CANVAS is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting greater awareness and appreciation for Philippine art, culture and the environment.

Message in the Sand, an exquisite art book for children, introduces the young eco-champion, Miguel, who loves the sea and sets out to save it. Armed with nothing but faith, imagination, and his mother’s love and encouragement, his only weapons are those that the sea has provided for its own preservation – seashells, seaweed, and sand.

With these simple tools, Miguel must battle two giants: The powerful mining company, whose toxic waste is ruining the beach and killing the beautiful fish and seabirds; and the powerful ocean that keeps washing away his words. The book teaches gentle lessons in perseverance, and in finding unusual and peaceful means to effect change. It inspires and empowers children to act against seemingly insurmountable odds, showing us how even one child can make a difference.

Proceeds from the sale of the paintings and the book will be used to further the efforts of CANVAS to promote Philippine art, culture, and the environment. The book, and a complete range of giftware featuring the paintings from Message in the Sand are also available on www.canvasdownstream.com.

First edition hardbound versions of the book are available through CANVAS, the Ayala Museum and 1/of Gallery in Serendra. A special e-book version of Message in the Sand and an accompanying teaching module, is being prepared by CANVAS, and will be made available for free downloading on its website (www.canvas.ph).

Charmaine Aserappa is the author of In a Japanese Garden (with woodcuts by Akiko Naomura; Council Oak Books, San Francisco, U.S.A 1999). A Publishers Weekly Top Ten Gift Book, an Amazon.com Five Star, Most Wished For and Most Gifted Book, it appears on bestselling lists all over the world in categories as diverse as philosophy, architecture, and poetry, and is used in many schools.

Aserappa said, "It was an honor to be invited to write Message in the Sand for CANVAS. I am delighted with the book and hope its message will spread across the world. We all share this wonderful but fragile planet, and children must be taught that caring for it is the sacred duty of every human being."

Roel Obemio’s glowing acrylic paintings for the book have been inspired by the art of Colombia’s Fernando Botero and our own Mauro Malang Santos. The unique and endearing characters in Message in the Sand are tenderly and amusingly rendered.