Fiesta, Food, and Paper Art

Fiesta Art

History

Fiestas or festivals have always been a crucial part of the Philippine culture since the Spanish colonial period.

Arcos are bamboo arches adorned with palm fronds, paper ornaments, pakaskas, and intertwined branches.

Banderitas are paper or cloth flags strung along poles, trees, and houses.

Higantes are big papier mache figures displayed around the town by the men hidden inside the hollow frames.

Kipings are thin, colorful, translucent, leaf-shaped rice wafers formed into different shapes and used as decoration.

Special pastillas are wrapped in sheets of papel de hapon of different colors and often complex designs.

Parols are lanterns made of papel de hapon glued on light bamboo frames traditionally shaped like a five-point star.

Palaspas are plaited palm fronds waved elaborately as the priest leads a procession for the celebration of Palm Sunday.

Art and Power

Art and Society

Art and Faith

Food Art

History

Food art emerged from the traditional way of Filipino cooking combined with influences from our colonizers.

It mainly focuses on the artistic enhancement of the presentation or packing of food.

Materials

• fruits and vegetables• natural preservatives• food coloring• media of presentation– glass jars– wrappers

• multi-colored wrappers– papel de hapon

• other native materials– coconut, banana, and nipa leaves

Techniques

• Food Preservation• Wrapper & Plate Design• Fruit & Vegetable Carving

Food Preservation

Plate Design

Fruit Carving

Forms

• kakanin• pastillas• achara

Kakanin is a rice cake that may come in different colors and flavors.

Pastillas de leche are sweets made of carabao milk and sugar.

Achara is a pickle relish or condiment made from vegetables, although green papaya is the most common.

Art and Power

Art and Faith

Art and Faith

Paper Art

History

Paper art has transformed over the years from being a local art to popular art.

Paper is mostly used as decoration in Philippine festivals.

Materials

• Fibers– cotton linters– flax– abaca

Cotton Fibers

Flax Fibers

Abaca Fibers (Manila Hemp)

Paper Making Process

• Fiber Preparation• Sheet Formation• Drying– pressing– air and heat

Fiber Preparation

Sheet Making

Drying

Techniques

• folding• cutting• quilling• papier mache

Folding Cutting

Quilling Papier Mache

Forms

• origami• paper cutting• papier mache• paper quilling (or filigree)• paper clay art• paper sculpture

Paper cutting is the art of cutting paper designs.

Papier mache are paper pieces (or pulp) glued with adhesive formed into different shapes.

Paper quilling is the art of rolling, shaping, and gluing strips of paper into creative designs.

Paper Clay Art

Paper Sculpture is a mix of cutting, scoring, engineering, and painting and gapping to ultimately form a dimension.

Art and Faith

Art and Faith

Art and Faith