Who does not recognize the exquisite calado paintings of Araceli Limcaco-Dans? The product of an artist’s struggle to create art that was truly hers and also distinctively Filipino, these elaborate watercolors of Philippine embroidery first made their appearance in the Philippine art scene in 1986. They have since been exhibited both here and abroad, to resounding success and critical acclaim.

Dans has also been an art educator, a career she holds almost as dear as her painting. She taught art for 32 years, heading the art departments at her alma mater, the Philippine Women’s University, and at the Ateneo de Manila Grade School. She also taught art on television (via Ateneo’s Educational TV), and her programs were broadcast for many years to elementary schools in Metro Manila.

She has always had a great passion for teaching art to children. In fact, when asked to select a memorabilia item of hers that she would best like to be remembered for, Dans chose, not a sketch or a reproduction of a painting, but a poem, the only one she has ever written. It is her very own “Ars Poetica,” where she pays tribute to children, to their unerring eye for what is true and what is real.