Friday, October 28, 2005

Things to Do With Craft Foam

Interviewed Mel Silvestre, who teaches in UP College of Fine Arts and who likes making things out of craft foam, this nifty rubbery material used to make shoes and is found in abundance in Marikina.

He started off my using craft foam to make masks for storytelling, later moving on to dioramas, hanging mobiles, and toys for his three sons. Forgive the photos taken with my crummy phone camera (believe me, I love my phone, I just wish it took better pictures), rest assured, they look better in real life. It took a lot of self-restraint to keep from yelling “Oooh, how cute” and running off with his artwork. Okay, maybe I did scream “How cute!” but in a very restrained way. Honest.

People who want to check out clearer photos of his art can beg, borrow, or steal copies of the November 12 edition of the Junior Inquirer, or buy the book Mario’s Special Day, published by Adarna.

Mel has plans to put up a Craft Foam Workshop this summer. Interested parties who want to make their won toys can e-mail him at melasilvestre@gmail.com for details.