There is a myriad of forces at work all throughout the course of one’s life. Profound challenges of uneven scale shape the person as well as the context he or she walks in.

However, these factors need not oppose one another as each is a force that comes innate as one discovers more of his or herself. With all the commotion from external influences, sometimes the best path to follow is the way inwards and by listening to the voice inside.

The same can be said about artist Imelda Cajipe-Endaya. Early on in her life, Endaya knew that her course would be to trek the road leading to a life of art. Although she knew as much, it did not occur to her what it was that she was actually doing. “I didn’t even know I was doing art because my folks were from Paete (Laguna). In Paete, every family has an artist. Almost 80 percent in each family is artistic, they draw, they make paper mache, and they carve wood,” Endaya recalls.

Coming from a background that lives and breathes art, it was natural for Endaya to come to terms with who she was. This way of seeking the natural course of things resonates throughout her journey of life.

During her college days at the University of the Philippines, Endaya found herself estranged with the way she approached her art. “I was a product of the late 60s to 70s nationalist ferment. So I was always searching for national identity. In college, we were taught in the classics, renaissance, baroque, etc. We mimicked and based on books from the west (our style) and our generation questioned that. We tried to go back to our roots and unearth layers of miseducation and layers of lost identity,” Endaya shares.

This longing for national identity led Endaya to engulf herself in images that revolve around the Filipino way of life and traditions. Apart from the nationalist perspective that Endaya incorporates into her work, she also burdens herself with the responsibility of pursuing the advancement of feminine identity in her arts. “I draw inspiration from my day to day experience and the history of women before me. Women need voices and it needs to be projected, it needs to be heard,” Endaya stresses.

Endaya’s drive to elevate women’s social role is evident not only in her art works but also in her disposition. “Women’s thoughts are different. We think more of how to feed our children, how to educate them. In organizing and in governance, we would trek more on providing food on the table.

We educate children to be independent,” Endaya says. This unique perspective that women contribute to the art scene is exactly what Endaya wants to portray.

This strong yearning to empower women led to the formation of KASIBULAN, a women artists’ collective that Endaya co-founded. Initially formed as a women’s movement against the Marcos regime, the organization evolved into a unification of women in the field of arts. Through a survey, the group found out that during that time in the late 1980s, there were an equal number of male and female artists. However, having other interests to focus on, women rarely pursued their artistic careers.

“It was important that we invite women to join us so that they are encouraged to produce their work. We gathered them slowly and we had them talk to us and show us their works. It’s very encouraging for them to share and articulate what they want to do with their work,” Endaya shares.

Endaya knew firsthand the trials of making a mark in the art scene and running a family. “It was hard in the beginning, raising three children and taking care of the family and building a career at the same time is quite a challenge,” Endaya shares. But following the tracks with which her life ran through, Endaya embraced the challenge and found it within her to move forward with a sense of balance that only mothers are capable of. “I’ve always performed my motherly tasks, it’s my second skin. It comes side by side with my art,” Endaya adds.

The images that Endaya drew went with her when she moved abroad and set up her abode in upstate New York. Instead of bending with the influence of her new milieu, Endaya kept her outlook and made use of the locale to render her images to address a wider following. “I continue to use Filipino theme. I always project myself as a Filipina even in a global audience,” Endaya stresses.

Through her time as an artist, Endaya has familiarized herself with a multitude of various media that she manipulates to create a dynamic form to which her messages are conveyed. Aside from using conventional oil and acrylic, she also utilizes elements such as digital images, hand craft, textile and prints. Perhaps the most vibrant of her works are displayed through her installation arts which collectively relay her passion through three dimensional images. “Using mixed media comes natural to me. I easily get bored and I want more exciting things to work with,” Endaya shares.

Endaya’s works that tackle Filipino diaspora illustrate domestic scenery that involves intertwined Filipino and foreign elements. She accentuates how global Filipinos stay in touch with their roots albeit being surrounded by other cultural influences. Endaya also projects her strong protest against war by engaging military issues though her works. With the use of iconic war images such as flags, war machines, even images from the Abu Ghraib prison, Endaya emphasizes the triviality of war and the inhumane damages that come along with it.

“I want my audience to have the aesthetic experience. I want them to enjoy the physicality of my work, the texture, the color, and the lines. But I also want to convey a message about empowering women, questioning and encouraging the viewer what I think we can do to help improve the situation,” Endaya says.

With all the success and accolades that Endaya has achieved in her lifetime, it’s her success with her family that she is most proud of. Her development as an artist goes hand in hand with her domestic life and these two things she could never do without. Situations sculpted Endaya’s persona as a unique strong willed artist. Through her craft, she shines as a woman, as a mother and as a Filipina.