Wow, in four days it will be a year since I last updated this blog! Where did the time go? I don’t even know what to write about here anymore. *sheepish grin*

There are actually TWO things that prompted me to post an update.

1) A conversation I had with my friend Ramon a few nights ago. He said that he and Neva have been wondering why I haven’t posted anything new in a while. Often wondering about that myself, I arrived at the conclusion that, well, unless I do a major overhaul and talk solely about how I make money online ((just see how many hits this site will get with that keyphrase plugged in!)), no one will pay attention to this entry, or even this blog. In this age of Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr, “About Me” blogs have become passe, I figured . They are so 2001 and so is this site. *mopes*

but then…

2) Surprise! A comment came this way (why thank you Rand Al Thor) and this fact offered me some assurance that this site is still getting visitors! Triple exclamation points!!!

… (silence)

… (cricket sounds)

Aaaanyhoo ..  for the benefit of the lovely readers who still drop by every now and then (yes, all three of you LOL), I will try my best to fill you in with what I have been up to since the last time I checked in.

Eraserheads The Final Set

* Eraserheads: The Final Set. You all know that this band holds a special place in my heart so naturally, we were there for their last. ever. reunion. concert. Arn has videos of some of the performances on his Youtube.

KL Design Week 2009

* KL Design Week 2009. Arn & I flew to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with our good friends Carlo & Nina to stalk Stefan Sagmeister… I mean, to see, meet, and listen to some of the world’s top graphic designers talk about their thought processes and showcase their latest work. Aside from Stefan Sagmeister, other highlights for me were the presentations by Kuntzel&Deygas (the French duo behind Caperino & Peperone and the memorable Catch Me If You Can opening title sequence) and Lava Architects (the Australian firm that designed the glorious Water Cube that was launched at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, among others).

Nins and I did actually manage to corner Stefan Sagmeister and ask for a photo with him each — twice — so that’s now off the bucket list. 😉

* Volunteering for Rock Ed Philippines and designing / maintaining Rock Ed Radio‘s website. I first met the brilliant Gang Badoy in the early 90s but she flew off and lived in the US for a decade.  Armed with several masters degrees, she put up Rock Ed Philippines upon coming home in 2005. Rock Ed is a volunteer group dedicated to promote alternative education through holding classes on different areas of knowledge such as music, the arts, sports, science, and cultural studies. It has been (and still is) always a pleasure knowing that our contributions, however small, are helping make this country a better place.

* Saying goodbye to Wedding Essentials Magazine as Design Director. It was a difficult decision to make ((many tears were shed, yes)) since Editor-in-Chief and good friend Marbee and I make up the “we” in Wedding Essentials. We saw the magazine from its inception, to its birth in 2004, and through its growth into the big player that it is now (seeing how successful it is now kinda makes me feel like a proud mom). I thought it was time for me to move on since I knew the magazine would be in very able hands with Marb and Kitten at its helm anyway, although I am still with them in spirit. The issue above is the last one I worked on.

…but wait, Marbee and I have a wedding blog, We Heart Weddings. Because we really love weddings (and we really do like working with each other!)

* My Arn made a short film, his first ever. Arn has always wanted to make films, ever since he was a kid, so now that he can, he did. This is the trailer for the suspense/thriller short he made called Chapter:-0ne. We held screenings for it during the second half of last year at Fully Booked (twice) and Nomnomnom. He hopes to make another one soon, so watch out for updates on here.

* Uno Magazine named me one of their “Women on Top”. Me? Really? Aaaawwshucks *blush*. Being in a 12-page spread along with smart, innovative, trail-blazing women makes me feel that I probably am doing something right in my life.

***

That’s it for now. Next time, I will give you a sneak peak of the super secret project I’m working on. (Clue: it starts with an E , ends with heads and it will come in a box) 😉

Okay, that’s not entirely true ((the subject heading, I mean. It’s a song lyric like always)) — a lot has happened since my last update. I’ve quite forgotten how to write blog posts so allow me to do it in bullets.

* My husband Arnold Arre is Powerbooks’ Author of the Month for February!

Arnold Arre Book Signing at Powerbooks

Arn has a book signing at Powerbooks Trinoma this Saturday, February 28 from 3-6 pm. Come one, come all! You may RSVP here.

Check out the awesome trailer he made for the event. 🙂 We hope to see you there!

* Together Forever: A Valentine’s Day Exhibit at Pablo Gallery/CubaoX
Arn & I are honored to have been invited to participate in Pablo Gallery‘s Valentine’s Day exhibit. Other artist couples who participated are Bru & Marcushiro (Electrolychee), Nico & Katwo (27+20), Ryan & Garovs (Everywhere We Shoot), Ivan & Pauline (Acidhouse), Mitch Mauricio & Paolo Ferrer, and Jowee Alviar & Momon Punzalan (Team Manila). It’s still ongoing so please do drop by if you find yourself in the vicinity.

Chances Are by Arnold & Cynthia Arre

The task was to create an artwork to reflect symbiosis and each couple had to produce two works (each individual working distinctively on one piece) that when combined creates a holistic, definitive expression of their partnership.

View the photos (here) or watch the video my husband made (above).

* Not By The Book by Tippi Ocampo
My dear friend, fashion designer Tippi Ocampo had her first ever one-woman fashion exhibit (a first of it’s kind too!) in November of last year and she also came up with a whimsical little book to go with it. The book’s design was a collaboration between Tippi, Lizza Gutierrez, Chinggay Labrador and myself. (Photos below are by Sheila dela Cuesta)

Not By The Book by Tippi Ocampo

The book is filled with Tippi’s sketches, pics of her award-winning work, and some bits and pieces about her work ethic & design philosophies. You will also find some fashion tips and DIY projects you can try your hand at. It’s bound in brown shantung silk and the title & logo are embroidered on a fuschia ribbon label because we wanted to keep the overall look within the fashion theme.

You can have Not by the Book delivered fresh to your doorstep by shooting them an email.

Check out the photos of her exhibit pieces & setup here and opening reception here.

and finally,
* Fruitcake 2.0
The new edition of the Eraserheads’ Fruitcake, a book I illustrated in 1996, is now available at your favorite bookstores. Because of the high demand for E-heads merchandise after last year’s reunion concert, Anvil decided to re-release the book in December of 2009 and the new edition boasts of a new foreword written by Ely Buendia as well as a tweaked cover (by yours truly). Please grab a copy when you can! Only P295.

Fruitcake by the Eraserheads circa 2008

My husband Arnold‘s latest graphic novel, Martial Law Babies will finally be out in stores next week. Hope you can check out the fully-packed site which features a synopsis, preview pages, online ordering info (coming soon), and notes by Arn on how he came up with the idea to write this particular story, some behind-the-scenes trivia and more. You may also submit photos of yourselves taken in the 70s and 80s for the “Photos from my generation” section. 🙂

Turn up your speakers and head on over to the MLB site! [ GO ]

***
In other news, the Eraserheads concert CD is now out in stores! The record company (very nicely) told me that they had to alter some of the design elements so I’m posting my original design here for posterity –

You can’t imagine the pressure I was under working on this because I knew everyone was waiting for it, not to mention the fact that it was already announced in Philmusic and other sources online that I was designing it *gulp*. Arn and I made over 10 studies, including a highly-detailed and fully-illustrated comp but the record company chose the simplest and most straightforward one of all. Well… I guess people will buy it for the E-heads’ music and not for the inlay design so I’m cool with that. 🙂