BONTOC, Mountain Province – In transportation, construction, machinery, and gadgets, the significance of metals is embedded in our daily work.
As the human population continuously grows, the need for this kind of substance also progressively increases, where parallel to this is the growing volume of unused metal scraps.
The good thing about metal bits and pieces is they can be recycled and transformed into another material. And for a person who possesses a creative mind, anything, even garbage like metal scraps, can be turned into a priceless and beautiful form of art.
This talent is showcased by Darius Frias Jr., a machine fabricator turned metal sculpture artist from La Trinidad, Benguet, who found his love in Sagada, Mountain Province.
A fabricator for more than a decade now, Darius’ artistic ability made a full turn when he made a trophy for a motorcycle challenge. The new experience ignited a spark in him to embrace making art using metallic odds and ends.
Junior, as he is fondly called, is also one of the beneficiaries of the Department of Science and Technology’s Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program. He received a welding machine to help him make equipment like a coffee pulper, a roaster, and a sugarcane crusher.
With his ability honed by experience, he is now one of the equipment suppliers in various government programs like DOST’s Local-Grants-In-Aid Program, an assistance which supports small organizations to create local products.
Now that he has established a unique art form in the province, he is thankful to the Department of Trade and Industry that gave him and other artists opportunity to promote their ingenious abilities during the Mountain Province Craft Exposition held in December 2023.
“Mayat ta adda ti kastoy nga activity. First time ko gamin nga sumali, isunga salamat ta makita diay inaramid ko,” he said. – Press release
