Retirement. That one word can be used in a lot of different ways and can mean differently for any given situation.
Simply, it means the permanent ceasing of one’s professional career, on the other hand, it can also mean, for example, no longer being able or wanting to wear old clothes: “I am retiring these old pair of torn-up jeans.” And in the most extreme of ways, there can be a gun to your head and a rogue senior officer may say: “I retire you from your duties, soldier.” In its totally, the word “retirement” isn’t usually perceived as something positive—it is an act of moving away, a withdrawal, and/or death. Like ageing, “retiring gracefully” can only be achieved by a special few—and one of them is former Communications and Fine Arts professor, Rita Bustamante—or what we Assumptionists simply call her, “Ms. Bu.”
“For more than twenty years as a professor for Visual Arts Appreciation, I have always wanted my students to have a glimpse of the world around them. My works are my dream, I love doing my art and now that I have retired, I have all the time to do them—it is now a
reality rather than just a dream. Being an artist is spiritual in itself—about emotion—to me it is the urge to make more works as something inside wants to come out. My outlook is rather clearer now and free, anxiety is less, and I have learned to go with the flow,” shared the artist.
When she left to go to school in Assumption Iloilo and then in Assumption College San Lorenzo in Makati to take up Fine Arts in Interior Design, the one who first artistically influenced Ms. Bu, passed away. Her late father, who was a civil engineer, during his leisure time, would sketch human figures—all the while, little Ms. Bu would sit down beside him and try to imitate with her stick drawings.
“I loved to draw ever since I was a little girl, and I brought it with me in my schooling. I never had the difficulty of drawing and painting because that was what I did at home; I also did it in school when my lessons were boring—even in my teacher meetings and conferences,
my notes would be one-liners but the sides of my pad were all doodles,” says Ms. Bu.
Like her once colorful and “crazy” life, her prismatic personality clearly shows a character that has fully lived with no regrets—in a way, it directly reflects her being an impressionist artist more than a realist. The artist’s works always speak of God’s creation—from flowers to animals, and people from all walks of life; but she is most fond of creating colorfully detailed portraitures of a mother and her child. And reminiscent of a few of her favorite artists like: Pablo Picasso, Georgia O’Keefe, and Gustav Klimt, Ms. Bu’s artworks achieve harmony despite the individually micro-managed techniques—experimentation, the use of a myriad of colors (even metallic ones), and even gentleness could be viewed in just one of her pieces.
“I believe in a well-thought work rather than a ‘suntok sa buwan’ work. This is why an ‘aha’ experience is important because that is where you draw stock knowledge to form and maneuver the imagination. Visualization is important but what is more essential is a disciplined imagination managed well,” states the artist. As a former student of Ms. Bu, I have gained much respect and experience through her classes and it is fortunate to cross paths with her again and to witness another side of my professor—another gem is welcomed to the Davao art community—a job description that has no retirement.
