By Soleil Badenhop
When you start leading the life you were meant to lead, your dreams become bigger than you could have ever imagined. For Anina, the arts have always been her first love and it didn’t take long before she pursued it.
Anina Rubio is a Manila-based creative designer, calligraphist, and an engineer by profession. “I worked in a corporate world for a few years (from IT to Marketing) but eventually shifted to doing what I am most passionate about – which is this,” she tells us.
The bustling art community of Manila today has embraced the art of written words popularly known as calligraphy. Influenced by fellow Filipino calligraphist, Fozzy Dayrit and international calligraphists, Joluvian and Seb Lester, Anina got curious and decided to explore calligraphy herself in 2014. “I wanted to open my mind’s creativity and do something I haven’t done.”
Just like her free-spirited character, Anina’s calligraphy style is ever-evolving as it is more focused on freehand brush calligraphy using her own handwriting. Each stroke demonstrates finesse as she applies the concept of adding contrast and weight to her letters.
“I started with pointed pen and then delved into using brushes and watercolor. I shuffle different tools on most days because I want to continue experimenting and learning different ways to maximize the tools I have for different types of projects” Anina tells us. Today, we can see that she has delighted in the use of gold paint in her calligraphy pieces.
It usually takes her a day to do at least two pointed pen calligraphy projects or one watercolor project depending on the size and design of the artwork. Her collaboration on gold foil card pieces with Bespoke Press Australia would have to be her favorite project to date. “I love that I was able to use my own handwriting for the project and the cards turned out very beautiful especially with the gold foil stamping process that the printer made.”
When asked about her daily habits, she tells us that she makes time for exercise and a cup of coffee. She also allows herself to get out of her workspace, “I’d like to think inspiration can be found in random places and not just online. I also make time for experiments, practice, and personal projects,” she adds.
One of the few things that keeps her inspired is her immense love for the Philippines and its beautiful islands, disclosing that she makes time to travel for inspiration. “I got inspired to write more when I travelled to different islands in the country. I wanted to be able to translate into a beautiful writing the experience, emotion, music, etc., during those moments when I was out of the city. I travel and check out different islands in the Philippines. I really love to explore the underwater scene here in the country,” she says.
“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths,” she quotes Walt Disney in her blog. For a passionately driven creative like Anina, she puts in the hours to refine her craft. “I want to continue developing my skills and learning more and more ways to express art.” She also added that her next goal is to learn Spencerian, a script style calligraphy pertaining to vintage American letter writing.
Anina currently holds workshops in different parts of the country but here’s a quick advice from her for all the aspiring calligraphers out there: “Make time for practice. Experiment and do research. You don’t need to buy a lot of tools – you just need to know how to use one and maximize what you already have.”
Follow Anina’s artworks and get updates on her workshop schedule on www.aninarubio.com or on her Instagram at @aninarubio.
