Art as Memoir
By Serina Aidasani
Captions by Toots Magsino

Toots Magsino's creations provide an intimate and personal look at her own life.

No formal introduction is necessary to know Filipina artist Toots Magsino. Her art is her personal story. Browsing through her paintings is like sifting through the pages of a memoir.

The youngest of 10 children of Dr. Benjamin and Imelda Magsino, Toots creates works from personal experiences—reflections, feelings, life moments that have inspired and moved her. The colors, shapes and forms are commemorations of familial bonds, friendships and everyday circumstances. Her works are intimate, profound and are revelations of the person she has become.

“I liked the way my paintings captured a memory and a point in time that had impacted my life in one way or another,” reveals Toots. “It was through sharing these experiences with the viewer that I came alive as an artist.”

Based in New York and Manila, Toots Magsino boasts of a multifaceted portfolio. Her versatility is evident in the various art fields she engages in—painting, printmaking, photo collage, rubbings, drawings and calligraphy. Ronnie Landfield, one of her instructors at The Art Students League of New York, raved, “Toots Magsino’s work is compelling, and vaguely reminiscent of an intimate diary on the nature of existence. It is both a courageous and daring act to risk personal revelation.”

An Ateneo de Manila University graduate in interdisciplinary arts, with a concentration in communication arts and psychology, Toots’ artistic expression began with a visit to a show of an artist friend in 1995. She then enrolled in her first painting class at the Ayala Museum, which spurred her interest even further. Father Tom Steinbugler, S. J., recommended Chaim Potok’s book My Name Is Asher Lev, and it reinforced her lifelong change. “A powerful book that expounds on the difficulties of societal pressures,” she explains, “it gave me the clarity to follow my passion and trust that it would lead me to my individual journey.” In 1996, just a year after she began painting, Toots had her first solo show at the Ayala Museum.

Through the years, Toots defined a personal identity through well-crafted works. She garnered numerous art commissions, as well as critical success. She looked to improve in the field and decided towards a formal art education at The Art Students League of New York, where she enrolled in a four-year certificate program in fine arts painting. “ I liked the school’s system of providing students a lot of space to discover their own artistic sensibilities,” she points out.

With a persevering spirit, Toots opened herself to different art forms under the tutelage of mentors and art professionals. Leatrice Rose, a former instructor at The Art Students League of New York, believed in her talents and motivated her to keep on lear-ning.“Leatrice took me under her wings and helped me discover my very own artistic voice. I owe much of what I’ve learned technically and aesthetically from her astute artistic sense,” she acknowledges.

Toots took part in exhibitions and projects both in New York and Manila. In February 2001, she collaborated with fellow Philippine artist Mia Herbosa to carry out their first major exhibition in New York at the Philippine Center. Meanwhile, in Manila in January 2002, she had her sixth one-person exhibition entitled “An Artist’s Diary,” which played an essential role in her creative life. “This show allowed me to share a more intimate side of my art with a theme that touched on my experiences as an artist,” she adds.

Toots Magsino proves that life can unexpectedly direct us to the things we are meant to do. As she looks forward to the challenges ahead, there is a lightness and whiff of optimism one feels when speaking to her. Her perspective remains that of observance, open-mindedness and allowing things to just transpire. And as they do, she will continue to paint her life narrative, both in a literal and figurative sense.

“Into My Little World,” photo silkscreen collage, chine colle, acrylic, tag assemblage and mono print on Japanese paper mounted on gesso board, 14” x 11”, 2007

“Layers in my collage represent our ever changing and ever-evolving lives. Each day we add another layer of experience to our lives. Each new experience shapes us into the individual and unique person that we are. This piece is my way of sharing my own life and welcoming the viewer into my little world.”

“My Place in the Sun,” mono print, collage and acrylic on vellum paper, 14” x 11”, 2002

“All of us go through our own individual journey. The ultimate goal for me is to be able to find our own special place in the sun—a place we can be completely ourselves. Only then can we love, accept and appreciate ourselves for the unique persons that we all are.”

“Pieces of Me,” (above) photo silkscreen calligraphy, collage with organic materials on canvas, 14” x 11”, 2006

“I came across a touching mixed media piece by Judith Angelo. In her work she inscribed these words: ‘Sister Cecily told me that I feel things more than other people. That the lows are lower and the highs are higher and that makes the balance. It made me feel like I wasn’t invisible or crazy. I wasn’t alone anymore with what it’s like to be me. It made me feel special. I have always known that I am different but here is someone saying the difference is worth it.’ We should all have a ‘Sister Cecily’ to share our pieces with.”

For more, visit www.tootsmagsino.com.
Serina Aidasani works at a marketing communications firm in New York.