As the economy was put on lockdown, many workers were displaced from their posts at work. Even those in the academe were not spared from work suspensions and closures, leaving some private schools and colleges struggling to stay afloat.
In particular, the 171 teachers and non-teaching personnel of St. Joseph’s College (SJC) in Quezon City shared the same fate as the administration declared a temporary work suspension from June to August.
In response, the “Handog SJCQC Alumni: Care to Share” project was created to gather support and financial aid for the affected groups’ immediate relief.
Former college adviser Susan Pullido (formerly Ms. Bonifacio) tapped Anna Tungul—a Josephine turned product designer, painter, and mother—for her contribution.
Spurred with a mission to extend help through her brush strokes and acrylic paints, Tungul whipped up a six-piece artwork collection titled, A Beautiful Mess to be sold, with half of the total sales to be donated to the project.
Ironically, Tungul isn’t just an SJC alumni, she’s also a Thomasian, a product of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) College of Fine Arts. “I attended St. Joseph’s College during my third and fourth year. It was a short stay, but I was able to instill the values and integrity of being a Josephine. I graduated in 1986 during the EDSA revolution, when life was difficult, but as colorful. We didn’t have any college fairs, or prom. Instead, we had rallies and boycotts, but I think that experience made us independent and more relevant,” shared Tungul.
After college, she found work and eventually landed the Creative Head designer post in a popular fashion company where she’s been working for more than 26 years and counting.
As a single mother, she had dedicated most of her time taking care of her son, an incoming junior college student and an accomplished student athlete. “He’s a varsity swimmer in San Beda University since Grade 7, so my life was mostly work, school, attending training and competitions for the past 12 years. I only started painting after he turned 18, when he can drive to school and training, all by himself. Suddenly, I had more ‘me’ time.”
She began by sketching figures, faces, and street children and visiting galleries and museums, prodded by her painter friend. She then decided to paint again. “I mostly paint flowers, landscapes, and ballerinas. My style is more like impressionism to abstract impressionism. I love the works of Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, and those of Filipino artists like Mauro Malang, Lydia Velasco, and Anita Magsaysay Ho.”
Tungul added: “My signature artwork is the Wildings Series. Clients liked it for its three dimensional look and yet, every part can be seen as an individual artwork. Others find my work as a source of everyday happiness because of its colors and visual texture. I think they can see through my personality. Basically, I’m a happy person, that’s why my works are colorful and vibrant.”
Last December, Tungul sold 10 paintings from her 12 Days of Christmas collection for the benefit of the Gentle Hands orphanage. This time, she hopes to repeat the feat.
“A Beautiful Mess series depicts my own ECQ life. The effect of the pandemic brought us chaos and anxiety, but in spite of that, there are happy moments involving family members spending more time and doing more stuff together. It also made us closer to God, more conscious about nature and the environment. This pandemic is one horror movie that we can also make into a romantic comedy, a story about love, life, family and nature,” Tungul said.
To know more about Handog SJCQC Alumni: Care to Share, please click on this link: https://forms.gle/GYvjVJeiaFz6NjCN6