Workshop: Bamboo cement slab

Papa’s assistants has been preoccupied putting up a perimeter fence  around our home in Antipolo. In the spirit of Mr. Fred karpentero – our fence is yet again a new brilliant invention of sorts. For one thing it can keep us safe from zombie invasion in case of the timely apocalypse and for another it’s a cement slab with a weaved bamboo armature supporting its insides! Wowoweewa! How innovative! This is the future of wall construction! Here’s how he did it : D

Step 1: Create a mould for your slab. It can be of different thickness and sizes.  Maybe even different shapes!

Step 2: Harvest bamboo and cut it into thin slices to prepare it for the weaving.

Step 3: Weave bamboo planks into this. This will serve as your slab’s armature.

Step 4: Insert bamboo armature into the mould. Placing it on the center so that the excess will stick out of the mould when you pour cement on it and voila! You have a cement slab that won’t cost you a fortune on steel foundation! You can insert steel rods about a foot long at the ends of the slab before applying the cement. This will assure you the security of it’s foundation once you attach it to your posts.

It’s pretty! We’re going to run a nice creeper plant after all of the fences are installed! Oh and this is super low-cost if you harvest your bamboo in your own backyard like we do! Not only that, by using bamboo you don’t consume steel which is inadvertently environment friendly since steel entails the usage of minerals like nickel, nickel entails mining, mining entails disaster… hahaha yes.hannah.yes.

KORAPYUN

03 – Studio Tools : DIY Figure drawing models

STEP 1: Have a basic lampshade ready

STEP 2: Acquire a girl and a boy model. Ideally with human features.. unless you want to draw aliens. Papa got this barbie doll from a thrift shop for P50 pesos which is about a dollar. The bruce lee doll he got as a gift from my brother Avid sometime ago. He attached screws on the model’s torso so he can connect it to his stand.

STEP 3: Attach the model to the stand

STEP 4: Position model in your desired light source, notice the shadows and the highlights form, this will be your basis for your figure drawing practice.

STEP 5: Practice! Later on you’ll be able to do it without needing a model to master the highlights and the shadows depending on the given light source.

 

02 – Studio Tools

In mid 2011, Papa was able to successfully make a basic D.I.Y. Stuco Sprayer after researching about it online. He gave me an exclusive demonstration and showed me what modifications he’ll be doing to perfect the mechanism of the instrument to see it’s creative potential. The goal is to use materials that are recycled and cheap for the common man to afford. Below are the steps in using a Karpentero Fred Stuco Sprayer. I’ll be asking him to edit this entry and go into detail on this when i present him the blog on Sunday – so bear with me for a while as i walk you through the process.

STEP 1: Strain the sand to filter the good sand.

STEP 2: Take out the pebbles

STEP 3: Combine a portion of cement with the filtered sand and dig a crater in the center and fill it with water and mix thoroughly. 

STEP 4: Attach the sprayer to the compressor

STEP 5: Fill the container with the cement mixture. 

STEP 6: Knock yourselves out! 

Antipolo

In Antipolo, we’re fortunate to have a bounty of grown trees shading the perimeter of our lot where we can sit and hang out with our dogs under traces of sunlight gleaming over us. Papa planted  these decade old Narra trees when we moved to Antipolo in ’91. This image is from Avid –   his middle child. Below is a drawing progress by me. 

Now and then with Mrs. Liongoren

From our farm in San Joseph, Rizal. Mama and papa test driving the cart that Karpentero Fred constructed for our carabao, Jessica d II.

For the love of art and nationalism

Papa’s feature in Manila Bulletin last year.

Alfredo Liongoren (Photo by PINGGOT ZULUETA)

Some say that artists revolve around a world that’s entirely their own – a place of existence purposely detached from the futility of life. A world where opinions are relayed through ambiguous representations of reality and predispositions are shown in ways that elude the competence of the simple man.

Artist Alfredo Liongoren entered the art scene with his early innovative works and dramatic renditions expressed through abstractions. His works are loaded with subtle messages relayed through layers of strokes and textures often overlooked by even the brightest critics.

Although his pieces illustrate profound dispositions on art and life, Liongoren has not limited himself with the notion of his dominant medium of abstractionism. Nor does he distance himself from the state of the nation. Far from it.  Liongoren has consciously engaged issues with works that appeal not only to the intellect but affect the emotions as well.

“I’m generally known as an abstract artist or modernist as some would call it. But I’m not a modernist through and through. I take my cue from the seasons and the spirit of the nation. As it goes, so I am affected. As I get affected, then I switch,” Liongoren shares. This innate sense to commune with the times has given Liongoren a dynamic outlook on how to go about doing his endeavors. “There is no dominant style or approach, because I would reinvent style to whatever (is the) content at that point,” Liongoren adds.

As a kid growing up in South Cotabato, Liongoren’s exposure to the arts was scarce. Despite limited influences, Liongoren’s insatiable thirst for the craft took him to an unlikely source of inspiration.

“Believe it or not, my first mentor was a sign painter. There is really nowhere else to go to. It’s still related because it still involves hand manipulation,” Liongoren recalls.

It was also this mentor who pushed Liongoren to pursue his passion by eventually taking up Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines. With the knowledge and trade secrets that he gained from the craft, Liongoren excelled among his peers and was soon the toast of his alma mater.

As Liongoren consistently topped competition after competition, his name in the art scene catapulted him to the top of the heap. At 22 years of age, Liongoren was dubbed by Asia Magazine as an Asian to watch in painting.

Attention and accolades soon poured in leaving a young Liongoren distraught with the pressures of fame. “That was a success that I ran away from. I got bothered by the easy success. I developed a critic inside me,” Liongoren shares. He found himself losing the edge that he once had in dealing with the expectations. “I was maimed. Painting became tightrope walking, balancing and all that, because I already had an audience to please. It wasn’t self-expression anymore,” Liongoren adds.

In order to preserve himself, Liongoren retreated and went back to his hometown of South Cotabato to get away from the pressures brought about by his new reputation. During his hiatus, Liongoren seldom worked on his art thereby hindering his access to creativity.

Summer

About 4 summers ago we went to the beach in Anilao, Batangas hosted by Doctor Edna Manlapas with tita Julie and her girls and the Miclats. This was exceptionally a peaceful vacation for us because my two brothers aren’t around (kidding). The truth is, nothing beats having great company! Here are some of the theatrics of our hero wearing makeshift diving flippers which he borrowed from a fisherman in the nearby village. Photos from ate Kiri Dalena.

I also remembered sailing with papa in one of the fisherman’s boat you see above in this photo. Where the breeze navigated our trip, enchanted by the beautiful crystal beach at bay and the clear sea beneath us. It was one of those lovely days.

01 : Studio tools

If you know papa, he likes to craft his own tools using found objects lying around in other people’s trash. He also makes heavy duty dust pans, mops and coconut sweep (walis tingting) using steel metal that will surely last you a life time of cleaning before you break it.

In this edition of Studio tools – Karpentero Fred demonstrates the beauty of trapezoidal dust pans and palette knifes out of used handles.

Quotables

I found these quotes from this site

On Anxiety

The signs begin to come… sleepless nights, edgy and hypersensitive feelings – finally the creative explosion that drains. (Alfredo Liongoren)

On Energy

I work in bursts of energy… like mad fires let loose into nervous breakdowns. And it affected everyone in my life. Perhaps it was God’s design to give me a wife who was trained as a psychiatric nurse. (Alfredo Liongoren)

For a long time, I could not tame the energy and dreaded it. (Alfredo Liongoren)

On Searching

I have been hurt as a child and that chunk of sad experience is now lost. I try to gain access to that hidden portion of my memory through art. The abstractions I create are personal ink blots that mark the route my mindscape has taken me. It is upsetting to feel fragmented. The search has always been for integration. (Alfredo Liongoren)