Art, meditation, and reverence

Malacanang Palace Museum

Resting the mind can be accomplished by meditation, and also by artwork, 
which allows the intuition to flow: the conscious mind recedes. 
Meditation and artwork at their best complement each other, 
and true things emerge. 

                                                                                Candace Loheed

Pinto Gallery, Antipolo City

In art museums and galleries, expect to see more slow looking and meditating. 

When I see it I plan to respectfully stay quiet and let it happen: I may try it myself. 

After all, for many of us, art galleries and museums are as close to church as we 

ever get. "With the eclipse of religion in the West," says David Greusel, an 

architect who specializes in the design of places where people come together, 

"the art museum has replaced the cathedral as the building type with the 

greatest architectural, social, and spiritual significance in a community."

                                      John Seed
                                                                             Professor of Art and Art History, 
                                                               Mt. San Jacinto College

Molave Abstract and Tiffany-style desk lamp

The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things,

but their inward significance. 

                                                Aristotle

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Sharing with Photo Art Friday

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Reading Project at Tawala

It is a weekly community service endeavor by the staff of Amorita Resort.  The intension is to convey to the kids of Tawala Elementary School the value of reading.  

Volunteer readers from the resort read to the the kids a couple of children’s books.  And although they are in English, the volunteers translate them in bohol-anon (local Visayan dialect) in animated manner so as to engage the kids.

Ms. Leah of Amorita plans to expand the presentations in the near future by using audio/visual equipment, and even basic puppetry, if possible; that is, anything essentially helpful so as to further stimulate the curiosity, interest and participation of the kids in the joys of reading and storytelling. 

In addition, from what I was told, there will be other activities in the offing, such as drawing and various arts and crafts fun stuffs.

Last week’s initial effort proved successful.  The kids were completely engrossed as Ms. Cherry and Ms. Ivy read to them Beauty and the Beast and Three LittlePigs.  Turns out, most of these kids have pigs in their yard; thus, when asked what books they would want to be read to them in the future, the consensus was more on farm animals. 

As for the Beauty and the Beast, at first I thought it was a bit too heavy for these local first graders.  I was wrong.  They were very much involved with the story as it was read and translated to them.

Although it wasn't television, the kids appeared just as riveted

Ms. Ivy and Ms. Cherry as readers and translators

Ms. Leah prepping the kids for the reading session

The entire group with their teacher Mrs. Pernia

Suggested reads:

Children's Storybooks Online

Reading and the Brain

The Interrupted Reading: The Kids with George W. Bush on 9/11

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Please note:

I very much appreciate my articles and photos appearing on fellow bloggers' sites, popular broadsheets, and local broadcast news segments, but I would appreciate even more a request for permission first.

Thank you!

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