A HIT!

ALMOST THREE...the exhibition opening

I haven't entered anything here since February 13th. Most of the evenings have been spent framing Kai's pieces. There is no way I can do the things I would like to do if Kai-Kai is around. He will be all over the place and will even offer to help Umpha.

Anyway, the show was a big hit! Who would think that an almost three years old boy could sell his art work...YES! Kai-Kai did it!

I was ecstatic about the end result of the show. The first hour of the opening, a painting ("GREEN FANTASIES") was sold. It was bought by the elderly couple that knew him since he was three months old. They are neighbors, a few houses from our place. Everyday Stuart and Joyce do their walking in the park. Basically, they have seen Kai grew up and Kai at the same time knew them to call the other "Umpha" and other "Umma." There were some invited people that did not show-up for one reason or another, but what surprised me was that the people from the Commission of Art and Culture came. I haven't seen Felicia Shaw, Program Director and Teresa Holm, Contract Manager, for some umpteen years even though we communicate by emails. Ana Cabato, Executive Director of PASACAT came in spite that she was not dolled-up as usual because she was to have a facial appointment later. Nabuko Naga Ewing, a very fastidious Japanese friend of mine came with a friend. Dick and Judy Van Patten (Kai's paternal grandparents) came tagging along with Valerie (Kai's great-grandma) and Carole Beth Sterling (Kai's great-aunt). I can see that they are very happy sharing the oeuvres of Kai and probably awed of what Kai-Kai had done. I am glad that I was able to take as many pictures as I could while Kai and I have our painting sessions. This gives the validity that he really is doing the pieces. We don't paint everyday, but considering Kai's attitude toward the activity, he will want to paint everyday. In forty-five minutes session, he can really produce a lot of good pieces as long as I watch him not to over paint them...that is the secret!

This is my curatorial statement:

ALMOST THREE...A Boy's Adventure with Colors

This exhibition is about Kai...almost three years old. He was given a crayon when he was eight months old and was shown how to use them. The colors fascinated him and from that time on "pupol" became his favorite color. He learned the names of different colors as he progressed. From crayons he started to use washable colored pens incorporating with crayons and sometimes pencils. By doing this, he learned that pens, crayons and pencils are only used on papers. By the time he was two years old, he was shown how to use brushes. This started him using gouache and water. The result was this exhibition.

As the curator of the exhibition as well as his "Umpha" (grandpa). the idea of the exhibition is something like a time capsule in the making. I cannot consider this as a talent yet...it is an expression of a little boy with too much time on his hands at the moment. Maybe, as he grows older or becomes a man of his own, he will have a better understanding of what this is all about. For the meantime, I am preserving his artistic achievement as a little boy even when he can not say purple.

We still have until the 15th of this month to share the show to others who were not able to come to the opening. For the meantime since we have had our fifteen minutes of fame together, we are back to our daily routine...looking for snails and digging for worms.