Meet Arianne Bonacua, the Artist Behind Our Growth Collection!
We are proud to partner with artist Arianne Bonacua, the amazing woman behind Ari of the Library for our first collaboration this year. She is known for her lively and colorful botanical and watercolor illustrations.
Join us as we talk about how she found growth and support in an art community, her advice for aspiring artists, and the idea behind her design on our upcoming growth collection.
How did Ari of the Library start and grow?
“Ari of the Library” was penned way before I even started sharing my art, it used to be a book blog where I share and review the books I read and occasionally share my paintings. I found the name a perfect fit for me because in high school I was almost always in the library either reading or doodling, nothing ambitious.
I never thought this name would stick around this long, but here we are and now people know me as Ari of the Library from art fairs and conventions, or as their instructor and speaker.
It all started when I met a co-artist, Bem Zenit, she invited me to join an art fair way back in September of 2018; it was the first time I ever shared my art with the world, and I saw people — friends and strangers, alike — embracing it back.
I owe a lot of my growth and confidence to the community we have built upon the foundation of our common and collective passion for the arts; I met people who inspired me to create more, and I met people who said that I inspired them to create.
There is a healthy dynamic and we have developed a sort of support system within the community, which I think is very important for growth. Like so with plants, how they need to be planted on the right soil in order to take root, grow and bloom; it is the same with people.
Since then, I found myself becoming more of the person that I wanted to be; I started out sharing a table with my co-merchants, into having my own table in art fairs, and now I’m running my own shop of art merchandise, I’ve conducted workshops and talked on webinars, did my first exhibition and was even featured on an article; things in which I believe would not have been possible without the support of the right people around me and a thriving community of creatives.
How do you embrace growth as a person and as an artist?
Growth brings about change, and change is sometimes scary. It’s easy to just fall into what we are used to or to just stay within our comfort zone. I used to be stuck inside that loop of “I won’t do this because I don’t know how to do it. I don’t know how to do it, because I haven’t done it yet.” and the dangerous cycle repeats. I knew if I allow this cycle to go on longer, I would only ever be stuck in one place, never learning anything new, never trying out anything new, never growing.
So for me, the first step in embracing growth is to remove the fear of the change and the unknown. To be brave enough when an opportunity to do or learn something new presents itself — try a new medium, attend workshops, join art conventions, go to a place you’ve never been before, read a book of an unknown author.
Anything that is new to you, anything that is scary to you will help you grow once you’ve gotten through it. It is these new experiences and lessons we’re learning that allows us to become a better person, artist, or whoever we want to become.
Growing does not end when we take the leap of fate, it is just the start; seeds don’t grow on their own once you plant them, they need to be watered and cared for. Likewise, I nurture the aspects of my life where I want growth or where I see there is good growth to encourage more growth.
I might only be taking on my goals with one small task every day, I might only be making slow progress, but it is progress nonetheless. Roses don’t bloom on the day you plant them, so we also need to understand to be patient with ourselves while we grow as well.
Tell us more about your concept in this collection ‘Everyday we are learning, growing, and evolving. We bloom in our own time.’
I’ve always been a restless creative, I’m always after what’s next; what’s a new topic to explore or subject I can immerse myself in, what book to read next, new medium to try, art fair to join, project to start, my list goes on.
I think this collaboration is an expression of my enthusiasm for learning new things, and nurturing these things, and just encouraging growth overall. Not just for me, but to share this energy with everyone who will see this collaboration and will be touched by this concept of growth.
What we want to do in this collaboration is to bring our attention to our own process and patterns of growth. As long as we are alive, we will never run out of things to learn; there will always be space to grow; we will always be evolving from who we were a month ago, a week ago, from yesterday, or even an hour ago.
In this collaboration, we feature illustrations of roses; we want to show you the potential of a bud to bloom into a magnificent rose given the time to grow, like people. When we wake up and do our thing, we are becoming the person we intend to be more and more so every day.
However, we cannot expect that everyone’s growth pattern and pace are the same; some people grow quickly, some take their growth slower. Likewise, flowers bloom in different seasons, and even flowers of the same root bloom in different hours.
Do not compare your growth to somebody else’s; you cannot compare the beauty of a bud to a fully bloomed rose. Instead, be patient with your growth and have trust in the coming bloom.
What do you want to say to aspiring artists who want to grow but still haven’t found their voice/niche?
Creatives are a lot like plants, really; sometimes a plant needs to be repotted several times before they take root and grow, some leaves die in the process but the most important thing is to never let the plant die. You have to keep on trying and keep on tending to your roots, listening to what it wants and what it has to say.
Keep on exploring and trying new things, don’t be afraid to suck at something at first or to fail, because we are learning in the process. We gain a clearer vision of what’s for us and what is not, we discover more, not only about our craft but also about ourselves.
Never tamper your curiosity to try or learn something new with limiting thoughts, self-doubt, and fears; instead, be brave and tackle it head-on. One of my favorite quotes that I often tell my students during workshops is the words of Henri Matisse, “Creativity takes courage.”, have that courage to create what you want.
Once we found the subject that interests us, the thing that sparks even just the slightest of joys, the inspiration, the flow; plant the seed, tend to it, nurture it, encourage growth and let it become how we want it to be.
You don’t need to look at how somebody else is doing their art, you don’t have to follow trends that don’t genuinely feel connected to you, don’t look at what thousands of artists are already doing; instead, look at what you can do, what you’re most passionate about, what you have to say — because that is the voice that the world needs the most. But before the world hears you, you have to listen to yourself first. Between you and your art, you have to be happy with what you’re creating and how you’re creating, this will resonate with people — that will be the voice that is unique to you, your purpose as an artist, your art style, your color palette, your niche; we see it in many different ways, the thing that is being recognized in an art as yours, but is simply a piece of you as the artist in every work of art you create.
How do you bounce back in life when you fail or when you feel that you’re stuck and not growing?
[I seem to have a lot of plant analogy, here’s another one] There will come a point where plants pause their growth because their root system has grown more than the pot can accommodate, that is when they need to be moved to a new and bigger pot; one that has more space for their roots to grow in.
I try to understand that I, as a creative person, also need to take that pause first to allow more growth later on. Sometimes, that is all we need to do; take a pause, have a breather, rest for a while and refuel. I know if I don’t allow myself that break it will lead to burnout, like how plants suffer from root rot.
When we feel stuck like we’re no longer growing, that is the time we need to reassess ourselves and our surroundings; I look for the things that are not serving my growth, and replace them with the things that do. It might be easier to sit with the feeling of being stuck rather than uprooting an entire system of routine we are already so familiar with, but it comes at the cost of our personal or creative growth.
I try to engage as much as possible in something completely new to me, but still equally interesting — enough to get me out of bed and excited learning about it but not too intimidating. It might be trying out a new medium; I used to only paint with watercolor but I recently started with gouache; or learning a new craft, in which I’m currently learning how to embroider and tuft with a punch needle, with future projects already forming in mind.
I always look at what I can do next especially when I’m feeling stuck in the now, because where else can we go but forward. When taking that pause, we can’t stay there forever, stay there for as long as we need but eventually we get back up, gather our roots and move towards bigger pots and bigger plans.
Strictly pay attention to the things that we need to carry along with every phase that we’re in; only carry those that allow and support growth.
I stop doing the things that drain my energy, and focus it on those that give me energy instead; I tend to the things that allow growth, and pull out the things that do not; I reassess and realign my goals to my vision and adjust as need be. Like the natural cycle of plants; they are planted, they grow, they are uprooted and replanted to grow even more.
Arianne’s Social Media:
Ari of the Library | Facebook
Ari of the Library (@ariofthelibrary)
Bounce Back PH Social Media:
Bounce Back PH | Facebook
Bounce Back PH | Twitter
Bounce Back (@bouncebackph)
