Contemporary Philippine

Arts from the Regions

Quarter 2 – Module 2: Materials
and Application of Techniques
 Lesson
Materials and the Application of
1 Techniques

What’s In

This lesson will discuss the various local materials and the application of techniques that
are gradually being forgotten by modern generations. Also, this lesson will talk about the
development of the arts, which are already part of the culture in local communities.

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.

In this lesson, we will go back to the local materials and the techniques of yesterday that are
gradually being forgotten.
Singkaban (Bulacan) 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.

(Tope110383, 2013)

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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
(Malolos, Bulacan 2010) 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 (Bulacan) 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
(Bulakenyo.ph, 2020) 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 by the current generation (Amaia, n.d.).

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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
(Hariboneagle927, 2017) saved after her town was consumed by fire and almost all traces
of Takas she made are gone.
Every April the Paete people are busy making Christmas
characters like Santa Claus, Rudolph the red nose Reindeer, and
Frosty the Snowman in 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 fruits — all in different colors
and sizes (Baldemor, 2020).

Pagpapalayok or Pottery- Kare-kare, Paksiw, Sinigang, these are only some of the Filipino
making dishes we love to feast on. Of course, they're only more
appetizing served hot off the fire, in a clay pot. Our use of clay
pots is one of the things that highlight the Filipino trademark of
our dishes.

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 Despite many changes, the people of Pasig still preserve one of
the oldest and most important art forms of the city the 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
(Valenzuela, 2015) 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 News featured in Youtube last 2018, considers

Panecillos de San Nicolas 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
(Judgefloro, 2017)

5
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 easy to roll out and handle on the
heirloom cookie molds.
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, whether round or oval. Quickly transfer
the molded dough onto a baking sheet that has parchment
paper or a silicone baking sheet.
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).

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Pagbuburda Embroidery is an art of decorative stitching, especially by hand.
The high quality of embroidery in the Philippines is partly due to
its history and partly due to native talent.
The town of Taal and Lumban, Laguna had a long tradition of
hand embroidery since the arrival of the Franciscan
Missionaries. 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
(Barongsrus, 2019) 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.”

7
 What I Have Learned
The Philippines is blessed with an abundance of raw materials that over time are
gradually being depleted. And with modern technology, many are simply missing
the traditional techniques of the past.

Here is the application of techniques that should be revived and developed:

Techniques Process
A. Singkaban 1. Experienced workers shave bamboo.
2. Curls and sensitive twirls apply to each layer to achieve
the uniqueness of the art.
B. Puni 1. Preparing the leaf
2. Folding the leaf
3. Tightening the package
4. Trimming the garnish
C. Pabalat 1. Make a design on the tracing board.
2. Cut the paper where the design is traced
3. Trace the design on the papel de Hapon or Japanese paper.

4. Wrap in pastillas.

D. Taka Making 1. Molded from wood carving.

2. Glued with paste.
3. After drying, the paper was removed from the molder.
4. Reassembled, dried, and painted in a decorative pattern.

E. Pagpapalayok or 1. Passing the clay through the mill and shape it in a

Pottery Making mold made from "Plaster of Paris.”
2. Put the clay on the potter's wheel, buff, and smoothen the pot.
3. Drying takes only one day if it is sunny and bake in the kiln for
eight hours.
4. It will be painted with latex or acrylic paint, or coated
with a glaze to make it shine.

F. Sanikulas Cookies or 1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl by the hand for about 10 minutes
Panecillos de San till it is smooth.
Nicolas 2. Place the dough into an airtight container and freezer for 2 to 4
hours or overnight.
3. Grease with baking spray on the surface of the San Nicolas
and place a chunk of the dough.
4. Bake Pan de San Nicolas at a preheated oven of 325
F degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

G. Pagbuburda 1. Magdidibuho will stamp the design on the cloth.

2. Burdadera will embroider the cloth.
3. Magbabakbak pulls each thread to form a design.
4. Pagkakalado will lock the threads.