#8: On giving yourself grace
Nobody is you and that is your superpower !!!
This time last year, I made it to the finals exhibit of Sining Filipina!
Organized by the ZONTA Club, Sining Filipina is the first national all-female arts competition. Out of nearly 800 entries in 2024, my piece was included in the Top 70 that was exhibited in SM Aura. At the time, I wasn’t publishing these newsletters so I never truly got to process that experience in depth. Now looking back, I realize how much that recognition meant to me even if I didn’t win the overall competition. I was—and still am—really proud of my artwork entry, and grateful to myself for going after this opportunity at all, despite everything happening in the background of my personal life at the time. (Trust me, it was a lot but that’s a story for another day!)
My intention behind “Eternal Sunshine” was to capture the connection each woman has with her divine feminine. “Gentle yet deliberate impasto strokes capture how an empowered woman moves within the world. She is in touch with her own light. Aware but unafraid of her power, she radiates this inner knowing with confidence and courage. By deeply embracing her shadows, she alchemizes this into an ethereal wisdom that speaks volumes. Her whole being is awakened—with balance, sensuality, and grace.
She trusts her intuition, allowing this to color her days with optimism. Her energy is an abundant palette of soft pastels expressed in vibrant tones. Her reality is co-created intentionally with the infinite source itself, allowing all good things to be drawn into her experience. She believes that to create art is to let her inner world be seen.”
At first I still felt disappointed when my entry didn’t place in the awarding, but my mom was quick to remind me that I can choose to see it as a win regardless—to remember where I started, and how far I’ve already come as an artist, over the years. Winning the competition would have just been the icing on the cake, but truly, the journey itself is the reward.
Sometimes, it’s so easy to forget that it’s who we become in the process of trying to achieve anything that is the real prize. We women can be so harsh on ourselves! Just combining societal pressures, modern feminism, and the comparison game of it all, no wonder so many of us girlies feel “behind” when in reality, there is no timeline to the art of becoming the woman you were meant to be. It takes a lifetime to figure out who you are and want to be, because it’s up to you. We are literally on unique life paths, and to compare your journey with another's is a disservice to yourself. Nobody is you and that is your superpower!
I was reflecting on this recently as I received news that my entry to this year’s Sining Filipina didn’t make it to the finals exhibit. I thought I would feel upset about it, but I was surprisingly fine??? That’s when it became clear to me that the inner work I’d been doing for months (years) now has been paying off—I’ve been healing my own scarcity mindset and instead adopting an abundance mindset.
Living in abundance for me, means accepting that what is mine will always be mine—even if it gets away for a while, it will come back around, and what’s meant to be another’s will always be for them. There is no lack in the universe, we simply receive what we are prepared to receive in the moment. Peace comes when you understand this. With that, I’m proud to share what I feel is one of my strongest recent works that I submitted as my competition entry:
“She Who Holds The Sky” celebrates the universal feminine force that nurtures, protects, and rebirths. The abstract shapes reflect the natural curves of tropical fruits and sunrise horizons, symbols of life and abundance. The deep, night-sky hues speak to the phases of feminine energy as symbolized by the phases of the moon—from maidenhood’s hope, motherhood’s love, and the wisdom of experience.
Women have long carried the rhythms of life, holding families and communities together while planting seeds for the future. She Who Holds the Sky honors the sacred role of women in nature and our society. We recognize her strength, intuition, and resilience as it is this very energy that sustains life and holds the future of our earth in steady hands.”
In creating this piece, I realized the value in the saying that “the day we plant the seed is not the day we eat the fruit.” I always come back to this mindful approach to patience, especially when I’m working on some of my super-textured pieces that require layer after layer. I take comfort in knowing that as long as I am planting seeds in my garden, I will always have something to harvest in the right season—and this goes not just for creativity, but also for love, friendship, and health.
We’re only 10 days into March and I’m loving what this season is bringing in: a greater sense of grace + gratitude for the wins and the losses, too. May we always remember that everything that leaves, creates space for the new.
Happy women’s month to all! :)
xx, B
PS. Our two-artist show “After Laughter” is still on view at Altro Mondo Picasso until April 28. Access the catalog here.
PPS. She Who Holds The Sky is directly available for sale from my studio, reply to this email for inquiries :)
Huhu so deep and beautiful, Bea💕 you truly are gifted, and it’s so inspiring to see how you share your gifts to the world