Financial analyst Shirley Dy left the lucrative world of banking and finance, and found her true calling in art. With her business background, she formed her own design company dubbed as Destonos. In its recently launched catalog, you will see how this sculptor and designer created what she calls “mementos of the natural world,” and, in the process, cemented her image as the country’s pioneer in Mount Pinatubo volcanic ash sculpture.
By ANNE STEPHANIE NILO
When Mount Pinatubo erupted in 1991, Shirley Dy did not know what to do with the excessively abundant volcanic material that inundated her hometown Concepcion, Tarlac.
This problem soon turned into an opportunity when she established Destonos, a collective of Filipino artisans who, under her guidance, transform sketches into tactile masterpieces that bring natural elements into a home. And after more than 30 years, this collection of functional furniture made from Mount Pinatubo volcanic ash has become her signature that’s firmly imprinted on the local arts and interior design scene.
“Once it’s [functional furniture piece is made of] Pinatubo volcanic ash, everybody knows it’s [from] me,” says Dy.
But before her career in arts and furniture design started to boom, she once worked as a bank employee.
From finance to fashion
Her career’s turning point happened in the late ’80s when, even without a Fine Arts degree or a solid portfolio, and armed only with guts and an instinct for good design, she took a leap of faith, left behind a stable and financially rewarding job at Equitable Bank, and applied as a fashion designer in a fashion specialty store.
This high-risk move paid off, eventually resulting in higher returns, as she was able to build a thriving career in fashion design from scratch, and earned the respect of her peers who were Fine Arts graduates.
Many years and dresses later, she found herself taking another leap — this time, from fashion design to sculpting.
Concepts and the creative process
As in fashion, Dy gets design inspirations everywhere for her sculptures — from nature to everyday objects.
“For example, the signet or ring. I make it big, and that’s a side table. Or if I like a certain shape, I’ll make it into a table,” she explains.
The exacting and meticulous attention to detail — a skill she honed in her previous career in banking — proved to be useful in her new artistic endeavor, as each piece undergoes a rigorous assembly line of graphic designers and sculptors, until it reaches her hands that give the product its final touch.
This finishing stage, says Dy, is the most difficult and critical as she does not follow existing patterns, especially for organic shapes.
“For the finishing, I do my own color mix, I don’t follow trends. Whatever I think will work with the shape, I use it. I’m not so much with the trend because any design you do has a life of its own. May sariling istorya yan eh. (Each piece has its own story.) Ang hirap sa all-organic shape, you cannot do that on CAD alone. It comes alive, it gets sculpted, it gets finished. It needs to have its own way, hindi pwedeng, ‘ah ito bilugin ko.’” (not as simple as making it, say, round), she says.
Not just the first, but the best
This respect for the integrity and intrinsic characteristics of her chosen material makes her body of work stand out from a sea of functional sculptures and furniture pieces. For Dy, it’s not enough to be the first — one has to be unique, and the best.
“If you are like everybody else, you would just be like everybody else. Pioneer companies die after a while. You need to be not just a pioneer, but also the best. Kung hindi, irrelevant ka na,” (If not, you soon become irrelevant.) she adds.
And Shirley Dy stays relevant — and the best perhaps — in her industry due to the sheer simplicity of her designs. For her, minimalism is a powerful statement that gives her volcanic ash pieces maximal impact.
“I always make sure to impress you in eight seconds. In big exhibits, from the time the buyer walks to your booth, you need to get his/her attention. A work of art doesn’t have to have too much details. Pag madaming detalye ‘yan, hindi ka papansinin. (People tend to overlook your work when it has too many details). You can’t have too many good elements in one thing — the mind cannot process that. Sayang. Keep your work of art simple and it will speak for itself.”
An artist — and a designer
For this trained financial analyst, commercial viability is as important as art and ergonomics when designing and creating volcanic ash furniture. She creates sculptures that are not just works of art, but pieces that people will actually use.
More than paying homage to Filipino artisanship, Destonos is where her interests in finance, art and design intersect.
“I always say I’m not just an artist, but a product designer. They are two different things. An artist expresses herself, while a designer never expresses her thoughts, but what is commercially applicable for good sales. Remember that aside from being a sculptor, I’m also a financial analyst,” Dy concludes.
