In the myths of old, all goddesses were the same. She would use her charm to bait mortal men, luring them close until their approximation with her denies them of choice. The story ends only in two ways: Either he chooses to stay with her, or he chooses death. Either way, he is hers. Such is the power of seduction, and this has never quite changed through the years. Still, human passions in divine form still lure mortals into doing what to society seems insane, like perhaps, pursuing art as a profession, both in life and of faith. In such cases, the allure becomes mutual: The goddess pursues the mortal into submitting to her fiery desires, while the mortal pursues the goddess to keep feeding this fire.

Similarly, it has been a goddess that keeps Lalaine Cerrada’s urge for art persistently fiery for almost a decade. Originally based in Vienna, Cerrada had just come home to attend a wedding and personally see through her upcoming exhibit in the Hotel Rembrandt on Monday. Composed of both award-winning pieces and newly produced ones, her exhibit showcases the true spirit of her art: Vibrant and textured, bold and novel, not to mention, woman-centered. Lalaine Cerrada is the perfect embodiment of a goddess’ temple priestess: She is dear and daring, choosy and cunning, alluring and allured by the art that she makes.

But art wasn’t as fiery as it is now in Cerrada’s life. It started as sparks when she was little, being exposed to different art forms such as music, painting and sewing at a young age. “I think I was born with it,” she says of her interest in the arts. “I could never imagine anything if I’m not an artist, if I’m not working as an artist. I cannot imagine myself in another field.” She recounts being taught how to sew at the age of four, how to paint at the age of six and how to make music at the age of three. “I really love fashion, kasi maliit pa lang ako, natuto na ‘ko manahi. When I was four, I learned how to sew from my aunts. Maybe it was destiny since all my interests got combined,” Cerrada says of her childhood fascinations.

Maybe, indeed, it was her destiny to learn all these things at a very young age. Maybe it was indeed the goddess that fanned the first sparks of fascination—not yet of passion—in her life. These sparks, however, would not catch fire until years later, when she shifted from Accountancy to Marketing Management in college. “[Accountancy]’s so boring. I could finish the whole problem in a few minutes,” Cerrada recalls. “You don’t have an artistic thing, unlike marketing where you could go beyond the limits, the regular patterns… I shifted to Marketing Management, which I really enjoyed.”

The fun Cerrada had in Marketing reaped quick results in the form of awards. In one of the advertising congresses she attended, she won as Creative Director of a company she and other colleagues put up. It was then that she also started pursuing fashion design, eventually also creating a name for herself in the field. After teaching in college to substitute her professor who was on-leave—that is, without having graduated yet—she worked with Milk Wear, and had had national fashion shows in her credit. She eventually specialized in wedding gowns, which she has grown to like for its unique quality. “So that was my fashion days,” Cerrada says, laughing. “It was exciting, but it was more stressful since you can’t tell your client, ‘Can you move your wedding? I’m sick.’”

The embers of Lalaine Cerrada’s art were only nurtured entirely when she moved to Vienna, where her art finally took form. “My art? I discovered my art there because I have my peace of mind there. I live alone, so I have all my freedom,” she shares. Although she did start out with fashion exhibits in Vienna, she admits that she eventually grew tired of it. “When I went to Vienna, I stopped fashion because I wasn’t happy anymore. It was more showbiz,” she admits. “You have to deal with something that is not of your artistic pattern since you have to follow the clients’ wishes, so your art is lost.” She recalls the moment of creation of her first art piece, when, in the middle of working on a fashion exhibit, she wonders what cloth would be like if draped on a canvas. “I stopped working—it was just impulse—and I draped cloth on the canvas because the urge was there,” she gushes. “When it was done, I was very happy, and I knew it was what I wanted to do. It was a combination of everything I like: Fashion, painting, and it was music-inspired.” The goddess of Cerrada’s art finally took over her life, and it is in deep devotion to her passion that she shares her life and art for a cause.

“I’d rather give them away for a good cause than sell them,” Cerrada says of her works. “I have that much attachment.” Indeed, as a mother makes sure that her children get as much warmth when they leave her hearth, so does Cerrada makes sure her art pieces fall on equally careful hands. “I treat them as my kids, because the time you spend with them… it’s out of passion,” she shares. Rather than having them auctioned—and they get a lot of bids—Cerrada opts to donate them to World Vision, a Christian organization that aims to help victims of poverty and injustice worldwide by sponsoring children and families in their education and livelihood. “I get proceeds just enough for my materials,” she shares. And with the sparkle in her eyes when she said this, it’s easy to tell that this is enough for her.

Lalaine Cerrada: Alluring in persona and allured by the art she serves to create. Perhaps complete submission to the goddess of one’s passion isn’t so bad after all. Anyway, Cerrada’s continuous creation for the cause she seeks to advocate has treated her well, and one can only say that the surrender she gave to the goddess has had its bountiful returns.