Josephine Vistal Cutaran Gibbs is a contemporary jeweller designer and artist, though still completing her 5th year of her design and art education double degree. She is based in Sydney, Australia. She was born in the town of Prosperidad, Agusan Del Sur, Philippines. She also went to Alicia National High School, Bohol, Philippines, which is her father's hometown and where generations of the Huiso and Cutaran clan has lived.
If you have known her family, you would also knew that her family is well-known for various reasons. The family as a whole is probably best-known for their association with the Huiso family, that her father, Along Cutaran has sprung from an ancestor, Pedro Huiso, the founder of the town of Alicia. Though her father, Along Cutaran has a reputation all his own, Josephine has grown up with the expectations of her family and has run away from home to Australia, to escape high expectations and seeking a different life in Australia, where no one knows about her family's pretension of nobility and pedigree. She could live in relative obscurity. It was very lucky for her to have met an Australian on holiday in Babah, Prosperidad. Chris would later become her husband for more than 20 years. Chris is a banknote collector and vintage cars enthusiast.
Josephine has always wanted to become an artists for as long as she could remember. This artistic ability was inherited from her mother, who designed ball gowns and fashion, one called 'a saastry', who sew clothes for the town's elite or basically anyone who could afford to get their clothes custom made. Josephine has never wanted for fashionable clothes when she grew up. In high school, she won the Intramuros art competition and won this prize for the grand prize of in the 80's, then a very sizeable amount in those days.
Josephine arrived in Australia in 1989. A year later, she studied at Liverpool TAFE, received her Diploma of Fine Arts, Design major and Associate Diploma in painting with Distinctions. She exhibited in the 'Art on Tap' group and was artist of the month at the Liverpool Bicentennial Museum.
She went back to the Philippines to start several business, TARDIS nightspot and art gallery of her Aliciahanon landscapes. Disaster struck when her house and businesses under construction was on the path of the Bohol Island road development, contracted to Hanjin construction, a Korean firm. The couple received a pittance in compensation, just enough to buy two tickets back to Sydney.
Upon returning to Sydney, she earned her living at Drews Pharmacy, North Sydney while also continuing to paint as a hobby and exhibiting at the North Sydney council annual exhibitions. Her works were regularly hung and occasionally sold some local landscapes. Her harbour bridge series was very popular to international collectors.
Her art & design career is developed further. She started her current double degree in 2006, at COFA, College of Fine Arts. She considers COFA as a second home and is thriving from the intellectual stimulation and the skilled supervision of her excellent lecturers. Josephine is mentored by a Roseville church elder, Margot Higgins, a retired education lecturer at UTS. Josephine was pleased when she was invited to take part in the peer-mentor program by COFA's academic dean to become a mentor for foundation design students. This was a fantastic opportunity to sharpen her skills for the benefit of her future careers as designer and art educator.
Josephine is passionate about jewellery design and found her calling in teaching art and design at Blue Mountains Grammar School and Rooty Hill High School. Both places gave her a positive and affirming experiences, that proved she was meant to become a design and art teacher.
At the moment she has found an internship at Gosford High School from March 2010. She is looking forward to a productive and enjoyable experience. Josephine is very keen and willing to learn and would always look forward to any constructive criticism for self-improvement and professional development. It will be a gift that could never be repaid. It will forever remain a debt to an art teacher, who is generous and big-hearted in giving her the opportunity to learn under the supervisor's tutelage.
Please contact her on http://jvgibbs@gmail.com
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