When you go back in time to tell your past-self anything, what words do you think will come out of your mouth? For Regina Angelina Dei, a CADBE freshman, she would simply speak words that would help her bring out more confidence in herself. Even simple words like “Kaya mo yan!” or “Ang galing mo talaga!” would help her raise her hands to write and create more artworks on her blank canvas.
Dei finds joy in creating art—be it on sketching or painting—but what she loves the most is creating strokes of lines into the paper and creating beautiful letters and calligraphies. In fact, she started her art exploration doing calligraphy! When asked about how she started one of her featured artworks (first photo) she said, “[There’s] nothing big. Masaya lang ako kasi nag-aaral palang ako niyan mag pointed-pen calligraphy.”
She also stated how the pen she used while creating one of her featured artworks (first photo), NikkoG nib, was from her own savings which makes it more special and close to her heart. Following her love for calligraphy, Dei is inspired and mentored by her friend from junior high school whom she called a lodicakes during the interview.
Her potential was also noticed by her classmates when they started asking Dei to commission her works whenever they ask for a favor. “Actually, I didn't 'open' commissions. Sadyang lumapit sila, and they asked if I can make them my art and they'd pay me for it. Pumayag parin ako, syempre.” Dei said not shying away from the opportunity. This started when she was still starting on her crafts. In that way, she is still perfecting her skills and getting paid at the same time.
What was once a hobby turned into something more for Dei. Unlike other artists out there who knew exactly what they wanted, Dei didn’t think that making art would be something more for her. This is the reason why she doesn’t give names or titles for her artworks. “In process pa lahat ng names nila. Whichever clicks with me. [Pero] kung sakaling [may maisip ako] edi magkaka-name na.” she stated. Learning about this we can tell how Dei handles her creativity when it comes to art; very spontaneous and not pressuring. Just doing art itself without the pressure of pushing herself to get better instantly. This mindset is also present when she mentioned how she’s proud of her growth since last year. “Ramdam kong malaki in-improve ko generally. Last year I was just on calligraphy, practicing. Ngayon, I can even practice other art styles out of my comfort zone,” she noted. “It may not be a hell of a glow up, but I didn't stop where I was and continued learning.”
Now when she meets up with her future self, Dei is just going to tell herself that she can do it, and to take more opportunities as she works on herself more. — Adrienne Marthine Magallon/The Freehand Feature
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