Kenneth Tan moved back to his hometown, San Jose, to help care for his grandmother Crescenciana Tan, and they began working together. Crescenciana made watercolor paintings, and Kenneth drew her memories and stories on top of them. They called themselves The Lola x Kenneth Collaboration. When Crescenciana passed, she left behind her paintings, and Kenneth decided to finish everything she started. He promised.
From that promise grew an illustrated memoir, Crescenciana, which Kenneth self-published in 2022. In Crescenciana, Kenneth weaves their artwork and conversations to tell his grandmother’s life story. He revisits her memories as a survivor of World War Il and the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, and he reflects on his own continuing grief since her passing.
In 2024, Kenneth published Tan’s Interwoven, a memoir he wrote with his mother, Olivia Carbonel Tan, and sister, Audrey Tan Ronquillo. Kenneth hopes these family stories will help the next generation learn about the past and build their own identities for the future. He also feels this collaboration with his grandmother keeps her present as her artwork supports his own creative path.