My Pope Philippines – August 2018

Arts & Crafts

MY POPE PHILIPPINES 11

This is pretty much what

work-life integration

looks like!

Why did you decide to

be a cartoonist?

I have always

enjoyed telling

stories and felt

there were a

lot of stories I

wanted to read

that just didn’t exist, so I just

went ahead and made them.

I’ve dabbled in all sorts of

genres in the 20 years I’ve been

making and selling comics and

cartoons—from slice of life

to fantasy to horror—but the

ones I tend to always gravitate

toward are all-ages stories,

primarily for kids that adults

can also enjoy. Of my favorites

there’s the Siglo graphic

novel anthologies, which won

the National Book Awards;

Bakemono High, a comic series

about a school for monsters;

The Amazing Tru-ish Story

of Andres Celestial, a slice-of-

life love story with elements

of science fiction and magic

realism; and Homeycomb: A

Married Life, my collaboration

with wife Lorra Elena.

What inspired you to

work on your strip

Homeycomb:

A Married Life?

Homeycomb was a project

that was initiated by my wife,

Lorra. We were newlyweds

at the time and since

we were both

illustrators,

we were looking for

something

that we could

collaborate

LIFE IMITATES ART

by JV Tanjuatco

on as an excuse to spend more

time together. “Write what

you know” is how the old

adage goes, so we decided to

tell stories about thinly veiled

autobiographical versions of

ourselves, where we shared and

processed our experiences as

husband and wife. We’d bounce

ideas off each other, I’d do the

pencil art and pass it on to her

for inks and colors, and I’d do a

final pass on the dialogue while

lettering it. It started as and

still is, really, truly a personal

project, something that we have

no expectations of commercial

or critical success whatsoever.

That people seem to be

enjoying it, or see themselves

in it is a genuine (and genuinely

humbling) bonus.

We notice that you

haven’t been

working

on it lately.

Well, it’s primarily

because we gave

birth, and Lorra

How do you juggle work

and family life?

I don’t juggle so much as

integrate. I try to do as much of

the care work and house chores

as I can, so I invest in technology

that lets me be mobile. I also

bring my son to client meetings

and expose him to the work

so he understands and can

cooperate when I have to lock

the door to the home office. I’m

open to clients about my role

as a father and husband, and

reassure them that rather than

be a crutch or distraction, my

family is instead an additional

motivator to deliver stellar

work. Being a parent has taught

me to be efficient with my time,

and to truly be discerning about

which opportunities to say

yes to. That clarity of purpose

allows me to have a better sense

of criteria for choosing which

projects to take on.

Cartoonist Elbert Or marries the joys of illustrating

with his duties as both husband and father.

has to focus on being a full-time

mom, which, let me tell you, is

totally a job and a half. It just

didn’t seem right to continue

working on it on my own, given

its original impetus.

And it’s not like I haven’t been

busy myself: I am still running

Pushpin Visual Solutions,

our little studio that could,

and I still write and illustrate

comics and books, on top of

that. Last year, I published

(through Tahanan Books) Tara,

Laro Tayo!, a counting book

involving indigenous animals

and traditional games of the

Philippines. And I’m currently

finishing two books: Words

into Stories, and Shy Shelly 3

(written by Justine Hail).

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ELBERT OR, AND INSTAGRAM (ELBERTOR).

Lorra and Elbert take the

kids on a family outing.

There are lots of heartwarming insights and

lessons to be learned from Homeycomb: A Married Life.

Check out more of

Elbert’s work at

pushpinvisuals.com

ewlyweds

since

for

We notice t

have

wor

on

We

b

b

When life and work

combine on the page!