“THE heart controls the energy flow by opening and closing. This means that the heart, like a valve, can either allow the flow of energy to pass through, or it can restrict the flow of energy from passing through. If you observe the heart, you know very well what it feels like when it’s open and what it feels like when it’s closed.” – Michael A. Singer
When I met the Simon Family (Elzar Dodjie, Elisa and Ysabel Grace), I had a feeling I would have to re-learn what parenting an artist truly means.
In our Filipino culture, we are encouraged mostly to become engineers, nurses, doctors, accountants, lawyers and priests. It is seldom that we, as a community, parent our children with a focus on arts, performing arts and animation, and even to be enterprising entrepreneurs.
Instead of writing about Elzar Dodjie Simon — a composer of award-winning songs sung by Zsa Zsa Padilla, Lani Misalucha and Gary Valenciano, and also, a vice president and global data infrastructure lead for American International Group (AIG), a $5-billion revenue company, with valuation at $64 billion — and Elisa Simon, M.D., his spouse, who is a psychiatrist, Dodjie suggested I write about their daughter, Ysabel Grace, a senior at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York. This high school became the basis of the movie, “Fame,” which featured its students through their studies at this dual-mission high school.
Academics and arts, twin specialties
I met Ysabel Grace Simon last Halloween in New York City, who agreed to accompany me and her parents to the Philippine Consulate on Fifth Avenue. She agreed to meet and also interview Ronald Cortez, a painter.
That evening, Grace shared about her blessed life. “I am blessed to be in Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music, Art and Performing Arts,” where children are trained since they are 5 years old to be accepted to this school. She had to apply for both components, academics and arts.
It got me curious, how did she do it?
When she was in 8th grade, her parents marveled that she got the “Outstanding Achievement in Fine Arts,” expecting instead for her to get math and science, two subjects she excelled at.
Moving from New Jersey to New York, her parents were faced with choices of public schools in New York. Where can they enroll Grace for her talents to be honed some more?
She was prepared by her parents for the summer by taking an “anatomy” class and “how to prepare a portfolio” class. With her inherent talents, the parents consciously shifted their focus in preparing her now on both academics and arts, not either academics or just arts, but both specialties.
Can you recall how that would be in your life, if you are a parent of a child? Or children? That would be endless driving to arts schools, to academics enrichment classes of creative writing, speed reading and more summer camps to develop both the math side and the artistic sides of their brains, the so-called, left and right sides of their brains.
“Do you know what I like about my school?” Grace continued, “It is to have a group of students in the lobby, who are playing live music and because our school has good acoustics, it is like having live concerts every Friday. I am exposed to arts daily, three hours a day, from the time I walk in, with live music, at lunch, and with drama, vocals, instrumentals, art exhibits daily.”
To give attention to both academics and arts, she is disciplined to a 7am to 7pm daily schedule, 12 subjects a day, a rigorous discipline preparing her well for higher education in a university.
Outside of school, Grace said, “we go to museums and they grade us for certain things, including how to present all our work. The school determines our progress. If you are good, then, you get scholarships. We also have semi-annuals where our artworks are exhibited in the galleries.”
Grace’s artworks have been displayed in the high school’s semi-annual exhibits, and her parents diligently attend to admire them.
Conversations with Ronald Cortez, a master painter and Grace’s parents
Imagine yourself as a parent, inviting your children to meet up with new friends and going along with their schedules, while integrating your children’s?
Grace took her iPhone to share her artwork with Ronald Cortez, an accomplished painter, as she solicited critiques on Grace’s art works, her sculpture, and her paintings.
“You have a lot of potential,” Ronald said, “When I was at your age, 17 years old, I did not have your talent.” Ronald was referring to the details on the face, the wrinkles, the serious mood, the fish , and more on Grace’s artworks, to which Grace said, “I like these paintings of yours,” referring to a series of fish portraits, “it reminds me of the Philippines, where my parents took us to Baguio, when I was 7 years old.”
“What is the longest for your realistic series of paintings? “
“I work first by observation, am doing studies, before putting it in a canvas, if there is no signature, it means the painting is in process, like my series on West Philippine Seas,” Ronald said.
“I like the faded look of edges, how you use the natural light,” Grace added.
Undaunted by the fact that only five students are picked out of 700 — from 20,000 applying at her high school, with only 25 students chosen each year to compete for the senior gallery — imagine how much work Grace puts in to hone her talent? How do you even build your inner confidence with these odds?
Will you think of yourself a winner in all respects, without diminishing others? Yet do so with humility?
Her parents attest to how she is hard at work, but also, with such talent, that with a copy of Raphael’s mother and child, she can paint it and finish the piece overnight.
As to her anatomy drawings on newsprint, Grace wants to throw them away, “No, treasure them as these are your artistic roots,” Ronald said.
To which Grace said, “You are inspirational. You are showing who you are through your painting, there is a story, there is a message behind each painting.”
When I asked how she felt about Ronald’s paintings, “Jealousy, because they [Ronald’s paintings] are so good.”
“But if I got jealous of that 17 year old, what more if she grows to be me, and looking back at that 17 year old, I can no longer take [her prior paintings], Ibig sabihin, nadevelop ako,” Ronald said, referring to how Grace has grown from her former artistic roots.
I was in tears listening to how these painters talked, how they mentored one another, to bring out the best selves in each, but also the honor and privilege of meeting Ysabel Grace’s generous-in-spirit parents, who are guiding Grace to fly her own wings, unencumbered, and flourishing in her God-given talents. It was past midnight and we were still strolling New York’s busy streets. I thanked Lem Balagot for this connection with the Simons.
This coming Holy Week and Easter, think of how you are parenting your children, are you truly honing them to be God’s gifted children or are you putting stops in their life’s journey, thereby keeping them from their future of innovation and creativity?
Offered with so much loving remembrance of my mother, Asuncion Castro Abarquez, who was napping, while I wrote this. She passed away at 1145pm on St. Patrick’s Day. I believe she was guiding me along, while I wrote this on her dining table, in view of her red blooming bougainvillea flowers. May she rest in peace, knowing she gave her all to raised us, her children, her grandchildren and saw her great grandchildren, reveling in delight with Ever, Zoe and Ava Asuncion!
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Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz, J.D. writes a weekly column for Asian Journal, called “Rhizomes.” She has been writing for AJ Press for 9 years now. She contributes to Balikbayan Magazine. Her training and experiences are in science, food technology, law and community volunteerism for 4 decades. She holds a B.S. degree from the University of the Philippines, a law degree from Whittier College School of Law in California and a certificate on 21st Century Leadership from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. She has been a participant in NVM Writing Workshops taught by Prof. Peter Bacho for 4 years and Prof. Russell Leong. She has travelled to France, Holland, Belgium, Japan, Mexico and 22 national parks in the US, in pursuit of her love for arts.