What draws man to gaze at the heavens above? Why does staring at the stars inspire us to dream? What makes a man choose to rise over and over? Is it to pursue knowledge, fame, riches or glory? The answer lies within our deepest hopes and in the fabric of our being. Life has a way of testing every person, it does not discriminate gender, race or belief but in that challenge do we often find the means to grow, to clevate, brick by brick, foundation upon foundation no matter how small, is a chance to rise higher. Ramon Cajipe (b.1976) is a sculptor with one focus; going up and beyond what any artist dreamt is possible. He may have started with humble origins but very much like wood, his favorite chosen medium, he shaped and carved out his own path in pursuit of his art.
As a native son of Paete. Ramon possesses other gifts apart from his innate talent for sculpting, which sets him apurt from his peers, in a single glance or with a simple whiff he can identify wood no matter how old or how processed it maybe. A man such as this does not go by his days with idle hands, his journey into art started as early as nine years old, his penchant for this craft took him to other continents, nothing is ever as it seems for this generational talent; he makes the viewer see that in his art resides years of training, a culmination of mind, body and soul, watered with sweat and blood. His art captures his essence in its purest, for in his work we feel the need to believe, to breathe and to rise ever higher. The most striking works of Ramon, cleverly features the wood Baticuling, a favorite among Pate's artisans for its quality and fluidity during the sculpting process.
His works depict a colorful tapestry of houses stacked closely on top of one another in a seemingly wild array of arrangements, but in its chaos lies its beauty and its warm message, no matter how life stacks its challenges for us it is up to us to give color and direction to our lives. Very much like Ramon's works which only goes up and is filled with color, giving off a mood that is surely a joy to be seen in any collectors' home or safe space.