In the past, building and construction have always been seen as a male-dominated field, while art and family have been perceived as a woman’s forte. Today, we have found a forthright acceptance of the potentials and abilities of a person, of whatever age, race, or gender. In another aspect, with the times requiring both man and wife to work, there remains the challenge of keeping the spark in homes alive, as well as nurturing the children and inspiring their growth. These are issues that have to be addressed by many a woman professional today. And for these, Cebu-based Architect, Chona Marie Reyes-Tan, seems to have found a solution.
Chona carefully balances several roles, as architect, artist, wife, and mother. She continues to work on design projects from her home, making sure that she allocates enough time and attention to her clients, and delegating the documentation and drafting tasks to other contract specialists. She ably manages a home, with husband, Awit, and their five children, Carlo, Adrian
From her youth, she had always been interested in art, but had been dissuaded by the elders from taking it up in college. Her career and the elders notwithstanding, she could not stop herself from pursuing her love for transmitting ideas and beauty onto canvas. And these days exercising her passion has become extra special because she is able to share this love for painting with her family. Chona spends time with her children appreciating art and painting. Together, they continue to discover their innate talents and encourage each other to develop their own style.
Their family passion began one summer, when she enrolled her children in an art workshop. It was Beatrix, now a high school junior, who showed extraordinary interest in painting. For her part, instead of just chauffering the children to the workshops, she likewise enrolled in summer art school. For the last seven years, art classes have been a bonding activity between mother and daughter. Her child has since then excelled in painting and drawing, winning several local and national art competitions.
To showcase their artistic gift and bonding, Chona and Beatrix are holding a mother-and-daughter art exhibit at the SM Art Center in Cebu on November 13 to 29, 2009. It promises to be a special art experience, displaying their different painting styles. Titled “Metamorphosis”, they will exhibit paintings compiled through seven years of artistic learning, exploration, and connection.
Chona attests that to strike that balance of being an architect, mother, wife, and artist, you must love what you are doing. No one has chosen that path for you and each role you play is an important component of who you are. To nurture the desire to do things well and to be able to sacrifice oneself to give joy to others are the bywords for that balancing act. Nothing gives more joy and sense of achievement to oneself than to be able to see other people, most especially your family, happy and appreciative of what you do. But above these, you must remain humble enough about your limitations and be willing to tackle your priorities and delegate tasks to maintain that balance in your life.
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