Principles of indigenous crafts and Design

Introduction
The small islands that make up the island nation of the Philippines, which is part of the
Malay Archipelago, are home to numerous tribes. Undoubtedly, it is a beautiful country
with lovely beaches, tall mountains, volcanoes, coral reefs with vibrant colors, and the
blessing of a lush green rainforest. The locals are friendly and support each other
through various jobs, but one stands out in particular. It is the one that involves
Philippine arts and crafts.

Indigenous materials
- Timber, canes, grass, palms, and rattan are examples of indigenous
materials that are naturally and locally found in a particular location.
Capiz, pearls, corals, and seashells are also indigenous raw materials in
the country that are widely known and used creatively in crafts and
decoration because the country is an archipelago with an abundance of
beaches and marine resources.

INDIGENOUS CRAFTS
- Indigenous art is produced by native, or "traditional," people who are
descended from the land. Arts and crafts refer to the practice of creating
items by hand, sometimes with the aid of specialized tools, and skilfully
fusing that with the artist's sensibility and aesthetic sense. The Philippines
has many villages devoted to the art and craft industries, which not only
attract tourists but also provide jobs for many Filipinos. Traditional crafts
like weaving, metalsmithing, pottery, woodcarving, and goldsmithing are
well-known throughout the nation and highly regarded by both locals and
visitors. The southern Philippine Islands are known for their priceless
ornate carvings.

The principles of indigenous crafts design are important for several reasons, rooted in
the cultural, social, economic, and environmental contexts of indigenous communities.
Understanding and respecting these principles is crucial for maintaining the authenticity,
cultural significance, and sustainability of indigenous crafts. Here are some key reasons
why these principles matter:
1. Preservation of Cultural Heritage:
- Indigenous crafts often embody the cultural heritage and traditions of a
community. Adhering to design principles ensures the preservation of
cultural practices, symbols, and stories that may have been passed down
through generations.
2. Cultural Identity and Empowerment:
- Indigenous crafts are integral to the expression of cultural identity. Following
design principles helps reinforce a sense of cultural pride and
 empowerment within communities, fostering a strong connection to
ancestral traditions.

3. Sustainable Resource Use:

- Many indigenous crafts are closely tied to the environment, utilizing locally
sourced and sustainable materials. Adhering to principles of environmental
stewardship ensures the long-term health of ecosystems and the continued
availability of essential resources.

4. Interconnectedness with Nature:

- Indigenous crafts often reflect a deep connection with nature. Principles that
promote sustainability and respect for the environment reinforce the
understanding of the interconnectedness between the craft, the community,
and the natural world.

5. Intergenerational Knowledge Transfer:

- The principles of indigenous crafts design facilitate the transfer of
traditional knowledge and skills from elders to younger generations. This
intergenerational transmission is vital for the continuity of cultural
practices and craftsmanship.

6. Community Cohesion and Collaboration:

- Indigenous crafts are frequently communal activities, fostering
collaboration and a sense of community. Following design principles
reinforces shared cultural values, strengthens social bonds, and supports
the well-being of the community.

7. Economic Empowerment:
- Adhering to fair trade practices, ethical sourcing, and principles of
economic empowerment within indigenous crafts can contribute to the
economic well-being of communities. This, in turn, helps sustain
traditional craftsmanship and supports local artisans.

8. Ceremonial and Ritual Significance:

- Some indigenous crafts have ceremonial or ritualistic significance within
the community. Design principles ensure that the craftsmanship aligns
with the cultural and spiritual aspects associated with specific
ceremonies, rites of passage, or rituals.
 9. Cultural Appropriation Prevention:
- Following principles of respect for intellectual property and cultural
authenticity helps prevent cultural appropriation. Respecting the unique
designs and symbols associated with indigenous crafts is crucial to
avoiding misrepresentation and exploitation.

10. Adaptation and Innovation:

- Indigenous crafts are not static; they can adapt to changing contexts while
maintaining their cultural essence. Principles of adaptation and innovation
allow communities to evolve their crafts in response to contemporary
challenges and opportunities.

11. Global Awareness and Understanding:

- Indigenous crafts often serve as a tangible expression of cultural diversity.
Understanding and appreciating the principles of indigenous crafts design
contribute to global awareness, fostering cross-cultural understanding and
appreciation.
In summary, the principles of indigenous crafts design play a pivotal role in preserving
cultural heritage, promoting sustainable practices, empowering communities, and
fostering a deeper connection between indigenous people and their traditions. These
principles are essential for ensuring the continued vitality and relevance of indigenous
crafts in the face of evolving social, economic, and environmental dynamics.

Importance of Indigenous Materials and Crafts

●Creativity -it is an art that reflects the artistic sense, feelings, and cultural
characteristics of a society.
●Renewable and plentiful, derived from a variety of natural sources -Being
naturally non-polluting and not releasing any harmful chemicals, particles, or toxins into
the atmosphere is very helpful in reducing pollution to the environment.
●Promotes the beauty and cultural aspect of a country -Through this, people from
generation to generation may experience and retain the artistic side of the Filipinos.

Tools and Materials used in making indigenous creative crafts

●Hand Tools -generally used for applications that require less power and greater
finesse (examples: needles, glass cutters, looms, spinners, and presses.)
●Power Tools -actuated by an additional power source and mechanism other than the
solely manual labor used with hand tools.

The principles of design describe the ways that artists use the elements of art in a work
of art.
 1. Balance – it is the distribution of visual weight of objects, colors, texture, and
space. Balance is the distribution of the visual weight of objects, colors, texture,
and space. If the design was a scale, these elements should be balanced to
make a design feel stable
(Balance is significance because if you don't have a sense of balance with
your design. Then the viewer won't know where to look and what you're trying to
communicate may not get across because areas of its interest can easily go
unnoticed)
The three types of balance
1. Symmetrical balance – when equal weight is an equal sign of composition
balance around a fulcrum or access in the center.
(So symmetrical balance that is achieved by arranging elements on either side of the
center of a composition in an evaluated manner.)
2. Asymmetrical balance – balance when you have two dissimilar side of the sign
and have position visual weight and equally you'd still achieve a sense of
balance.
(So asymmetrical occurs when you have different visual image on either side of a
design and yet the image still seems balanced. Furthermore asymmetrical balance is
more dynamic interesting since it is evoke feelings or modernism movement and
energy.)
3. Radial balance – It is symmetry in severe direction.
(Radial is symmetry is to simplify create balance with the use of a circular or radially
oriented design shapes and lines to create a balance Center any piece of work.)

The next principles of indigenous crafts and design is movement.

2. Movement – is the principle of design used to give artists the ability to let a
viewer’s eye around art piece.
(For instance artists will create Pathways within their artwork so that viewers will
automatically look at the piece.)

3. Pattern – is the repeating of an object or a symbol all over the work of art

Unity variety and rhythm

4. Unity is the principle of design that unifies all other principles within a piece of
work, allowing each individual element to coexist with one another to form an
aesthetically pleasing design.
 Using similar or related elements in an artwork to create consistency marks
mood, colors and theme. It is the arrangement of different pieces producing
the harmonious balance and complete whole elements in art.
(When we say harmonious, it is forming a pleasing or consistent whole. so as you can
see at the given example or the picture. It has marks colors mood and its theme.

5. Variety – Variety is the use of several elements of design to hold the viewer's
attention and to guide the viewer's eye through and around the work of art. Unity
 is the feeling of harmony between all parts of the work of art, which creates a
sense of completeness.
 Using many different elements to create interest or contrast in artwork.
 Variety works through juxtaposition and contrast
 An artist places different visual elements next to one another when we say
just the position it is the fact of two things being seen or placed close together
with constructing effect

6. Rhythm. It is a principle of design that suggests movement or action. Rhythm is

usually achieved through the repetition of lines shapes colors and more.
 It also creates a visual Tempo and artworks and provide a path for the
viewer's eye to follow.

7. Emphasis is a principle of creating a centered interest in an artwork, often

achieved by color, contrast, and by lines which direct the eye to it.
 Emphasis refers to the area of an artwork that domains attention or Draw
interest. It is often the place where a viewer look first. Artists create emphasis
by contrasting the elements of art, such as color or shape
 Emphasis create a focal points areas that are light and value brightly colored
or highly detailed.
(When we say focal point is that area of a picture that attracts the eyes. The center of
Interest acts as an attention getter. It commands the viewer’s curiosity our mental
concentration and it's the part of the picture that we find naturally fascinating and want
to know more about.)

8. Scale – in art describes the size of one object to another and also refers to our
perception of perspective and proportion.
 artworks that looks realistic are scaled similarly to real world object
(Scale in art can also refer to the overall size of the work. Scale it is the overall physical
size and it refers to relative size of an element in a designs when compared to another
element. It is responsible for creating a visual hierarchy among the elements of your
creation. It tells the viewers what things to focus on what order to look at them and what
the most important element to focus on.)

so good day. Everyone I am gabino Ibis Lambert Jr from bse2j.So I will be continuing
the discussion about principles of indigenous crafts and designs. So we come now to
another principles of indigenous crafts and Designs which is

9. Proportion – indigenous artisan pay close attention to the balance and scale of
their creation.
 Proportion involves ensuring that different elements within a design relate
harmoniously to one another
(so dapat ang gagawin ng isang artist na output or design has a relationship
both sides and both elements so relationship between elements within a
design in terms of size and scale. So this proportion are based on the cultural
significance of certain elements and their relationship to each other
 relationship elements. So dapat meron talagang relationship. Both elements
hanggang sa isang output na gagawin ng isang artists na dapat may cultural
significance den yung bawat elements na ilalagay niya sa kanyang creation.)
 Maintaining proper proportion ensures that the design maintains its integrity
and accurately represents the cultural context.

10. Contrast. This is an amount of difference between elements.

Contrast has also and three types
1. Value contrast - This is the amount of difference between values.
2. High Contrast – there is a large difference between the lightest and darkest
areas and ages look harder.
3. Low contrast – There is no there is not much difference between light
between the lightest and darkest areas and edges look softer.

Measuring and laying out of indigenous design

 For designating measurements of land old folks. Measurement of Kalinga is

associated with cultures without written expression. Since objects come in all
different sizes and shapes, hey can also be measured in lots of different ways.
(So there are some measurement techniques used by the old fox in Kalinga. It is
associated with the human body or familiar objects. Example of measuring and
laying out is ratan basket.)

Here are some examples of measurement techniques used by the old folks in
Kalinga.
- Handpan measurement. It involves using the span of an individual's hand
from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the little finger. It is commonly used for
smaller objects like tactiles and basket.
- Armspan measurement. It is taken by extending both arms horizontally from
side to side and measuring the distance from fingertip - to – fingertip.
- Footstep. It is based on the length of an individual's footstep.
- Thumb measurement. It involves using the length of an individual stamp from
the base to the tip.
- Bamboo measurement. The diameter or length of bamboo segments are
often used as a unit measurement for objects like pulls, furniture’s or tools.

They can vary slightly from person to person or among different communities. Therefore
when working with indigenous designs, It is crucial to communicate and collaborate
closely with local Artisans or knowledgeable individuals who are familiar with this
traditional measurement practices. This will help ensure accuracy and respect for the
cultural heritage associated with the indigenous designs.

Example of measuring and laying out of indigenous design is Piña fiber. Piña is from a
leaf, the leaf has to be cut first from the plant. Then the fiber is pulled or split away from
the leaf. Each strand of the piña fiber is handscraped and is knotted one by one to form
a continuous filament to be handwoven and then made into a piña cloth. The green
epidermal layer is scraped off the leaf with tools made from coconut shells, coconut
husks or pottery shards. Extraction from the long, stiff leaves is time consuming and
labor intensive. These fibers are then spun into soft, shimmering fabrics by hand.
Because the fiber is fine and breaks easily, working with it is slow and tedious. Workers
are constantly knotting broken threads. The result is a lightweight, transparent fabric
that is positively beautiful. The second layer, bastos, is a coarse fiber used in making
string sort wine. The finer fiber is called pinukpok. All these fibers are combed to clean
them further (usually by the river since it is believed that its water makes the strands
whiter) and render them easy for handknotting into continuous strands. Since the
individual stripped fiber is no longer than 30 inches, the fibers have to be knotted. This
process is known in the dialect as pag-panug-ot, an utterly delicate and laborious task.
A piece of bamboo is fashioned into a blade to cut off the end of each knot. The next
step is warping. This is done on pegs struck in a board. Another laborious step, it
usually takes 15 to 20 days to warp enough yarns to complete a “sucod” of 18 to 20
“bucos” or 54 to 60 meters of cloth. Pag-talinyas or spinning is likewise executed with a
crude hand-operated bobbin winder which is turned by the right hand while the left hand
drills the strand into a tiny mold made of reed or tabun-ak. This process makes the
material ready for the loom. The loom has foot-operated treadle with an extended
overhead warp beam with two harnesses and two treadles. The warp is wound into the
warp beam. Then it is treaded into the boddle (benting) reed or sucod. The benting
allows the warp to open when the treadle is stepped on the feet. The sucod is used to
press the weft to thicken the cloth. The thickness and width of the cloth is determined by
the sucod. There are the 65, 70 and 80 types of winder. For instance, the 65 sucod
produces a cloth of about 24 inches in width; 70sucod, 29 inches, and the 80 sucod, 31
to 32 inches. Dyeing the fiber to any desired color may be executed at this point.
Normally piña is beige or dirty white or ecru but dyed piña produces blue or black piña
cloth. These hand woven fabrics are colored with vegetable dyes originating from
leaves, and bark of different trees. The result is equally dramatic and charming.
Difference between crafts and arts
Artis described as an unstructured and open-ended form of work; that expresses
emotions, feelings, andvision. Craft denotes a form of work, involving the creation of
physical objects, by the use of hands and brain. Art relies on artistic merit whereas craft
is based on learned skills and technique.