CONTEMPORARY PHILIPPINE ARTS FROM THE REGIONS

QUARTER 3, MODULE 6

LOCAL MATERIALS IN CREATING AND ART TECHNIQUES

1. Recycled Materials. These are materials in the house like boxes, bottles, plastic wraps, tin
cans, and other things that are already utilized which can be used for an artwork. The artwork
made from recycled materials is called recycled art. It is sometimes called “ junk art”. This
includes anything from old plastic toys and vehicle tires to scraps of cloth, and building supplies.
Artists who make recycled art take those materials and make them into something new. One
can create 2D or 3D art out of these recycled materials. The use of paste, wires, glue guns, and
other materials to put materials can be used as one of the techniques in creating recycled art.

2. Strings. Strings like embroidery floss, yarn, and thicker strings can be used to create art. The
art made from strings is called string art. Often referred to as pin-and-thread art, string art is an
addicting art form that is inviting to the most experienced crafter and newcomer alike. Through
the creation of intricate designs, crafters turn a plank of wood into a work of art. The entire
concept revolves around a few simple tools and materials wood board, embroidery floss, and
nails.

3. Wood. Wood and stone were some of the first materials carved by humans. Wood is very
commonly used in works of art. It is used in wood carving and wood sculpture. Wood carving is
the art of fashioning or ornamenting objects of wood by cutting with a sharp handheld implement
and also an object of wood so fashioned or ornamented.

4. Clay. Clay is a stiff, sticky fine-grained earth, typically yellow, red, or bluish-gray in color and
often forming an impermeable layer in the soil. It can be molded when wet and is dried and
baked to make bricks, pottery, and ceramics. Adobe, as used in sculpture, is a natural mixture
of clay-rich earth, sand, and straw. Using this material enables sculptors to form figures that are
soft like clay and when dry are as hard as a rock.

5. Coconut leaves. Coconut leaves around are used by the people of Bulacan in their
traditional palm folding art called Puni. Puni is one of the art leaf fronds folding. This is a
Tagalog term that means to beautify or decorate with coco leaf. It is used as a food container for
suman or puso, palaspas or a toy. Coconut leaves are used in making crafts like mat weaving,
basket weaving, and hand weaving.

6. Bamboos. Bamboos are used in singkaban by the Bulacenos. SIngkaban refers to the
decorated bamboo arch used by the people of Bulacan during fiestas. The typical Filipino
bamboo is so dense. Filipinos make bridges, homes, and towers out of them. They are meant to
be used as round grasses for Filipinos. Bamboo crafts could be woven like baskets, trash bins,
furnitures like chairs, tables, cabinets, and others; decorative items, and musical instruments.

7. Buri (Silag). Buri comes from the Buri Palm which is found also in the Philippines. From this
palm, three types of fiber can be gathered: from the petiole buri (fiber), the leaf (raffia), and the
ribs (buntal). The fibers can be woven to come up with pieces of art like fans, mats, baskets,
bottleholder, bags, placemats, hats, etc.

8. Rattan. Member of the palm family, rattan grows vine-like, spreading through tropical
rainforests and reaching hundreds of meters in length. As a furniture material, rattan is
unparalleled. When heated, rattan can be bent and formed into unique shapes, and after cooling
becomes a sturdy frame on which to weave a variety of fibers such as rattan peel, reed, rattan
core, and even leather. In order to come up with finished rattan art, the rattan has to be dried to
remove excess moisture and make the product suitable for use after curing. When it is done, put
it outside under the hot equatorial sun and it takes two or three days to complete. The rattan is
ready for use after drying. Then, the further process is into peel for weaving, or core products
that are flexible to create the baskets and home accessories that can be used for binding.

9. Abaca. The Philippines remain the world's largest producer of abaca. The abaca plant is
closely related to and resembles the banana plant (Musa sapientum). The abaca plant grows
from rootstock that produces up to about 25 fleshy, fibreless stalks, forming a circular cluster
called a mat, or hill. The washed and dried abaca fibers are used to make woven baskets,
braided ropes, twines, fishing lines, and nets, as well as coarse cloth for sacking. There is a
flourishing niche market for abaca clothing, curtains, screens, and furnishings.

10. Pandan. It is known as the screw pine. The value of this plant is in its leaves. The leaves
are fibrous, resistant to decay, and grow very long. The leaves are boiled and each leaf is
cleaned by removing the sharp spines on the margins and midrib. The strips are dried, sorted,
and individually smoothened and straightened before the weaving process.

11. Charcoal. This is organic drawing material from burnt wood. It can come into two forms:
vine charcoal and compressed charcoal. It was said to be one of the easiest media to learn.
Vine charcoal is a long and thin charcoal stick that is the result of burning grape vines in a kiln
without air. Compressed charcoal (also referred to as charcoal sticks) is shaped into a block or
a stick. It creates a much darker black than vine charcoal.

12. Kinds of Shells:

a. Capiz shell is a whitish, translucent shell found in the coastal waters of the Philippines.
It is also known as the window pane oyster shell or locally called capiz shell. Once
harvested, the shells are processed through cleaning, polishing, and cutting into shapes.
They are made into wind chimes, tiles, lamp shades, picture frames, jewelry boxes,
accessories, and decorations for the holidays like Christmas lanterns (parol).
b. Puka shells come from cone shells that have been tossed and tumbled in the surf and
sand over time until all that remains is the cupped top. The hole (puka) is naturally worn
through. The natural colors range from white to beige and tan.

c. Paua shells come from large edible abalone whose shell is used to make jewelry.
d. Blacklip shells come from various marine creatures whose shell has a blacklip edge.
e. Sigay shells are cowrie shells that are harvested to make necklaces, bracelets, and
curtains.
f. Troca shells are spiral to conical shells used for fancy accessories. The exterior may be
smooth, glossy, or sculptured. These shells have pearly interiors.
g. Coconut Shell is considered the hardwood which produces craft works that are of
excellent quality, imperishable, and relatively easy to make with the proper training and
the right tools. The coconut shells are carved in different designs and varnished. Crafts
can range from fashion accessories, to tables, lamps, jewelry boxes, ashtrays, and many
other decorative items. In making a coconut craft, ensure the right shell is selected (no
cracks and free from oil). Prepare the carving tools and saws (coping saw, hack saw).
The piece of art should be dried under the sun.