Materials and
Application of
Techniques
Mrs. JOCEL C. REYES, LPT
What is it
Garbage are scattered around our environment, especially by those
people living in the National Capital Region (NCR). This trash from our
surroundings or community can be recycled to produce something new and
transform it into a local product or a piece of art.
The Philippines has been blessed with a lot of local materials according
to previous discussions. Some of these are Abaca, Bakbak, Bamboo, Buntal,
Buri, and many others that are constantly being developed by talented
Filipinos.
But in the long run, our skilled Filipinos have gone through various trials
especially on the scarcity of the materials used and the growth of technology
that hinders the development of our existing methods in the development of
local materials so that new generations are gradually forgetting the materials
used and the application of techniques of our past.
SINGKABAN
Based on the book (Sandagan, 2016),
Singkaban is a type of Filipino art of
shaving a bamboo for home decors and
bamboo arches for weddings, mass
gathering, fiesta, and as welcome
signage of a town, city, or village in the
country. It is broadly utilized as
enrichment amid town celebration in
Bulacan. Experienced workers who
strive to shave bamboo, layering to
make curls and sensitive twirls to reach
the unique art in this field. Perhaps, it
is an art form ensuring that art is
acknowledged and is open to
everybody within the community and
their visitors.
PUNI
According to (Flores, 2018), Puni is a
traditional art of leaf folding. It is an
ancient art of weaving that uses
elongated leaves. It starts with
preparing the leaf, folding the leaf,
tightening the package, and trimming
the garnish. It is one of the
recognized crafts in the weaving
industry. In the history of Bulacan,
they use these leaves in making
“Kubol” as a resting place, as a
wrapper for their foods, and most of
all as a creative toy for children. It
was only during 1998 when it was
called Puni.
These leaves were widely used then
but now, it's becoming obsolete and
become a dying art. With the
cooperation of the local governments
of Bulacan, it is gradually being
introduced to the new generations.
Today it continues to be used to
create woven baskets, bags, fans,
and most of all as "Palaspas" by
Catholic believers at the beginning of
Holy Week. Currently, these leaves
are imported from Sampaloc,
Quezon. The
leaves dry and crumbled within a few
days. It is more common to use that
are dried treated and dyed for
strength and color.
PABALAT
As featured by Galvez in 2016, the
province of Bulacan is known for
making Pastillas de Letche one of the
Filipinos' favorites. It is made from
carabao’s milk and sprinkled with white
sugar. After this is done, it is wrapped
in plain white paper and then placed in
packages to be released to the market.
Due to the unique mindset and
creativity of the Filipinos, they had a
unique approach in making pastillas. In
the town of San Miguel, the unique
production of paper used to wrap
pastillas first emerged. This art was
soon transferred to the town of
Malolos, Bulacan.
Mrs. Luz Ocampo was only eleven
years old when she became fond of
making designs on pastillas wrappers.
When she was a child, they had a
business on sweetened products and
one of them was the pastillas that she
later loved to make its cover that we
still recognize until today.
This kind of art is what we called borlas
de pastillas, the intricately-designed
wrapper is made from papel de hapon
or Japanese paper. First, Make a design
on the tracing board. Trace the design
on the papel de Hapon or Japanese
paper. The real challenge comes with
cutting the paper where the design is
traced. The designs include Bahay
kubo (nipa hut), rice field,
farmer/farmers, Maria Clara, flowers,
landscapes, figures, or specific
activities and scenarios.
Wrapper-making used to be folk art,
but the tradition is slowly diminishing.
Today, Ate Naty Ocampo Castro
continues the legacy of her mother –
offer her borlas de pastillas- to keep
this culture alive and to be recognized
TAKA
Paete, Laguna is one of the most colorful and
creative places in the Philippines. The name
Paete is derived from the word chisel which is an
important tool used for sculpture.
Taka or Paper Mache was first recorded in the
1920s when Maria Bangue made a paper toy. The
papers were molded from wood carving and
glued with paste. After drying, the paper was
removed from the molder
and reassembled, dried, and painted in a
decorative pattern that eventually becomes toys
and ornaments. Unfortunately, no one knows if
her artworks were saved after her town was
Every April the Paete people consumed
are busy making Christmas
by fire and almost characters
all traces oflike
Takas
Santa Claus, Rudolph the red shenose Reindeer,
made and Frosty the Snowman in
are gone.
preparation for the upcoming holiday season.
Within the town, almost all the shops sell various Filipino-inspired designs
carabao figurine, Maria Clara dolls, and horses in a variety of options. Some
new designs are cherubs, toy soldiers, giraffes, rabbits, and a variety of
Paete, Laguna is one of the most colorful and
creative places in the Philippines. The name
Paete is derived from the word chisel which is an
important tool used for sculpture.
Taka or Paper Mache was first recorded in the
1920s when Maria Bangue made a paper toy. The
papers were molded from wood carving and
glued with paste. After drying, the paper was
removed from the molder
and reassembled, dried, and painted in a
decorative pattern that eventually becomes toys
and ornaments. Unfortunately, no one knows if
her artworks were saved after her town was
Every April the Paete people consumed
are busy making Christmas
by fire and almost characters
all traces oflike
Takas
Santa Claus, Rudolph the red shenose Reindeer,
made and Frosty the Snowman in
are gone.
preparation for the upcoming holiday season.
Within the town, almost all the shops sell various Filipino-inspired designs
carabao figurine, Maria Clara dolls, and horses in a variety of options. Some
new designs are cherubs, toy soldiers, giraffes, rabbits, and a variety of
PAGPAPALAYOK or
POTTERY MAKING
The tradition of Pottery-making lives on in Pasig
until now. Where the products include not only
ornamental jars but also those used in everyday
living.
Some pottery makers in Pasig import clay in San
Mateo, Rizal. The first step is passing the clay
through the mill. Then, they shape it in a mold
made from "Plaster of Paris." Next, they put the
clay on the potter's wheel. After it's done on the
wheel, it will be buff and smoothen the pot. Drying
takes one or two days depending on the climate.
When it rains, the pots can take one week to dry.
When it is sunny, it can take only one day. When
the pots are dry, they can be baked in the kiln.
The ideal time is eight hours of baking. In baking,
if you heat it too suddenly, the pots break, so you
have to heat it slowly. At first, keep the heat low.
When the pots turn red, that means they're almost
done so turn up the heat until the embers spark.
Today, they used old pieces of wood and plywood
as
fuel in their ovens. However, potters before used
carabao dung and hay. That's what they used back
in the 1950s. When the pot is tapped and sounds
like a bell it is cooked then it must be inspected
once more. Finally, it will be painted with latex or
acrylic paint, or coated with a glaze to make it
shine (Castro, 2020).
SANIKULAS
COOKIES or
PANECILLUS de
SAN NICOLAS
News featured in Youtube last 2018, considers
Pampanga as the culinary destination of the
Philippines. Atching Lillian Borromeo is one of the
famous food historians and experts in Pampanga. Her
recipes are handed down from her grandmother
whom she called “Impo”. Atching Lilian also makes
Panecillos de San Nicolas, whom Filipinos believe to
possess healing properties. Arrowroot is the main
ingredient in baking the said cookies. The arrowroot
plant was inherited from her ancestors. They had to
plant the arrowroot and wait eight months for the
roots to mature. The roots are then processed. It is
pounded and soaked in water. It is sun-dried and
ends up as powder. That's the flour they used for San
Nicolas cookies. Unlike these days you can easily buy
ingredients from the store. But at that time, they
didn't even have flour.
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl – cornstarch,
baking powder, salt, sugar, egg yolks, coconut milk,
softened butter, lemon zest, and oil. Blend well with
a
wooden spoon. Slowly add the cake flour and the rice
flour, knead it into the mixture till it resembles a
thick
dough, and has a smooth surface. Mixing by the
hand
should take about 10 minutes till it is smooth and all
ingredients are incorporated.
Place the dough into an airtight container and freezer
for 2 to 4 hours or overnight. When ready to bake,
take
the dough out of the freezer and thaw on the counter
for 8 to 10 minutes. Keep the dough very cold so it is
Grease with baking spray or shortening the surface
of
the San Nicolas mold which has the design. Make
sure
to grease the inner crevices and corners so that
dough
can be removed easily after shaping. Place a chunk
of
the dough, about 4 tablespoons over the San Nicolas
mold, on the hand-carved portion. Flatten with your
hand to spread it around evenly. Place a piece of
parchment or wax paper over the dough, which is
over
the wooden mold. Using a rolling pin, roll and flatten
the dough so it gets embedded in the design.
Place a round or oval cookie cutter over the San
Nicolas mold, to cut the dough to the appropriate
shape needed. Trim the edges of the cookie if
needed,
Grease with baking spray or shortening the surface
of
the San Nicolas mold which has the design. Make
sure
to grease the inner crevices and corners so that
dough
can be removed easily after shaping. Place a chunk
of
the dough, about 4 tablespoons over the San Nicolas
mold, on the hand-carved portion. Flatten with your
hand to spread it around evenly. Place a piece of
parchment or wax paper over the dough, which is
over
the wooden mold. Using a rolling pin, roll and flatten
the dough so it gets embedded in the design.
Place a round or oval cookie cutter over the San
Nicolas mold, to cut the dough to the appropriate
shape needed. Trim the edges of the cookie if
needed,
Bake Pan de San Nicolas at a preheated oven of 325
F
degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or till top is brown.
When
done, cool the cookies on a cookie rack. They will be
crisp on the outside but will have a slightly soft
shortbread texture inside. It will take at least 30-40
minutes for the cookies to cool on the rack. When
Pan
de San Nicolas cookies are cooled, wrap in white
cellophane wrappers to show off the intricate
designs.
Store in an airtight glass or plastic jar.
San Nicolas cookies are quite bland in taste. People
say it's good for people with diabetes. The absence
of
sweetness makes it excellent when it is paired with
hot
chocolate (Sison, 2017).
PAGBUBURDA
The town of Taal and Lumban, Laguna had a long
tradition of hand embroidery since the arrival of
the FranciscanMissionaries. They started teaching
women embroidery. This is probably one of the
most formal studies that have happened to
women folks.
During the Japanese era, the culture of
embroidery
was forgotten. It only goes back to the American
era.
Piña and Jusi are traditional fabrics used by the
bordadoras. But Piña is more special because it is
decent, soft, refined, durable, and not hot. Ang
Jusi (Chiese term for raw silk), on the other hand,
is a lightweight, flimsy, and ecru colored fabric
regarded by the bordadoras as the best material
for embroidery
(News, Youtube, 2019).
The first process starts with a “magdidibuho”
(designer) who is in charge of stamping design on
the cloth. After making the design the cloth is
then passed on to the “burdadera” (embroiderer)
it who embroiders the cloth which the designer
has stamped. After embroidering it will be passed
to another person called “magbabakbak". She
pulls each thread to form a
design. After that, another person will do the next
process which is “pagkakalado” (calado). It is
done to avoid the cloth from being frayed. In
calado you will lock the threads from which you
have pulled from the cloth before you have to
make sure you look at each thread. “Calado” is a
very tedious process. Those are the process from
embroidery, “pagbakbak” and
“pagkakalado.”
What’s More
Activity 2. Local Legends
Watch the videos on Local Legends: Las Piñas’ Jeepney
presentation in the
link below. Using a separate sheet write an informative
summary of the materials
and techniques of the videos. Follow the rubrics on the next
page.
Local Legends Las Piñas’ Jeepney
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv0fj7AuIA8&t=3s
