I saw multimedia artist Joscephine Gomez at National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts Ricky Lee's birthday party last month.
Joscephine immediately went near our table, acknowledged me with a warm smile and whispered: "Usap tayo mamaya (Let's talk later). I have an art exhibit and I want guest in your online show."
I quickly affirmed her request although my online show had bowed out from the airwaves but I could accommodate her and other artists in my video interview for RoadNews, an online multimedia news site.
Gomez went to a vacant table together with director Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil while I remained seated with entertainment journalist Art Tapalla.
What came next was an idea of interviewing Joscephine in her place in Malolos City in Bulacan.
So, I tagged along Art to Malolos City to meet Gomez in person.
We had a sumptuous late afternoon dinner at Adelle's Restaurant along MacArthur Highway in a district called Alido.
Joscephine was an early bird in our rendezvous, a few meters away from her house where she has been staying for the last five years.
In Malolos, Gomez has come to terms with riding public transport, most notably, tryke.
"'Yan ang (That’s my) Mercedes Benz," Joscephine pointed to an elaborate tricycle big enough to bring her from her house to anywhere around the city.
Yes, the down-to-earth soprano and visual artist also shuttles from Malolos to Manila and back via Point to Point (P2P) buses.
The following day after our interview with her, Joscephine would go to Manila to exhibit her art works about the beauty of nature.
"Greener Earth," the title of the art show at Dry Brush Gallery at SM North EDSA which runs until April 30, 2023 conveys the extolling of the environment.
It is being presented by the World Fine Arts Society--Winners Circle, an org which Joscephine founded and presides.
The art exhibit was also a fund-raising activity for the medical treatment of Josie Centeno Paynor, one of the members of WFASWC.
In Malolos, Joscephine has a workshop where she does all her masterpieces, mostly done in acrylic.
"Ang ayaw ko lang, oil. May amoy (What I don't like is oil. It has a smell)," she shared with a chuckle.
On April 25, 2024, Gomez will have another art show but this time, to be held in Malolos.
"I like it here," she admitted.
Joscephine lives alone in her house in Malolos.
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