CATS.
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| (gif from belphagor7.tumblr.com [I added the CFAD letters]) |
THERE is something about art school that gives the prospective artist (or just the casual observer) three varying points of expectations:
1.) that art school is filled with state-of-the-art training facilities designed to breed and nurture creative minds (this can range from images of full-blown gym-esque "training rooms," to laboratories that grow what people still believe are art genes that are implanted to those deemed "worthy" enough to hold a paintbrush),
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| wowe such art (photo from dismagazine.com) |
2.) that art school contains some warped portal to Zen paradise filled with grass, trees, bamboo, hills and butterflies, unicorns and rainbows, and anything that can stimulate creative minds, or
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| (photo from index.co unicorn club) |
3.) that art school is secretly a school to train super-powered teenagers.
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| via timetravelin.tumblr.com |
None of this is true.
Art school is filled with purrs and paws and meows (at least for me lol)
I enrolled in the University of Santo Tomas primarily because of the facilities, and the fact that the College of Fine Arts and Design is a well-established college of arts on its own. There is also a thing with Advertising that I found quite peculiar and interesting to begin with.
No advertisements, no promotional material (aside from the typical college fairs), and no ulterior motives. I paid the initial fees, took part in perhaps the longest line I have ever been in my entire life, had my picture taken, and I was in art school. I really thought the next four years would be routine, and the only thing to expect was going home to my comfy bed, being a burrito, and spending more time with my cats.
I was wrong. I went to the Fine Arts Building, I heard the familiar purrs (saw the familiar scratches, felt the familiar brushiness of the furs, and felt the oddly-piercing stares, you know the drill), and before I knew it I saw perhaps the unexpected company I needed to get by the overwhelming number of school work college has offered.
BEATO ANGELICO BUILDING
Home is where the heart lies. In Beato, this is where friendships are built (and shattered), romances grow and sprout into amazing tales (and sometimes crash into oblivion), and of course, where knowledge is nurtured. Creativity is more than "nurtured" in the four recesses of the building. Creativity explodes everywhere in Beato: the plates can overwhelm, the blood and the sweat and the tears are reflected in the frantic panting of those scurrying from the pavs and into their rooms, the crazy markings on the ceilings because of god-knows-what and who-knows-how, and the signature messy tables from all the projects and, of course, secretly hiding little kitty from the professors in class. Because yes, people do that.
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| Beato Angelico Building, Home of the CFAD and Arki students |
See, the benefit of being in a far-off building like the Beato is that art students get to be in an environment that always stimulates the creative centers of the mind. For me, "creative centers" usually equate to the pavillions and the kitty cats there. When I go to school a little bit early (the first two years in art school push class schedules early in the morning), I normally go the pavillions, or simply, pavs, as what students usually call them. This is where much of the students hang out, and much of these students are accompanied by cats that bathe under the sun. They roll around or just lie down, or sometimes even sit beside you (if they're comfortable enough.) I normally buy take-out food and couldn't help but give them a share.
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| Payat Cat chillin' at the pavs |
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| Mommy Kitty along with acrylic paint tubes, empty lunch cartons, and working CFAD students |
It actually came to the point that I buy cat food for them, and I really don't regret it. I've never felt alone when I'm with the cats, especially during lunch time. This is where they mostly appear to search (and beg, and oh do they do it so artistically) for food.
We found Little Kitty jamming with us one weird morning while doing our plates. This was in first year during our Techniques Class. CFAD does extreme effort to make sure not only do we nurture our specializations (digital art, traditional art, depending on your taste), but to ensure we know a little bit about the other "job classes." Little Kitty was this little furry fellow beside us in the pavs, rolling and curling up. We just couldn't leave her alone, so we took her with us.
No, pets are not allowed inside the buildings. The University does allow pets to roam around the fairly-large campus (there are entire Sundays where old folks bring pets to accompany them, some families also go to church with their family dogs), but definitely not inside the building. Though some cats find their way behind the building, especially near the vendible machines that sell handy drinks (this is crucial, Beato is far from the known carinderia and shops the University's four streets are known for). It was good to see some of the guards and the maintenance crew feed them and hang with them. They're the introvert cats - really really scared of human contact. Little Kitty wasn't, and we still brought her to class.
And we survived without detection. Almost. Classes in Beato take three hours, especially the major subjects. This is to make sure we get stuffed with what we need to know without the professor worrying about hasty class schedules. like how other schools go. Little Kitty was silent the entire time until the closing prayer, which was also the time the professor asked us to "please turn off" our "cellphones." It was quite funny, and I felt particularly #rebellious afterwards. I convinced a classmate to adopt the kitten and Little Kitty now became Frida.
This was the typical scene in the life of a student in Beato. From my perspective, it was all about the kittens. The presence of the kittens (and the grown-up cats) just emanate as soon as I enter the gates - they would look at me with dead stares, but something primal tells me they're all saying, "Good morning, wala ka nanamang tulog?" or, "Good morning, sana maka-uno ka sa plate mo today!"
Catboi was like that. No doubt. He was the gentlest cat of the litter in Beato - no bite or scratch, just some old-fashioned loving and purring. He gets this amazing puffy-eyed expression when he uses his slanted eyes to make people do his bidding.
Sometimes, though, some of the cats simply get a bit too aggressive. B*tch Cat, for instance, has a tendency to act like a Pokemon and use tackle even though she doesn't have a trainer. Aside from being total opposites with her brother Catboi, she just has this "bungangera" atmosphere emanating all over. If it's not gossip, she'll direct attack you ad-hominem style. I try to avoid her, but she has her good side sometimes.
"Plates" (no, not the ones where you place food) is what we typically call projects. They can be paintings, drawings, sculptures, and they consist much of the grades we get. Unlike in other colleges, art school relies on art-based outputs (which is fairly obvious). These plates are usually given on a weekly basis, though other much harder ones are given two to three weeks prior to the deadline. They drain a lot of our energies (explains the rather chill and "sabaw" appearance of much of the students. The trick to being prepared with plates, I realized, is to act crazy all the time. We get to the "Zen state of art inspiration" faster), but certainly not me! Not with my kitties!
They usually just watch. Most of the time they play around with the materials (I manage to not let them mess up my plates though), which is kinda sorta what happens with little brothers or just my cats at home. During the preliminaries and the finals, the cats get to be artsy too: there are those with pink fur, blue fur, or any color. I'm not sure if I'm the only one that messes with their fur, or if other students do the same. These times are perfect for "scavenger hunts" because a lot of students leave materials behind that are still fairly usable. Regardless, art shops in Padre Noval street such as Joyce's, Jomar's and Joli's are nearby with decent prices, so it's a win-win.
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| No Little Kitty in the photo, but here's what we did for our Finals in TECH (I painted Artgerm's Peacock queen [left]) |
No, pets are not allowed inside the buildings. The University does allow pets to roam around the fairly-large campus (there are entire Sundays where old folks bring pets to accompany them, some families also go to church with their family dogs), but definitely not inside the building. Though some cats find their way behind the building, especially near the vendible machines that sell handy drinks (this is crucial, Beato is far from the known carinderia and shops the University's four streets are known for). It was good to see some of the guards and the maintenance crew feed them and hang with them. They're the introvert cats - really really scared of human contact. Little Kitty wasn't, and we still brought her to class.
And we survived without detection. Almost. Classes in Beato take three hours, especially the major subjects. This is to make sure we get stuffed with what we need to know without the professor worrying about hasty class schedules. like how other schools go. Little Kitty was silent the entire time until the closing prayer, which was also the time the professor asked us to "please turn off" our "cellphones." It was quite funny, and I felt particularly #rebellious afterwards. I convinced a classmate to adopt the kitten and Little Kitty now became Frida.
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| Little Kitty, reborn with her new name, Frida. |
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| Frida's Birthday! (still photos are from Ate Bey... err, Betina C.) |
This was the typical scene in the life of a student in Beato. From my perspective, it was all about the kittens. The presence of the kittens (and the grown-up cats) just emanate as soon as I enter the gates - they would look at me with dead stares, but something primal tells me they're all saying, "Good morning, wala ka nanamang tulog?" or, "Good morning, sana maka-uno ka sa plate mo today!"
Catboi was like that. No doubt. He was the gentlest cat of the litter in Beato - no bite or scratch, just some old-fashioned loving and purring. He gets this amazing puffy-eyed expression when he uses his slanted eyes to make people do his bidding.
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| Here's Catboi. See what I mean? |
Sometimes, though, some of the cats simply get a bit too aggressive. B*tch Cat, for instance, has a tendency to act like a Pokemon and use tackle even though she doesn't have a trainer. Aside from being total opposites with her brother Catboi, she just has this "bungangera" atmosphere emanating all over. If it's not gossip, she'll direct attack you ad-hominem style. I try to avoid her, but she has her good side sometimes.
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| B*tch Cat just being the typical badass |
"Plates" (no, not the ones where you place food) is what we typically call projects. They can be paintings, drawings, sculptures, and they consist much of the grades we get. Unlike in other colleges, art school relies on art-based outputs (which is fairly obvious). These plates are usually given on a weekly basis, though other much harder ones are given two to three weeks prior to the deadline. They drain a lot of our energies (explains the rather chill and "sabaw" appearance of much of the students. The trick to being prepared with plates, I realized, is to act crazy all the time. We get to the "Zen state of art inspiration" faster), but certainly not me! Not with my kitties!
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| A cupcake in a plate. Get it? K. ([Watercolor] VP Plate, 1st Year) |
They usually just watch. Most of the time they play around with the materials (I manage to not let them mess up my plates though), which is kinda sorta what happens with little brothers or just my cats at home. During the preliminaries and the finals, the cats get to be artsy too: there are those with pink fur, blue fur, or any color. I'm not sure if I'm the only one that messes with their fur, or if other students do the same. These times are perfect for "scavenger hunts" because a lot of students leave materials behind that are still fairly usable. Regardless, art shops in Padre Noval street such as Joyce's, Jomar's and Joli's are nearby with decent prices, so it's a win-win.
KITTY THERAPY
There was this one time when my friend and I weren't doing much and we saw a cat poop in the grass. It was a normal sight, really, and we didn't mind, but we were suddenly intrigued when the cat immediately transformed - like shifted - into full-predator seconds later. It didn't take long for us to notice a few birds hanging out on the field, and it didn't take long before we realized that we were following the cat in this amazing National Geographic moment. And as if the spirit of Morgan Freeman nestled upon our heads, the feline prowled with extra precision and caught a bird spot-on.
We screamed - not just my friend and I - and then stopped when we realized other people were watching as well.
We're not particularly sure whether or not the other cats do this as well, but considering how their groups are almost like "gangs," I cannot be truly sure. Until this year, a lot of the cats in the University do not really stay in Beato, but rather gather here sometimes. Others stay in the Lovers' Lane (the Benavides Park), while others stay behind the stage in the Grandstand when the ROTC isn't training or when Physical Education classes aren't in session. During the Papal Visit 2015 preparations, much of the cats in the stage moved in to join with their Beato counterparts - examples of those are Cross-Eyed Kitty (along with her kitttens), and Black-cat (known for the stubby tail).
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| Cross-eyed Kitty during her youth |
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| Black cat |
Payat Cat was a newcomer, too. He was really thin, and he usually stayed in Lovers' Lane. I fed him there once when we were making plates on University grounds (the amazing architecture of the school was a famous subject for various courses). The moment he came to Beato and I recognized him, I just gave him tons and tons of cat food. Now he's still thin, but he seemed to be able to do things on his own. Fight-o, you thin kitty!
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| That time when Payat Cat still resides in Lovers' Lane (I gave him cat food in this photo) |
Cats typically do become our "plate-buddies," because they always hang out with other students in the pavs. They sit with you (though you really know they're just there for the food, but that's okay #hugot), and join you (until you give them food #hugot), regardless of the crazy fits of laughter, the crazy rounds of tears, and just the typical crazy things friends do while you're in the pavs.
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| A CFAD Student feeling the love, too. |
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| My blockmate, Ishel, was rehearsing for a song number, and Catboi was there to support her. |
Other people get annoyed of their presence, and I do sometimes get them. But I really couldn't stand that some of them shriek and push the cats away. What if they simply want company (most probably, they're there for food, but it's not bad to be optimistic!) or just try to assess (in an objective way) the way you made your plates? What if they just want to provide you company when you feel even the Lord has forsaken you? Cats need company, too.
Although, yes, sometimes they stay for the food. BEAR (the alpha cat of his time) was very fat. Not because of food, he was really just muscly. He was the expert in stealing other students' lunch, like a typical bully. A friend of mine was eating Chicken McDo at that time and he took the bones with a single paw. One time, another friend was eating sausage and Bear knew we would give it to him.
Or maybe I get to be the ultra-negative one, and cats are my therapy. Studies show pets are best companies for people that are riddled with stress and sometimes have anxiety problems. I attest to that, though I'm not diagnosed with problems. But I do testify to the way they provide therapy. The cats are there regardless of whether or not I feel sad because of a low-scoring plate when everybody got higher marks, or just happened to be sad and didn't have any company. Generations of CFAD students will confirm to the feelings I have felt (they've practically been in the same state), and I think there's this primal feeling that connects that cats to the CFAD community. And I am glad to support that maybe the cats are doing their own share to help with our projects, even in their little way.
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A LITTLE SAVING
Though sometimes I feel sad, because the closer I get to graduating, the less I see the cats. In the four years I have spent in Beato, I have perhaps seen all the cats I could see in my entire life - and there's this feeling that stings when I start to notice that they are slowly disappearing.
If not one-by-one, they just disappear altogether. Catboi, for instance, was one of my favorite cats. I have a lot of photos of him in my secret stash, and even a selfie! I just had a Christmas vacation, an enrollment last December 8 (for 3rd year second sem), and I still saw Catboi with his friends. January came and he was just gone. He wasn't the type of cat that wouldn't be stupid enough to let himself be run over (praying that he really wasn't), or that he couldn't eat anything (all the other cats were normal by the time I came back), and it was just sad.
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| Last photo I took of Catboi before he went missing (And yeah, I folded his ears in this shot) |
Catboi and B*tchy Cat are actually children of Mommy Kitty (hence the most creative name). I call her the Queen of the Beato Cats. The tri-colored wonder is perhaps the cleanest, and perhaps the most beautiful cat in the entire Beato. She responds to a call, and even follows me when I walk. I have tons of pictures of her, and even during the time she was pregnant with Catboi and B*tchy Cat.
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| Portrait of Mommy Kitty with a young Catboi |
Mommy Kitty had a lot of other children, too. Her Highness was raising quite a litter, but you really rarely get to see a lot of them grow together. I often see them born beside Beato, or sometimes near the workshop area with the big motorbike. I try to give them food whenever I have the chance, and it even came to a point that the cats grew to be super fat and super cute. But somehow the word "vacation" was cursed, and I came down, and the little kittens were gone.
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| LOOK AT THEM |
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| LOOK. AT. THEM. |
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| A Family Picture of Mommy Kitty and another batch of her kittens |
Chicken-cat wasn't really Chicken-cat because he liked chicken. He looked like a chicken rotisserie - remove his head when he's sitting like a cat and he really looks like chicken. But he seemed sad for some reason, and he didn't seem to have any friends. He doesn't eat the cat food I give him either - he just seemed to like being alone. This year he was really skinny, and he had a big laceration in his right thigh - to the point of decay. I don't want to think of it as a Last Supper, but I did give him a can of Ligo Mackarel - then Chicken-cat was gone. Hopefully, when the Lord took him, he could find friends wherever he was.
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| About Chicken-cat being a chicken-cat |
Much as he seemed strong, Bear wasn't spared from typical pet sicknesses. His health deteriorated these times I last saw him, and I think he had an infection due to the pus at the top of his head. I couldn't do anything (there was this feeling about powerlessness that I hated that time). It's sad that as a cat owner, I know cats have a tendency to hide when they know their time is up. The last time I saw Bear was this time he was riding an Uncle John's Chicken meal carton (yes, the close-to-Chickenjoy chicken of Mini Stop).
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| Now that I look at it, I'm not really sure if that's an Uncle John's Chicken Meal Carton. Anyway, that's still Publicity *wink* |
They always say school is where the best friendships are nurtured, the heart gets stronger (for obvious reasons), the palate is sated (again, obvious reasons because UST), and talent is discovered. I do admit, I am just like any other student with memories that will forever be treasured (regardless of whether or not some of them are simply memories I want to forget, to throw away, or just keep close to my heart), but I have a special place for Beato's kitty cats. And the closer I get to saying goodbye, the more I don't want to go. But I have an entire life waiting ahead of me, and there are countless of other lives that are waiting to be touched by Beato's magical purrs and meows.
Was it worth it? "Worth it" is an understatement.
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