By Reina Lynn G. Antonio, MD, FPCP, FPSN
Multi-talented, Alluring, Intelligent and Accomplished are but a few words that can describe this down-to-earth Nephrologist.
Aside from her academic excellence, her wonderful family, being in the training core, serving as an officer in her local chapter and practicing as a clinician, Dr. Maia Celeste Alix-Arbatin’s amazing pen and ink artworks would invoke admiration from anyone, especially members of the medical community. You might actually consider her as the long-lost descendant of Dr. Frank Netter, the famous author of one of our books in medical school: The Atlas of Human Anatomy.
Her collection of drawings on human organs was even featured in their UP College of Medicine Batch project. The calendar sold more than a thousand copies for that fund-raising activity. Every single calendar printed was bought.
Dr. Maia admitted that she draws and sketches mostly as an escape from the stresses of our work.
“I am sure that you would agree that sometimes, being a Nephrologist can wear you thin and burn you out. When I sketch, I am forced to empty my thoughts and engage my entire brain to concentrate only on the precise and controlled movements of my hand, on pen and ink and paper…and for a while I forget about a long-term dialysis patient who died of a massive MI, or a postpartum 27 year-old who died of critical COVID.”
Hence, whenever I see Dr. Maia’s posts on her social media accounts and admitting that she finished them in the wee hours, I somehow knew she had a rough day or had a difficult challenge. I could relate to the fact that despite everything, she still made time to follow her heart and carry out what she enjoyed. I think we all need to do that… to keep our sanity and get replenished.
Like any other skill, whether in music or sports, development and mastering the skill in Arts requires hours of practice. Yes, even outliers or those who have extraordinary proficiency in a certain subject still need to ‘practice’.
Dr. Maia admitted that she had been doing art for as long as she can remember. With an artist for a father and a sister, she would observe and learn from them while she was growing up. She even claimed she was prouder of being awarded the Artist of the Year in High School rather than her academic achievements.
Aside from being self-taught by reading books and observing the artists in her family, she later joined a calligraphy bootcamp under Master Penman Michael Sull, who was a former White House Calligrapher. I remember her amusing anecdote that he was even surprised to learn that she is actually a ‘Doctor’ because of her beautiful handwriting.
But what really makes Dr. Maia enjoy or lose herself in doing her Art is actually undergoing the creative process.
“All schools of art require that same amount of skill, talent and passion to create something out of nothing. It is the process of creating that I am obsessed with, more than the product itself. Believe it or not I still marvel at how letterforms look when I make strokes with my oblique pen and walnut ink, or how crosshatching here and some stippling there can make blood vessels look real. If I end up creating something beautiful in the process, that’s just a bonus. The process of creating, in itself, is the reward.”
She loved drawing human anatomy the most, especially the kidneys, as she was inspired by Netter, Cutter and Grey. Many of her friends from other medical specialties and subspecialties have requested her to do art for them, something she was very glad to create each for them without compensation. Each was considered priceless as they were gifted to individuals who love her art. She regarded the opportunity given to her to go through that enjoyable process as her payment or commission.
The same thing went with the calendar project. It was for a good cause, so she felt honored to be part of it.
Before Dr. Maia knew it, she had produced so many artworks that she could no longer remember their actual number. She even joked she was afraid she already ran out of organs to draw as she makes it a point to create Art at least once a week. It is her meditative activity. A hobby. An obsession.
Her artwork was also featured in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases published in October 16, 2019. The article was entitled “Repairing the Broken”, where she talked about the Japanese art Kintsugi.
She likewise had been invited to join exhibits before, but COVID-19 pandemic happened. She hoped that maybe someday she will publish a book of her drawings.
Perhaps a Filipino version of The Atlas of Human Anatomy?
RLGA2021
THE SEAL
The Society shall have its own seal which consists of two (2) concentric circles. Between the inner and outer circles are the words “Philippine Society of Nephrology, Inc. 1971”. Both the circles and the words are in green color. Inside the inner circle is a facsimile of the nephron’s renal corpuscle in red color on a yellow background.
