The town of Tiaong proudly stands as the gatekeeper of the parochial province of Quezon, with its sprawling landscape of greenfields and coconut trees, delicious seasonal fruits and mountain springs flowing down from the Mt. Banahaw's bossom. Quezon province is renowned for being named after and the birthplace of the First President of the Philippine Commonwealth. Many tourists, local and foreign, flock in the boundary between San Pablo, Laguna and Tiaong, Quezon seeking to enjoy the provincial grandeur that a very popular resort called "Villa Escudero" gives to its visitors.
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Visiting this world-class resort often entails guests to spend the whole day to enjoy its many attractions. Consequently, the many other places in Tiaong that also shares it cultural treasure to visitors often go unnoticed but faringly beautiful as well. Such is the residence and showroom of the famous artist-potter-chef Ugu Bigyan.
I was actually in-charge of the outing of our office and the place that was chosen for this trip was Quezon. So, I did some research on nice places that can be visited that doesn't include Villa Escudero because the place was too expensive for our budget. I came across some interesting places and one of those is a place that I've just learned for the first time. Visiting places of art is often part of an itinerary of a trip because it stimulates our abstract understanding of art and adds up to our knowledge of Phippine culture in new places. So I decided to include it in our places-to-visit list.
When we arrived in Tiaong, it was a little bit difficult to find the place but when we asked around, people seem to know Ugu Bigyan very well and we were given directions on how to get there. Upon arriving, my first impression of the place was that of "amazing" that it made feel to jump for joy! This house is the place of residence of the artist himself. It's not open to the public and the artist has an commitment somewhere else so we were not given the opportunity to meet the man in person. Anyway it looks very peaceful and cozy to live in. Little did we know that just behind this brick house is a hidden enclave of art, nature and beauty blending in a fusion of tranquil virtuosity.
When we were ushered by the caretaker to the back, a beautiful garden greeted us. In the center stands a towering mango tree adorned by a variety of ferns and hanging plants. We realized that this is a nature-inspired restaurant and also the showroom for Ugu Bigyan's many artwork.
This is just one of the many outdoor dining cottages within the garden. The roof and the posts are made of traditional native indigenous materials together with the table and chairs as well. Perched on the table in the background are clay sculptures of the artist himself.
Dining in these cottages would be a cool experience indeed! It's just unfortunate that our budget was not enough for all of us to dine here considering that we are with a big group of people.
But I did read in the other blogs that the food here is delicious and well worth trying out. But since I'm not into culinary blogging, I will just walk you through this interesting place.
The main pavillion is the largest of the cottages. It has many large wooden tables and chairs of various designs so you can take your pick on which table to dine on to get that memorable picture.
The ambiance is very cool and relaxing because the materials used in construcing these cottages were made out of traditional nipa-hut roofing that perfectly insulates the material from the heat of the sun.
After dining, you can lounge in this cottage where you can slouch in this beautiful bamboo couch while digesting your meal.
Ugu Bigyan also hosts a fine collection of different pottery and clay sculptures in his showroom here. I'm not really familiar with the artist, but judging from the place and uniqueness of his trade, I'm sure he is well-known and popular in the art circle and among his townsmate.
The clay sculptures are so exquisite that many of his works probably used volcanic clay or lahar as the base material for the clay because the color is not the usual ground red color that you usually see in pots. However, I didn't have the opportunity to ask Ugu himself.
These wind chimes are my favorite in Ugu Bigyan's works. You know why they are so special and unique.Yes! These wind chimes are made out of clay!
And what's so extraordinary about these is that the sound these wind chimes produce are so clear and fine that if you are not looking, you would swear the sounds came from aluminum chimes.
There are also guest rooms in the garden but we didn't have the opportunity to view the inside. It would be a nice experience to spend a night in this peaceful place.
The details of the surroundings were so intricate that if you scrutinize even the walls, you will notice artful carvings engraved in the brick stones that contributes to the overall beauty of the place. The ambiance is also augmented by gentle streams of the numerous water fountains and small falls that are randomly place throughout the garden.
Even the walkway is elaborately designed with leaf carvings and washout pebbles that strolling through the place is leisurely done without having to worry that you would lose your balance.
Nothing is really laid to waste with regards to Ugu Bigyan's art. This is also one of my favorites. It resembles vertebral bones of whatever animal it is but when looking up close, you will find that these are bamboo trunks with parallel branches. The background even complemented with the art decoration. Very cool indeed!
They even showcase one of Quezon's pride which is the "lambanog". Lambanog is an original Filipino whisky distilled from the finest coconut juice in the region. I'm not sure though whether they are selling the lambanog itself or the basket that is used as the native packaging fot the bottle.
We were also surprised by clay sculptures that are intertwined with the dendrobiums and other hanging plants in the garden. The place was indeed a showcase of the mastery of Ugu Bigyan over the elements of the Earth, particulary "clay".
We had the opportunity to visit Ugu Bigyan's workshop and one of the artwork that caught our attention is this water fountain. It's still in the works but I think the principle behind this artwork is that water coming from the top slowly flows through the the threads where the clay sculptures are attached until the water drips down at the bottom. Truly an original design, of which I have never seen one except here in Ugu Bigyan's Garden.
The visit to this peaceful and refreshing place was a good decision in including it in in our places-to-visit list in Quezon. There is a minimal fee to enter and take pictures of the surroundings. You can dine in style but you have to make reservations to enable the owner to prepare beforehand the necessary ingredients for the cuisine. Prior arrangements are also necessary if you want to experience an overnight stay in one of their guests rooms. Overall, the experience is one of having a cultural immersion and the appreciation of the artistry of one of the Philippines' rare talents in clay sculpture -Ugu Bigyan. Do visit this interesting place when visiting Quezon. Although we were not able to meet the artist in person, but the being in the presence of his masterpieces is short of meeting the person himself. Hmmm, well said.
These wind chimes are my favorite in Ugu Bigyan's works. You know why they are so special and unique.Yes! These wind chimes are made out of clay!
And what's so extraordinary about these is that the sound these wind chimes produce are so clear and fine that if you are not looking, you would swear the sounds came from aluminum chimes.
There are also guest rooms in the garden but we didn't have the opportunity to view the inside. It would be a nice experience to spend a night in this peaceful place.
The details of the surroundings were so intricate that if you scrutinize even the walls, you will notice artful carvings engraved in the brick stones that contributes to the overall beauty of the place. The ambiance is also augmented by gentle streams of the numerous water fountains and small falls that are randomly place throughout the garden.
Even the walkway is elaborately designed with leaf carvings and washout pebbles that strolling through the place is leisurely done without having to worry that you would lose your balance.
Nothing is really laid to waste with regards to Ugu Bigyan's art. This is also one of my favorites. It resembles vertebral bones of whatever animal it is but when looking up close, you will find that these are bamboo trunks with parallel branches. The background even complemented with the art decoration. Very cool indeed!
They even showcase one of Quezon's pride which is the "lambanog". Lambanog is an original Filipino whisky distilled from the finest coconut juice in the region. I'm not sure though whether they are selling the lambanog itself or the basket that is used as the native packaging fot the bottle.
We were also surprised by clay sculptures that are intertwined with the dendrobiums and other hanging plants in the garden. The place was indeed a showcase of the mastery of Ugu Bigyan over the elements of the Earth, particulary "clay".
We had the opportunity to visit Ugu Bigyan's workshop and one of the artwork that caught our attention is this water fountain. It's still in the works but I think the principle behind this artwork is that water coming from the top slowly flows through the the threads where the clay sculptures are attached until the water drips down at the bottom. Truly an original design, of which I have never seen one except here in Ugu Bigyan's Garden.
The visit to this peaceful and refreshing place was a good decision in including it in in our places-to-visit list in Quezon. There is a minimal fee to enter and take pictures of the surroundings. You can dine in style but you have to make reservations to enable the owner to prepare beforehand the necessary ingredients for the cuisine. Prior arrangements are also necessary if you want to experience an overnight stay in one of their guests rooms. Overall, the experience is one of having a cultural immersion and the appreciation of the artistry of one of the Philippines' rare talents in clay sculpture -Ugu Bigyan. Do visit this interesting place when visiting Quezon. Although we were not able to meet the artist in person, but the being in the presence of his masterpieces is short of meeting the person himself. Hmmm, well said.
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