Saturday, March 26, 2016

OCC™, Our Distinct Brand of Coloring Happiness


The koloristas flashing the OCC™hand sign at the first OCC™held in Dolcelatte, SM Megamall
In the Philippines there are several other Facebook coloring groups but the only one I joined is Coloring Book for Adults Philippines (CBAP). My coloring days were never the same after. The koloristas (adult coloring enthusiasts, what we call ourselves in CBAP) of the group became my chatter mates about coloring materials, book titles, authors, artists, art exhibits, coloring inspirations, copyright law, book launches, hoarding, selling, sellers, fairs, wishlists, OCCs, more OCCs! I can go on but you already get what I mean haha!

At this point you might already be wondering what an OCC is and what it stands for. It's a term I coined actually, an acronym for Over Coffee Coloring™ (trademark pending) which started with "kulitan" (poking fun and teasing) among some of us koloristas online. A handful of koloristas nudged me to coach some coloring techniques which I agreed to do for fun. I also openly declared that I wasn't an art tutor so suggested  that we use the term coaching instead, and that we can do it over a cup of coffee, hence over-coffee coaching. Over time 'coaching' evolved to the broader term 'coloring'

The first gathering took place in Dolcelatte, SM Megamall in Metro Manila. A couple of days before the meet-up I was already declining people from joining since I only reserved a small cafe that can comfortably seat 40 people. And by the way I also got Vermailene Barrios to join us by then, author of Kulay Pinoy and colorist extraordinaire, and sellers in the group to sign up which explains the full house. The program that panned out was nothing short of unique, and it happened spontaneously mind you. Well, not really, I did have an outline of how it could go but we were all still open to wherever our mood would bring us. After that OCC™ I felt a door was opened to us, that we can all actually be friends in person even if it's our first time to meet each other!

Now how can I describe what an OCC™ is to people who may be interested to feature us and our future gatherings? I tried, here it is.

Over Coffee Coloring™ is a unique gathering that draws koloristas (coloring enthusiasts) to, spontaneously or otherwise, converge in cafes, restaurants, private homes, and offices for the purpose of social interaction and advancing one’s skills in coloring. 

What was originally a loose term for us since its initial salvo has developed into a recognizable meeting with a distinct form and following. After our first OCC™ impromptu organizers in the CBAP group would then test the waters by hinting if an OCC can be held in their particular area or city. Once other koloristas respond with a "let's go!" the word is spread and before you know it we're all seeing each other in person and sharing our ideas and passion for coloring within the brief time we have together. And it's always brief. Three to four hours is never enough when one is in the OCC™ among kindred spirits in coloring. 


A group during an OCC™demo by Art Coach Dino Copreros
In a span of five months six (6) formal OCC™s have already been mounted in various areas in Metro Manila not to mention numerous other informal ones, called mini-OCC™s. Before 2016 is over there are six (6) more OCC™’s scheduled to take place in different areas and cities, including one in Cebu City.

OCC™in SM Mall of Asia (MOA) in January 2015

Since I was requested for a video about me and the OCC™ recently I thought I'd share it here, too, for inspiration. I hope you enjoy viewing it. And in case you still need some push to hold your own OCC™ after watching this send me a message and I'll tell you how easy it is to throw an OCC™ party for all the koloristas in your area. It's always a treat to hold one I tell you. 

Watch the video here 🎥



11 comments:

  1. Lovely! Sarap magreminisce sa video. 😊

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  2. Lovely! Sarap magreminisce sa video. 😊

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    1. Same here, you can imagine how I felt making it 😊 I was like, "Awww" everytime.

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  3. Hello everyone! How can I join some of your OCC? Im just a beginner and I want to learn coloring techniques thank you. I love seeing all your posts in fb

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  4. Hello everyone! How can I join some of your OCC? Im just a beginner and I want to learn coloring techniques thank you. I love seeing all your posts in fb

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  5. Hello everyone! How can I join some of your OCC? Im just a beginner and I want to learn coloring techniques thank you. I love seeing all your posts in fb

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  6. Hello everyone! How can I join some of your OCC? Im just a beginner and I want to learn coloring techniques thank you. I love seeing all your posts in fb

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    1. Hi Katherine, that's wonderful to know! Please send me a private message telling me where you're from and I can tell you when the next OCC™ near your area would be😊 Thank you for your interest.

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    2. Katherine are you a member of CBAP already? It stands for Coloring Book for Adult - Philippines. Do join us if you're not yet a member 😊

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  7. CBFA-Phil is for me the best coloring group. I get a lot of inspiration not mentioning the useful techniques shared by members. Extra bonus is the friendship formed.

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  8. Exactly how I feel about the group, Vangie. So much so that I even got into blogging again l, just feel I want to share so much everytime I read posts from the members. And yes, the friendships, too, I will cherish for life!

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