Milieu Euphony (In Act Series #2)

Phase 15

PHASE FIFTEEN

A SCULPTURE'S ATTRIBUTES

The Painting Area of The Raison was colorful.

And it irked me because I was used to the one-toned colors of sculpture materials, mostly, ivory white. Like a blank canvas where an artist would only stare and contemplate whether they should start a new piece or not.

The paintings before me were all complete—not in the middle like a work-in-progress nor a stray stroke where everything was undecided. It had its life, but the life it had was different from the life that a sculpture could have.

I was unsure if I gave life to the painting that I did before, either. Because when I was young—back when I traversed in the painting discipline—I was also called an art prodigy. I got to make a painting, and have it displayed at one of the museums, but I was surprised to see that it was this museum.

I questioned it. What did they saw in my painting to have a spot considered at this directed place?

It's my first time to see this piece after a long period of creation, and my first time visiting this area because I was afraid that I'd be misled. But what would happen if I visited this area first before I enrolled in the sculpting discipline?

Would it change my mind and push me to reconsider painting? Or would it cement my idea to pursue the sculpting discipline even though I was aware of what happened to Ophelia?

Amidst the misdirection that I had when I was little, I was grateful for my cousin's guidance. She was the one who introduced me to sculpting which I liked but had to let go of because of the boulders that blocked my path—my parents' words.

I was unsure if their words made me lost, but it made me confused.

Why? Because sculpting was my first love—it was Ophelia who made me aware of it, but my parents destroyed it. And maybe, it was the reason why I tried my best not to be misled even more—to focus on my sculpting path because it's my decision to pursue it.

To remind myself that when I was young, I found a place to stay. But when I grew up, I was forced to leave because my parents won't permit me to stay.

You should be an art prodigy, they said. Their words as guides—there I was, which I eventually followed, thus, this.

It was their decision that led me astray, and I had been doing everything that I could to find the same beacon that made me stay. But being a wanderer for too long greatly reduced my chances, and maybe I should really come terms to with myself that I couldn't return to it anymore.

Because I had lost the feeling, and I couldn't ignite it.

I was too ashamed to tell it to them, so I tucked it deep in my bag in hopes for it to get lost.

Kasi bakit nga naman ako maglililok ng putik?

I remembered the time that I first heard their words.

Ophelia and I were young back then. She was at a pottery studio to practice her pottery skills—an introduction to sculpting. Most of our relatives were there to see the work of Ophelia Agostini, the young sculpture prodigy during that time.

I remembered how she was enthusiastic about what she had been doing. I was excited, too, because she had been teaching me how to throw pottery, and that I was just waiting for her to finish so I could try it again.