Betsy Westendorp: Looking Into The Heavens

Some express their deepest human emotions through art; connecting their inner feelings with how they see things around them.

For over 40 years, Betsy Westendorp has established herself as a respected artist, revered highly in the Filipino art scene. She has been widely known for her portraits of prominent political and society figures, along with her love of painting exotic flowers. Her latest exhibit represents a view of Betsy's feelings, inspired by her love for the beautiful Manila Bay. Each piece captures the vast movements and colors that depict sunrise and sunsets, clouds and skies. The exhibit aims to explore another side of her and the connection of her emotions to the sceneries around her.

A small room upstairs of the main exhibit area displays small works, portraits of families and friends, and society commissions that document her portraits of people and other landscapes.

 

 

Congratulations to Betsy Westendorp. Hopefully, in the near future, I could own one piece of hers. But for now, I'll settle with my photo with her.

 

Portrait of An Artist: Betsy Westendorp 

Runs from January 17 to February 10, 2013

Whitespace, 2314 Chino Roces Ave Extension, Makati

Aptly Full, Appetizingly Enough

Eating is one of the indulgences in life that we all just can't get enough of!

The Marriot Hotel Lobby

With the unending craze in buffets in most restos and hotels in the metro, one would wonder which among all is the best? Well, I couldn't judge which is the best for me since I've not tried all the selection. Still, I think I've grown to have some favorites.

One evening, amidst a miserable occurrence earlier at the neighboring theater, mom and I was hosted a dinner by Marriot to sample the hotel's Marriot Cafe. At first, as the name denotes, I expected something more of a simple dinner of just the right bites. Little did I know that inside was a wide selection of buffet choices.

I don't normally go for appetizers since I always check the main course selections first. But since it was my first time, I looked around all the different sections and checked out the selection. For starters, be enticed to toss a healthy serving of salad, complete with all dressings and veggies. Another options is to start off with a variety of cheese or breads. 

In different areas, one could easily feast on the flavors of our very own Filipino cuisine, to Indian, Italian, Chinese, and Japanese.

The Sinigang and Crispy Pata Section

A Taste of India

Make Your Own Noodle Soup and of course Dimsum

My personal favorite were the roast beef carving station, the roasted tomato soup, and the fresh seafoods where I picked the giant pacific clams I asked the kitchen to bake.

An interesting aspect of my dinner was the chicken and beef teppanyaki that was prepared while I wait. Adding to that was the cream based gnocchi pasta with bacon and bell pepper. Both were quite heavy on the tummy, but delightful to the palette.

Teppanyaki Grill

The Pasta Station and my Gnocchi Pasta

 

Fortunately, I had room for desserts. There was the usual fruit plates and the towering chocolate fountain with everything that you can dip in it. The people of the cafe suggested that I try their really good gelato. True enough, it was so good that I really enjoyed every scoop of it.

While some buffet boasts of having a wide and extensive food selection, I must say that Marriot Cafe has just the right selection - with no compromise to taste at that - that wouldn't overwhelm any foodie who wants to try out or have a casual lunch or dinner. Plus, I sincerely had a fun evening as all of the staff were warm and polite. In the end, as I walked to my car, my taste buds were celebrating, while my tummy was not overfilled. 

Marriott Cafe

Newport City Complex, Pasay City

988-9999

http://www.facebook.com/marriotthotelmanila

Jo Claravall: Creating Real Life Wonderlands

Have you ever wondered how it is to be Alice, wandering wonderland filled with all the wonderful wonders?

Ok! That was a little too much wonders played around in one sentence. Still, I would like to answer that question. Yes...

When I was a kid, I would imagine myself being transported to different worlds of fantasy and magic - the stuff you see on movies and cartoons. Growing up, I fell in love with trips and travels that gave me the chance to witness the life and culture in varying countries and surroundings, opening my eyes to understanding beauty all around. Now that my profession has somehow taken over me, attending events have become the more crucial aspect of life that I have enjoyed. 

Events have become a grand celebration for most everyone. From the traditional weddings and birthdays, to parties and product launches, the details in creating events have been hyped up to create an astonishing scene for everyone. Fortunately, there are people these days who recreate, and glamorize more the sundry gatherings in the metro. Coined as the events stylists, their jobs are to make the event not just beautiful or amazing, but also memorable. 

One such events stylist that I have admired is Jo Claravall. I have been to a couple of events styled by her and I stood sincerely at awe with her work. I persuaded her if I could write about her and post some of her works in the story and my request was lucky enough to be granted.

 

How did you become an event stylist?

Nine years ago, my sister hosted a party at our parents' home. I helped set it up with a full-on Asian theme. A friend of hers who happened to be an events organizer took notice and I was offered to style an event for them. Without batting an eyelash, I said yes and styled my very first event for a shampoo brand. 

 

What is your creative process? What transpires before you create the design in your mind?


Well, I become very quiet during meetings to listen to clients. I observe how my clients are and dissect everything they say because I picture everything in my thoughts, as clients describe what they want. It's like a mental imprint once I know who my clients are and what they want. Then, everything else just follows. I don't over think or analyze. Eventually, I know exactly what to do.

What do you love most about your work?

I love the fact that I can transform spaces and blow the mind out of clients and their guests. It still gets me excited to see them extremely amazed with the event spaces I've designed.

What is the most challenging aspect of your job?

Everything is a challenge, but I live for it. 

 

As someone who has had success in the industry, what do you want to tell people about your profession? Are there misconceptions about your line of work that you want to clarify?

People think its easy. A lot of people may think it's just putting stuff around and arranging flowers on a table, but I definitely think that only people with very strong styling point of views are cutout for this job. A lot of people think its as simple as how Martha Stewart does it, but they don't know that the Martha Stewart way of styling is extremely difficult: it's a discipline. A stylist has to be true to his or her own styling sensibilities and disciplines -- something that you can't fake since it's innate. It really is hard to pull of more or less fifty events a year, all distinctly different from one another, but thats why it's fun.

Check out events stylist Jo Claravall at: http://www.facebook.com/joclaravall.events

Reading On

How often do people still read these days?

Every morning, I relish in the fact that I need not wake-up early in the morning just to rush myself and be off to a place of work. Being self-employed for the past months have liberated me from the stress and panic of having to force myself out of the bed even just as the sun is peering through the east, then battling Manila's undying traffic just to time-in on time. These days, I get to do one of the many things I love best: lingering in my bed in the morning, staying a few extra hours to catch morning tv or watch a movie on my laptop.

So one morning while I was posting a photo on instagram on the movie I was watching, I suddenly looked to my bed side and saw a couple of books that I have placed there. It was meant for me to read those before going to bed. I realized that I still have quite a number of books left unread or waiting to be finished. Though most of the current books I have are inspirational, business, or something related to my profession, I was gently reminded of how much I enjoy reading.

My sister told me to download an application on my android phone that will allow me to read through books using my phone. That way, I wouldn't need to bring a book with me anymore and I can just browse through a number of books all stored in my phone. Still, I was very hesitant to do so mainly because I didn't want to complicate the use of my phone - and reading e-books on my phone will surely drain my battery. Stubborn or conservative as it may sound, I prefer leafing through pages, eagerly waiting to start on top as I read through it, line per line, until I've reached the end of the page.

When I engross myself in a book - and also magazines at that - I find myself reflecting on what I read and actually imbibing the message a lot easier and faster. I feel like I am transported to my very own world where I relate to what I read and find something useful or interesting in it. Reading gives me a quiet time where I can be relaxed to clear my head from everything and anything that bothers me. And what's best in all this is the chance I have to learn in the process. After going through an entire book,  I can share the book or impart the thoughts written in the book with someone else - hoping that my time in flipping through every page, while gaining knowledge through reading, has a similar effect of inspiring others, turning their experience equally fruitful.

With the number of books and magazines still waiting to be opened, I think I may need to change my daily morning habit of watching people in a screen acting their supposed daily lives and shift to a personal quest of discovering something new in the many things that I read.