Leigh Reyes. My Life As a Verb.

A yatate is a portable brush and ink container, brought to you by the same culture that invented the bento box and Mobile Suit Gundam. A random encounter with yatates on Russ Stutler’s online sketchbook led me to eBay, where I stalked not only yatates but maki-e suzuri bakos, or writing boxes. I have one yatate with me, and two more on the way. I imagine a lady of some standing owned this one, or perhaps a merchant who liked flowers. It is made of (most likely) a copper alloy.

One lid, two receptacles: a beautiful economy of design. The hinged lid exposes both the ink basin and the opening of the hollow handle meant for a bamboo brush.

Here it is open, with a bamboo brush from National Bookstore. I cut off almost half of the brush handle so it could fit.

I hope one day to find a bamboo brush with the right diameter handle and the right thickness and springiness of brush. Until then, it’s either this or a Rembrandt #2 sable brush whose handle I also shortened. The ink basin isn’t meant for liquid ink. Traditionally, cotton or silk soaked in sumi ink is stuffed into the ink basin. That ensures no ink spills during travel.

And this yatate is certainly traveling.

I don’t think I’m taking travel doodling to a new level. Still, there’s something to be said for maximizing the tools at one’s disposal, no matter if one is far from home. Condensation on a cold glass of Coke Light on a sun-drenched beach makes the perfect brush wetter.

Even fine white sand can be used to add texture to a gray wash.

After I tap the paper to remove the sand, a grainy texture appears. I’ve tried this with watercolor too, and it works. Of course I could also use salt, but I don’t need to be in a bikini on the beach for that.

The ink is Noodler’s Eel Black, and the journal is the Derwent Safari I recently reviewed.

I’m blind without my glasses. I don’t have prescription goggles. Therefore, I am blind in the water. A corollary of that conclusion is that I cannot take decent photos on any beach, and therefore rely on the DMC-LX3′s “intelligent auto” function to clearly see what are only vague shapes and colors to me.

Glasses, Sand

I say that to apologize for the best shot I could manage of the Danitrio Silver Wave nestling in the landscape of its inspiration.

Danitrio Silver Wave, sand, water, sky

Reposted from Ronan’s twitpic stream, because even if there’s a lot of work for me here in Boracay, there’s been time for lunch, walking on the sand, and smiling in the sun.

Oh dear, not even SPF 50 could save me. Cirio and I took a walk along the beach, and it was the sunniest day we’ve had so far. My arms below my sleeves now sport a tan.

That happened because Vanne, executive directrix and Pillar of the Industry, clucked at me to wear the shirt this morning. I had planned to wear it later on tonight, in anticipation of rain and wind chill, but there you go. Creative delegates, please buy your Kidlat shirt at the registration desk in Seawind.

It’s the second day of the Kidlat Awards in Boracay. And for the second day, it’s raining. The sun comes out, a brief decoy of hope, and then the clouds move in. The beach looks inviting, nevertheless, and I look enviously at people who remembered to bring jackets, because the wind is chilly and damp.

Many of the creative delegates fly in today. We’re at Seawind, where the judging is being held. In a couple of minutes, we’ll convene at the cabana facing the beach to evaluate the Young Creatives’ work. I did get a chance to walk down the beach this morning, when the sun was playing nice, and Cirio and I made our way to d’Mall so I could buy a charger and he could find an internet cafe. d’Mall has been joined by d’Wall and d’Street, and doubtless there were other contractions I missed.

Tonight at Guilly’s, there’ll be welcome cocktails for the creative delegates and Brian Cua will do the DJ honors, which is always (put Martha shawl on) a good thing.