MVP Antipolo Tour
Written & Photographed by June Vann
A lively group of MVP members recently enjoyed a day’s outing on the Philippines Arts and Crafts Tour.
The Focolare Carpentry Training Center in Cainta was our first
port of call and I for one was very keen to see the wonderful
furniture I have heard so much about. I wasn’t disappointed! We
made ourselves comfortable on some of the Focolare creations,
while the center manager talked about the aims and purpose of
the establishment.
Italian master carpenter, Carlos, also dropped by to say hello.
Carlos was responsible for the development of the center some
forty years ago. Teaming with two talented carvers from the
province, he says they began by carrying out restoration work on
church pews. The operation today employs some eighty people
and is a thriving business, producing beautifully crafted furniture,
mostly for commissioned orders. Its real success, however, is its
core program to train young Filipinos in fine wood working.
Each year 20 trainees, from across the Philippines, enter the three year program. They are endorsed
by their different civic and religious organisations, schools and other institutions. The trainees are well
accommodated at the center and are mentored by the qualified craftsmen who work there. In addition
to acquiring practical skills, the trainees polish their English and learn arithmetic and entrepreneurship
relevant to their trade. The emphasis is on a holistic approach to their education, both spiritual and
practical. We learned that they are very much a ‘large family’ and sometimes that means resolving
conflicts between the trainees!
Lorenzo, who came to the Philippines from Italy six years ago, then guided us through the center and
we were able to see all aspects of the furniture making process. From the design area and the machine
shop (off-limits because of safety), to the finishing and upholstery areas, this is an impressive operation.
The finished products are beautiful works – solidly made pieces, carefully constructed and finished.
Next stop was the Pinto Art Gallery in Antipolo.
Many interesting art works are housed in the
numerous rooms and buildings at the rambling,
hacienda style property and the sprawling gardens,
themselves dotted with lots of quirky sculptures,
were fabulous. Despite the rain, we brandished our
umbrellas and strolled in the fresh air, through the
greenery, and soaked up the tranquility of the place.
As this is still a family home, we could smell lunch
being cooked and there were quite a few rumbling
stomachs as we returned to the bus for the short trip
to the Crescent Moon Pottery and Café.
The café and sales area is entered by way of a small bridge alongside the beautiful koi pond. These
large, graceful creatures glided to our side of the pond, perhaps in the hope of food, and provided some
great photo opportunities.
Owned and operated by Lanelle Abueva-Fernando, the Crescent Moon offers a tasty, set buffet lunch.
One highlight was the starter – ‘wrap-your-own’ concoctions almost like fresh dolmades. Alagao leaves,
which are similar in size and appearance to vine leaves, are filled with your choice of chopped green
mango, chopped ginger, chopped onions, fried shrimp, chopped leaves (perhaps basil), toasted coconut
flakes (all nicely arranged in the artist's signature bowls) and topped with a cashew-honey sauce. This
was followed by soup, rice, fish, chicken and yummy vegetables. Dessert comprised of sticky rice and
mango, Filipino style, Delicious! The Crescent Moon sales area was well patronised by our group and
a considerable quantity of the lovely pottery travelled with us to our last stop, the Blanco Family Gallery
in Angono.
This incredible collection is the output of the entire, talented family of the late Jose “Pitok” Blanco. A
gifted artist, Pitok spent his life depicting scenes from everyday life and, together with his wife, in
training their seven children to follow in his footsteps. Visitors are led through a chronology of each
offspring’s work and eventually to the work of Pitok himself. The couple had the foresight to keep and
frame all the artwork of the children, from their very early efforts, through to recent images and it is
amazing to see the (often rapid) development of their talent: from early oil pastel ‘scribble’ pictures to
magnificent portraits and landscapes, in oil on canvas. A breath-taking realism is omnipresent in this
collection and many of the beautifully painted faces have the quality of photographs.
Peter Paul, the youngest of the children, was our guide and he entertained us with delightful accounts of
the family’s life together as artists. He told us that many paintings include the faces of family members
and showed us examples where Pitok would be navigating a banca, with the face of his wife as a
passenger. Peter Paul himself, as the baby of the family, popped up often in various guises –
sometimes several times in one painting! – as the older children used their younger siblings as models.
Our host showed us a couple of very large works (well over 3 metres square) painted by his older
brothers as ‘thesis paintings’. These pieces served as a test, to be completed to Pitok’s exacting
standards before the offspring in question was allowed to marry. We were shown another enormous
painting, Pitok’s “Pagoda sa ilog” (Boat Procession in the River), which features scores of people. Peter
Paul told us that every person in the painting was a real person from their village, known to the artist.
Many of the older ones have since passed away and, as most had no cameras, this painting is the one
remaining image of them which has been preserved. Children and grandchildren come to visit the
gallery to see their ancestors.
All of the places we visited are well worth a return trip, and would be delightful if you have friends or
family visiting from overseas. The outing was so enjoyable that no-one felt the tedious trip back to ‘the
big smoke’ was really a chore.
MVP Newsletter Dec 2008