2009 was a difficult year. Most of the editorial staff probably wishes we could write it off as the year that wasn’t.

But instead of going down the list of what if, should and could have been, Art in Site chooses to continue our mission of producing a web publication for, by and about Filipino culture and the arts.

In this issue, featured artist Cipra Kamatoy shares a valuable lesson. No matter your age, if your passion or goal is to be an artist, you must apply yourself and focus on your art. A day job is crucial and vital to fuel the creative energy inside.

Juan Paulino O. Cornejo asks if governments should increase funding for the arts in the Fix (it!) section.

News and Events is a service offered to artists and writers to announce their exhibits or book launches. This applies to art galleries and art/culture events. Please provide images/artwork.

Contributors: As we are operating with a reduced staff, AIS is relying on artists and writers to contribute to the ezine. Feel free to jump in anytime if you have art and culture-related material you want to share.

Artists have inquired what requirements they have to meet to be featured in the magazine. The criterion for choosing Art in Site’s artists is simple: with admiration and respect. The same applies for culture-related topics. It is very important to note that as a rule, AIS does not receive payment for articles published. We do what we do and write out of love for our culture and the arts.

In the Works:

Urbana Eden absorbs words like recycled trash, processes them through a mental grinder and the result is words spewed out on paper. Eden relates the sad tale of her ‘sistah-friend’s’ warped love in the lit section.

The culture section focuses on the Philippine High School for the Arts in the foothills of the mystical mountain of Makiling in Los Baños, Laguna. Follow the dreams, aspirations and angst of hundreds of children as they go through the process of auditioning for 50 scholarships to study the arts and their cultural heritage.

Nook and Cranny section features Café Lago, Marcia’s Garden and Sitio de Amor: Magnets for creative minds to formulate words and conceptualize their next project in stress free settings.

Upcoming sections to be added:

Fernando Afable shares his vision in a special section dedicated to the uplifting work of Foto Baryo, the kids and their mentors.

The lit section will feature ‘The Reading Room’ with excerpts from authors’ novels and serialized chapters from books already published. Please note: It is the author’s responsibility and their publisher(s) to grant AIS permission to publish their novels on line in serialized form.

AIS for Young Adults will debut with articles, artworks for, by and about young and budding talent.

On a personal note: The permanent absence of the love of one’s life can leave us paralyzed, dazed, empty and at a loss to resume the mundane business of daily living.

I have walked this planet, visited unfamiliar territories and encountered many souls from different walks of life. Friendships were made and broken. Love was lost or found.

Throughout the years, only one remarkable person remained my constant love, my mother. She was my home, my beacon of strength and center of my universe.

This issue is dedicated to a woman in a class all her own, Marita Banaad Laurel. I will miss you forever, Mama.