 Welcome everybody. My name is Jason, and I'm a librarian for the San Francisco Public Library. Thank you for joining us today. I'm so happy you are here with us to celebrate reading stories, SFPL celebration of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with Mel Veracruz. I'm going to start with the land acknowledgement. We are on the unceded ancestral homeland of the Ramatu Sholoni, who are the original inhabitants of the San Francisco Peninsula, and continue to live, work, and play here today. As the indigenous stewards of this land, in accordance with their traditions, the Ramatu Sholoni have never ceded, lost, or forgotten their responsibilities as the caretakers of this place, as well as for all peoples who reside in their traditional territory. We wish to pay our respects by acknowledging the ancestors, elders, and relatives of the Ramatu Sholoni community and by affirming their sovereign rights as first peoples. This event is part of our weaving stories, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month program series, in which we celebrate the variety and vastness of history, culture, and heritage. A celebration that should take place not only during May, but all year round. Thank you for joining us to continue understanding, respecting, and celebrating the diverse AA and HPI heritages from San Francisco and beyond. Check out the AA and HPI webpage of San Francisco Public Library to see our upcoming events, find great books by AA and HPI authors and illustrators, and more. And we'd like to thank the friends of SFPL for their generous support of this entire program series. We couldn't do this without them. Let me introduce Mal Vera Cruz, our feature artist for weaving stories, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Mal is a local artist who worked in partnership with the library to produce a stunning piece, which I will show you. This centerpiece is, this centerpiece painting features a bouquet of flowers that have symbolic ties to AA and HPI cultures, including chrysanthemums, terriblosomes, hibiscus, plumerias, and others symbolizes rejuvenation, resilience, and vitality. It is created with stencils, acrylic paint, and spray paint on fiberglass, and the art will be exhibited to view in person on the third floor of the main library along with the banner on Grove Street. Mal Vera Cruz is a multimedia artist. He migrated to the U.S. from the Philippines in 1995 and is based in the Bay Area. With the background in graphic design and advertising, he incorporates painting and screen printing techniques along with the use of readily available materials. His work has been shown in solo and group shows throughout the Bay Area, as well as Manila. Mal created two videos showing his art process, and he'd like to share a little bit more about that. Hello, guys. I'm Mal Vera Cruz, and I'm so happy to be here and show you my artworks. So, you know, I dreamed of, you know, something when I was young, I dreamed of something that I can do until I'm in my death bed, and I thought of art. So, that's why I became an artist. So, I've been drawing, like all kids, I've been drawing before, I can write, but the difference is that I never stopped. So, until now, so so, we can move on to the stencils. I love printing ever since when I was in high school. I don't have a financial, you know, I'm not financially, I don't have money basically. So, so, I love graphics, and I love the contrast of images. So, I cannot tell you why. It's just instinct for me. So, the stencils are, you don't need high-tech materials. So, you just have to have an exacto knife and a cardboard, and you're off. You can do whatever you want. So, and it's also coincidence that my first job after college was a stencil cutter on a glass etching company. So, yeah, here's how I do my stencils. Please sit back, relax, and enjoy the video presentations. And if you have any questions, please add them to the chat and Mel will be here later to answer them. Wow, Mel, that was amazing getting to watch your process in action. I hope everybody enjoyed watching that as much as I did. That was amazing. I'm not very artistic, but I feel like I want to go out and try that now. It looks like we might have some questions. Are you ready to answer some questions from our viewers? Awesome. So, let's start with, are there places that you visit that inspire your art? I'm not much of a traveler, but maybe sometime later in my life. But when I go to the Philippines, it always inspires me because, you know, everywhere you look, there's a subject, there's a story. So, yeah, when I go to the Philippines, I always get inspired. And also, when I go to artist friends, and we hang out, and we always talk about art, like art talk and brainstorming. So, sometimes that's where I get my ideas. And I love looking at nature whenever I can. And sometimes I go to galleries and museums and get inspired. And, you know, just sometimes I just watch TV and YouTube. I watch artists that I like. So, I get inspired by them. So, I also have periods, like I had the Impressionist period, Cubist period. So, those things inspire me. And yeah, Western culture, I was very much inspired by it because they teach European art during my college in the Philippines. But the artists that, you know, opened the doors for me was Santibosi. So, he's the one who encouraged me to dig deeper in my self, of who I am. So, those are the things that inspire me. Thank you. That kind of answered one of the questions of who has helped you realize your journeys. Unless there was other people that helped you realize your journey as an artist. Yeah. Besides my family, I was really stoked when I transferred to a school because I was in high school. I was in a private school. And they don't have an art program. So, when I got transferred to the public school in the Philippines, they have a graphic arts elective. And I chose that right away. And I was so happy because I felt like I was already working. So, even if our room was dilapidated, when it's raining, water are dripping everywhere. But I was so content during the time because I was doing what I love. So, that was high school. And then college, of course, I was dead set on taking up fine arts no matter what. So, during college, I really enjoyed that part of my life and that helped me develop. And after college, I worked in an agency for nine years as an illustrator, graphic designer. So, that helped me a lot. Experience, I won awards and that helped me a lot to be confident. And then, you know, when I migrated here in the United States, my target was to work at agency, but that did not happen because of, you know, my priorities are my family first. And then the culture is so different. I was culture shock. But I don't know, it's accidental also because I applied for a job in a work agency, employment agency, and they sent me to a printing shop where they do CD printing, still screen. And that's like a coincidence. I don't want to say coincidence because it's everything happens for a reason, I believe. So, that's when I started being a printer, like a professionally. So, I learned a lot about self-screen printing. So, and of course, networking. You have to, I have to find my tribe, my friends who are also artists. So, we feed off with each other and we inspire each other. And one thing that really helped me, I think, is being, having a tough mind. I may be weak physically, but I have a very tough mind. I don't get swayed easily. Once I decide it on something, I go for it 100%. So, I think those are the things that helped me realize my passion. Well, we're very happy for that because we got you at San Francisco Library. We got you here. We do have a question in the chat. Let me see. Where can we purchase your art? Or where can we support you as an artist? I don't have a representation. So, you can contact me directly, email or text or Facebook. And I think we might be able to put that in the chat. I'm not sure. But we will find a way to get that information to our viewers. Looking at some more questions, what would you tell someone who is interested in making art? Believe in yourself. Be one-track-minded because once you stop, that's the end of it. So, I never stop. And when you do art, there's always competition. So, don't be bothered by that. So, there will always be someone better. So, my goal was to be different, not perfect. So, it's like a mind over matter. So, you have to like what I said, you have to have a tough mind not to get swayed. So, I don't follow tradition. Copying is okay at first, but you'll get tired of it. So, I search inside and know myself. And anything can be your medium. So, it's not just things that you can buy in an art store. Those are very expensive, by the way. So, I buy mine in a Home Depot and I try not to use the expensive stuff because I want to do it right away. So, practice is very important. And I think the best advice for me is experience. So, you have to live your life because that's where you'll get your inspiration. So, yeah, I think that's it. Very wise words. Let's see, do you listen to music when you create your pieces? You know, I love rock and roll. When I was younger, I used to hate jazz. But, you know, music was always blaring in our art department when I used to work in an ad agency. But when I matured, I changed my taste. I think it's like an acquired taste. I listened to jazz all the time when I worked. And I love bebop. So, it's like a mind stimulant for me. So, it's not made for dancing. It's like makes you think. But also, I think be quiet is very important too. Because when everything's quiet, you're more concentrated. So, yes, but I listen to music when I feel relaxed and I'm not pressured. Yes. I like jazz myself. So, that's pretty great. Do we have any more? Is there anything else you'd like to share about your upcoming work? Yeah. You know, I used to dream showing in New York and France, all those cliches. But that did not happen. So, I changed my target. And now, I was chosen as one of the artists to design a pavement in Mina Natoma Art Corridor Project. And that's way beyond my expectations because it's on a pavement. So, that's one. And you know, the demo I did, the demonstration paintings is going to be shown in the museum in the Philippines. That's the two paintings. So, I made it like I hit two birds in one stone. One for the demo and one for the submission in the museum in the Philippines. So, that's another thing. So, for me, everything happens for a reason. It's relevant. Like, for example, I worked as a, I told you already that I worked, I like to work in an ad agency, but the printing work happened. And now, I'm a real printer. I'm a professional printer. So, and like another example is when I used to be, when I was laid off being a printer, I worked as a dental assistant. And I hated the job because, you know, it's not my forte, but I learned it. And after that, I was hired as a tattoo flash artist. And then my boss said, hey, you should learn how to tattoo. So, I learned it. And dental assisting is relevant to tattooing because the, what do you call this, the cleanliness of the tools. So, I don't have to learn that. So, it's connected. So, you know, sometimes, so don't be discouraged when you're, you feel that you're out of your element. Because I think everything is relevant. It's just up to you to figure it out. So. But you're a tattoo artist too. Yeah. You do tattoos. Like, where can we get one of those? Yeah, I do it in my home only. Because I like my, I work as a graphic designer at Kaltrans, and it has more benefits. So, I don't want to waste that. So, if you're in a shop, you have to pay for your own insurance and everything, retirement. So, I chose to be as a graphic designer. And I can do my tattoo any weekends. So, and one last thing is that I'm so amused that my works are mainly outside galleries. And, you know, it's in the streets. Like the billboard you made outside of the library. And I also have utility boxes spread all over Somapilipinas. So, it's like very, it's very, it's a different kind of satisfaction. Because I don't have galleries. My works are not in museums, but it's outside. So, there's lots of avenues. It's not only going to school, having gallery presentations. So, there's a lot of avenues. Seems like it makes it more accessible to more people. Thank you. Yes. Not having it in galleries. Not everyone knows about galleries or wants to go to them. I forgot to say that. Yes. So, that's awesome. Well, thank you, Mo, for sharing your wonderful skills, your talent with us, and your time. It's much appreciated. Just want to know if there's any words of farewell or anything else you'd like to say to people watching. I just want to say thank you guys for having me and giving me this experience and exposure. So, I really appreciate it. And yeah. We appreciate you too. We're very excited about having your art here to celebrate our month. You're welcome. So, I guess that's all for today, everybody. Check out our calendar from our programs in our Weaving Stories series. We have them both online and in person. Take good care of yourselves. Stay safe, and we hope to see you again soon. Thank you guys. Bye.