Skip to main content

Igorot artist uses solar power to draw


Almost exactly three years ago, my wife and I first laid eyes on Jordan Mang-osan's unique pieces of art. We were in Baguio at that time and we decided to drop by at Tam-awan Village to see his exhibit. We were captivated by the Filipino artist's pyrography and solar drawings, and marveled at his skill with the hand lens. 

While most artists use canvas, paint, pencil, oil, charcoal or ink to create art, Jordan harnesses the power of the sun to produce portraits that depict the rich cultural traditions and landscape of the Cordilleras, where he is from. To create a piece, he starts off by sketching a design on the surface of a wooden board. He then uses a simple magnifying glass to concentrate solar heat on selected areas of the wood. Check out the video below to see exactly how it's done:


Jordan started drawing as a hobby in grade school. Before he turned 19, the Igorot artist earned a living as a construction worker. He was lost and confused as to what he really wanted to be, until someone saw his potential.

If you happen to be in Baguio and you find yourself in need of an art fix, head straight for Tam-awan Village, where Jordan's creations are on display. Just recently, the artist taught young South Korean students to draw using the power of the sun during his workshop on solar drawing at the village.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Adorable Sculptures of Yen Yen Lo

These images are from a series of wall sculptures created by Yen Yen Lo . Here you can see her intricately textured ceramic pieces, looking downright adorable. Yen Yen Lo's eye for the unique and whimsical is delightful. Apparently they are not intended for kids under 16. Fifteen-year-olds cannot be trusted with fragile stuff. Get them a Funko Pop instead.

Feast your eyes on the making of 'Heisei Mary'

This is a time-lapse video of  Japanese artist  Shohei Otomo drawing Heisei Mary  — a naked Sailor Moon-like figure completely covered in tattoos. The highly-detailed body ink features Spiderman, Darth Vader, Hello Kitty, Naruto, Street Fighter and Dragon Ball characters to name a few. It's really satisfying to see an artist's process, the way their illustration grows and grows out of nothing. Shohei is known for his hyper-realistic sketches using ballpoint pens. Born in Tokyo in 1980, he is the son of Katsuhiro Otomo, the creator of the manga Akira . He exhibits his work regularly in Japan and Australia as well as in Mexico and France.  Three weeks worth of work are sped up into less than four minutes.

James DeRosso's ceramic monsters

I really like these whimsical ceramic creatures by James DeRosso. Yes, they have bulging eyes and toothy grins, but they're not scary at all. The Portland-based artist started making cute monsters while he was a student to jokingly create gargoyle-like guardians for the kiln. After other students kept taking his quirky little figures, he realized there was a market for them. "I'm enjoying the whole monster making niche," James says. "It's amazingly gratifying to be doing ceramics full time and especially to be a teacher introducing kids to the joy of clay." Be sure to visit his website and like his Facebook page for the latest monster news.