Early last month, we featured some of Samantha Kaspar’s holiday artworks. It was a delight to finally meet her recently and get to see her masterpieces in person at the “Samantha” and “Soundtracks and Symphonies” presscon.
Samantha at work, with her art coach. Behind her hangs one of her masterpieces.
We were privileged to witness Samantha at work during the press conference of the back-to-back event that will be staged by the Center for Possibilities Foundation (CFP), happening on January 28 at the RCBC Plaza in Makati at 5:30 P.M. “Samantha,” the self-titled exhibit of 19 year old Samantha Kaspar, will be open to the public and at 7 PM, the Manila Symphony Orchestra will take center stage for their “Soundtracks and Symphonies” concert.
“Samantha” Art Auction
“Samantha” will consist of around 40 artworks, some on fabric to be used as fashion accessories and others on canvas for wall hangings.
Samantha’s mother Mitzi, shared that Samantha uses a wide variety of media for her work. She works primarily on piña silk using silk paints. She also uses acrylic paint on canvas sometimes.
“She has a consistent style with a lot of edges and lines, her artworks can be very linear. She also has this certain way of giving shapes to her images which aren’t necessarily realistic but are more cartoonish,” describes Samantha’s father, Martin.
While half-Swiss, Samantha always tries to tap into her Filipino roots, coming up with Filipino-themed artworks.
Samantha hopes to fund her trip with the proceeds of her auction. She is shooting to promote our local culture as she attends Fashion Arts Autism Benefit (FAAB) on April 7 at the Philippine Center in New York, U.S.A.
FAAB is meant to showcase the artistic talents of children with special needs. Samantha, diagnosed with Autism when she was one and a half years old, is one of eight artists chosen to present their paintings on piña silk to be translated into clothing by featured designers for the fashion show, Patis Tesoro and Anthony Legarda. Master weaver India Legaspi is credited for teaching the artists the technique of piña silk painting.
Sam, daughter of l’entrecote Chef Martin Kaspar, is a non-verbal autistic who uses her talent to raise funds for schools and foundations that support autism.
“Soundtracks and Symphonies” Concert
The Manila Symphony Orchestra’s “Soundtracks and Symphonies” will be conducted by Prof. Arturo Molina and annotated by Jeffrey Solares. Included in their repertoire is a John Williams tribute as well as pieces from greats such as Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach.
The concert is for the benefit of Special Education (SPED) Centers that have been the focus of the Center for Possibilities’ recent efforts. To act as a venue for learning of indigent persons with special needs, each SPED Center is operated by a teacher trained in the SPED division of Reach International School.
Norzagaray SPED Center
The Sagada SPED Center has been up and running and will be enhanced with a series of livelihood and vocational programs that will be teaching skills for income-generating activities. “Caring for special kids is very taxing because it’s usually just a one-income household so we also need to help the parents improve their finances,” explains CFP founder, Dolores Cheng.
In Norzagaray, what they have right now is just the building itself. A fence, a water tank, and a playground are still needed. “We are also in the process of doing our due diligence by determining the number of special children in all the barangays relevant to Norzagaray. Next will be an orientation for all the parents within the community. We are subsequently planning for the provision of testing, diagnosis, and analysis for the children with special needs,” Cheng adds.
“Samantha” and “Soundtracks and Symphonies” is happening on January 28, 2016, 5:30 pm at the Carlos P. Auditorium of the RCBC Plaza, Makati.
