This week’s profile features Mansy Abesamis (whom we’ve all accidentally called Kessy before) of Hey Kessy.  One can really get hooked on her photo feeds, as every picture seems to be an intimate snapshot into her creative life.  She’ll be giving our last #HandmadeChristmas session this Sunday at Briggy Hall.  For ye folks who’d like to washi it up with wrapping and jewelry this weekend, go here and sign up!

How long have you been crafting? What got you started?
I guess everyone’s answer to that should be since they were a child, just like what Ed Templeton says in the documentary, “Beautiful Losers”. When I was a kid and up until highschool, I would get really excited when my teachers gave us projects. I would go shopping at NBS to buy art and craft supplies. After I graduated in college (2008), I got back to crafting/making and focused on it.

What’s your favorite medium? Why?
That would have to be Hey Kessy washi tapes! Not just because I sell them (HAHA! 😉 ) but because they come in different designs, are affordable, and work well on paper, glass, wood, etc., using them encourages me to explore and try out new ways or possibilities of realizing my ideas into tangible projects.

Tell us about your favorite projects.
One of my favorite projects would be the brass collection I worked on earlier this year. I cut and polished the raw materials all by myself. Even though the project was labor-intensive and time-consuming, it’s still my favorite because it has taught me the value and pleasure of creating things with my hands. I don’t know if I was just romanticizing it, but at that time, I felt like I really maximized the use of my hands.

What’s the one crafting skill you’ve always wanted to master/learn?
Hmm… Calligraphy! I have really bad handwriting, so much so that my classmates in highschool and college hated it when they get my paper to check ;p There was also a time a teacher refused to check my test paper because she couldn’t understand my handwriting. I think Calligraphy would train me not to rush and be patient, especially when writing.

What are you currently working on?
I am currently working on heart-shaped stoneware plates for a wedding I will be attending this month.

What’s your dream project? What have you done to make it happen so far?
It would have to be ceramic plates made using the kick wheel! In pottery, I always work with slabs but next year, I’d love to make more stoneware plates using the wheel.

Aside from crafting what else do you do?
I also teach French.

How does creativity influence the other areas in your life?
It makes me be good and do good to myself, to the people around me, and to the world.

Any advice for other aspiring crafters?
To always remember that more than being a hoarder, you are a crafter! So, if you buy materials, don’t just sit there and watch them. Go out, play, explore, and create using of them!

What do you to beat a ‘creative block’?
I go to Baguio and hang out at art galleries and bookshops there

Give us 3 crafting essentials you must have in your toolbox at all times.
Hey Kessy washi tapes, X-acto knife, and erasers!

Why should people get their hands busy (and start crafting)?
Because crafting inspires people and that is what we need now more than ever – an inspired nation capable of coming up with new possibilities.

Where can we find your work?
www.mansillianasunday.com
https://www.facebook.com/heykessy