
Visual arts makes Maribel feel good, not because others like seeing her work, but because it’s where she finds fulfillment.
“There’s a difference between happiness and joy,” Maribel points out.
“Happiness comes from outside forces. It’s what you feel when you win in the lottery or bag an award. It also comes when you fall in love.”
Joy, she explains, comes from within. It’s yours when you’re in the middle of heavy traffic, and you choose to think positive and keep from complaining.
“Joy is important to me, even if outside forces are not good, or even if life is smooth-sailing,” Maribel goes on.
So, she exercises regularly to produce happy hormones or endorphins that fight stress. She expresses herself in art instead of bottling up feelings — good or bad.
No wonder Maribel doesn’t succumb to depression, even when the chips are down. She doesn’t sulk if she has no movie to shoot.
She may not be the lead star of the Philippine entry to the 2017 Oscars Ma’Rosa (Cannes Best Actress Jaclyn Jose is). But that didn’t keep Maribel from trending on social media when she turned heads in her emerald green Albert Andrada gown.
“Don’t allow happiness to be dependent on outside forces,” she advises. “Try to make it radiate from within.”
Still, she wants to let everyone know looking good matters.
“It contributes a lot to happiness.”
Yes, her boyfriend — an art patron and human rights lawyer — makes her happy. But you won’t see Maribel wearing a long face or acting like it’s the end of the world if he’s not around.
“I’m blessed. But it doesn’t make me less of a person if I don’t have a boyfriend. I don’t need a partner to complete me.”
Maribel knows she can assume many other identities. She’s a mom (to actress-surfer Mara Isabella Yokohama). She’s an actress. She’s an urban agriculturist who cooks what she plants.
Most of all, Maribel declares, “I’m a child of God.”
No wonder, Maribel continues to bloom — be it on the Cannes red carpet or inside an art gallery.
source:http://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2016/10/04/1629983/art-maribel-lopez