ORNAMENT AND TEXTILE OR FIBER ART
Ornament Art - It is a decoration used to embellish parts of a building or object. Ornaments
are any additional detail added to an object, interior or architectural structure that serves no
other purpose than to make the simple object more pleasing and interesting.
Brief History - Ornament has been evident in civilizations since the beginning of
recorded history, ranging from Ancient Egyptian architecture to the assertive lack of
ornament of 20th-century Modernist architecture. The Ancient Egyptian culture is
arguably the first civilization to add pure decoration to their buildings
Textile or Fibe Art - This is a fine art whose materials consist of natural or synthetic fiber such
as fabric or yarn. The word textile came from the Latin word “texere” which means “to weave”
“to braid” or “to construct.” Typically, textile art is more focused on shapes and patterns.
Brief History - Textile art is one of the oldest forms of art in human civilization. At its
inception, it was not focused on looks, but on practical purposes—such as clothing or
blankets to keep warm. Dates all the way back to prehistoric times, and anthropologists
estimate that this is between 100,000 to 500,000 years ago.
HAT-MAKING
Indigenous Filipino hats were widely used in the daily lives of the people until the
20th century when they were replaced by Western-style hats. They are currently worn during
certain occasions, such as festivals, rituals, or in theatre.
● Salakot - a traditional lightweight headgear from the Philippines that is
commonly used during the pre-colonial era. The earliest record of salakot was in
1521 when Antonio Pigafetta During the 19th century in the Spanish colonial era,
the salakot were worn as status symbols by members of the aristocratic class.
● Talugong - A salakot of the Ivatan people. It is worn by men paired with a vest of
voyavoy palm leaves called kana-i or kanayi. Women, in turn, wear a straw cowl
called a vakul.
● Sadok - Sadok or also known as 'Sarok' refers to the different salakot designs of
the Visayan, Bikolano, and Mandaya people.
● Buri Hat - A handicraft made of buri (Corypha elata), a native palm that is very
abundant in Sorsogon. These hats are produced from the strips of young buri
leaves prepared by boiling, weaving, and drying under the sun.
● Sayap - Sayap is also known as 'binalano or tapisan,' these are the salakot of
the Maguindanao people. They are made from twilled bamboo and nito.
ACCESSORY-MAKING
Accessories are part of Ornament art in which, these are generally worn with clothing,
and some are accessories for houses, altars, and other objects. Of the Philippines' over 100
ethnic groups, the most accessorized may be the Kalinga people.
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Lingling-O - The most famous accessories utilized by numerous ethnic groups in
the Philippines are omega-shaped fertility objects called Lingling-O. These are
used from the Northern Island of Batanes to the Southern Island of Palawan. The
oldest lingling-o currently known is dated 500 BC and is made of nephrite jade.
Bontoc Belt - Bontoc belt is also called an 'akusan', consisting of a handwoven
band of indigo-dyed linen cloth strung with giant conus shells, small gastropod
shells, and six pieces of the human thigh bone.
Ilongot Earrings - This also known as 'calipan' are worn by women and
comprised of incised mother-of-pearl, brass wires, and tiny beads from the
Ilongot tribe, in Northern Luzon Philippines.
Pangalapang - Pangalapang is a Ifugao Igurot neckace. The shell chokers'
function is to impress - as a status symbol. Worn by both the Ifugao male and
female for ceremonial occasions. It was made of individual trapezoidal pieces of
cut mother-of-pearl shell that are attached to a woven rattan.
MASK-MAKING
A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise,
performance, or entertainment, and often they have been employed for rituals and rites. The
use of masks in rituals or ceremonies is a very ancient human practice across the world,
they are used for protection, in hunting, in sports, in feasts, in wars, or simply used as
ornamentation. Mask-making is an indigenous and imported tradition; some communities made
masks before colonization, and other mask-making traditions were introduced by trade with Asia
and the West.
● Moriones Mask - The Moriones is a lenten festival held annually on Holy Week
on the island of Marinduque, Philippines. Masks in Marinduque are used in
pantomime. The "Moriones" are men and women in costumes and masks
replicating the garb of biblical Imperial Roman soldiers as interpreted by locals.
The participants use morion masks to depict the Roman soldiers and Syrian
mercenaries within the story of the Passion of the Christ. The mask was named
after the 16th and 17th-century Morion helmet.
● Masskara Mask - The word "Masskara" is a portmanteau, coined by the late
artist Ely Santiago from mass (a multitude of people), and the Spanish word cara
(face), thus forming MassKara (a multitude of faces). The word is also a pun on
maskara, Filipino for "mask" (itself from Spanish máscara) since it is a prominent
feature of the festival and is always adorned with smiling faces, giving rise to
Bacolod being called the "City of Smiles". Masks in Bacolod depict egalitarian
values, regardless of economic standards.
ORNAMENTAL METAL CRAFTS
Ornamental metal crafts are metal-based products that are specifically used to beautify
something else, which may or may not be made of metal. Numerous metal crafts are also
utilized to design and give emphasis to religious objects such as altars, Christian statues,
and clothing, among many other things.
STRING ART
String art or pin and thread art, is a form of Textile art in which characterized by an
arrangement of colored thread strung between points to form geometric patterns or
representational designs. String art is weaving colored string, wool, wire, or yarn
between hammered nails. The entire concept revolves around a few simple tools and materials:
such as wood board, nails, and embroidery floss or yarn.
Brief History - String art has its origins in the 'curve stitch' activities invented by Mary
Everest Boole at the end of the 19th century to make mathematical ideas more accessible to
children. The curves Mary Everest Boole used in her teaching methods became known as the
Bèzier curve. Years later, string art came back in the late 1960s as a decorative craft in the
form of books and kits.
Benefits of String Art
● Relieve Stress
● Increase Brain Function
● Improve Mood
● Concentration
Process of Making String Art
1. Gather Materials and Locate an Image
Before you begin, gather your materials and start sourcing an image to use as
your pattern for the string art.
2. Outline the Shape With Nails
Next, position the pattern on the piece of wood and use tape to secure it
temporarily. With a hammer, lightly pound linoleum nails all the way around the paper
pattern. Try to space them as evenly as possible and nail them to the same depth.
3. Outline the Shape With a String
When the shape has been outlined completely with nails, remove the paper
pattern. Using embroidery floss, outline the perimeter of the shape. Begin by tying the
floss to the first nail, and leave a tail for tying off when you are finished. Make sure to use
all six threads of the embroidery floss.
4. Changing Directions at a Corner
When you reach a corner or need to change the direction of the string, wrap the
string tightly around that nail. This will keep things tight and help maintain the integrity of
the shape.
5. Fill in the Shape With a String
Once you have outlined the shape with string, begin filling it in by crisscrossing
and wrapping it from nail to nail. Simply go from side to side; top to bottom and
corner to corner, varying the lengths and order randomly. bundle of floss there as well.
Repeat this process until the shape is filled to your liking, then tie off the
end when finished. Clip the tails of the thread.