ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Metro Manila devider Man who turned to art after losing job during pandemic wins Nat'l Sculpture Competition

Man who turned to art after losing job during pandemic wins Nat'l Sculpture Competition

Published Sep 26, 2023 11:14 am

At A Glance

  • Photo from Patrick M. Agluba (MANILA BULLETIN)

CAVITE – An artwork inspired by overcoming life’s challenges won first place at the National Sculpture Competition hosted by the local government unit of Cavite City and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) on Monday, Sept. 26.

Mayor Denver Chua, NCCA representatives, and other local officials led the awarding ceremony and opening of the sculpture exhibit at the Montano Hall Gymnasium.

Denver Chua.jpeg

Photo from Mayor Denver Chua's Facebook page (MANILA BULLETIN)

The winning epoxy clay and resin sculpture titled "We the fire" was crafted by Patrick M. Agluba, also known by his artist name, Miranda Patrick.

“Ang inspiration ko dito ay ‘yung Bible verse po sa 1 Pedro. 'Ang gintong nasisira ay pinaparaan sa apoy upang malaman kung talagang dalisay,’ (My inspiration for this is the Bible verse in 1 Peter. 'Gold that perishes is refined by fire to determine if it is truly pure'),” Agluba said in an interview with the Manila Bulletin on Tuesday, Sept. 26.

Miranda Patrick 1.jpeg

Photo from Patrick M. Agluba (MANILA BULLETIN)

“Ang mga challenges at struggles po natin sa buhay ang nagpapatibay sa atin bilang isang indibidwal. Harapin at yakapin natin ang mga pagsubok na ito at maging lakas natin sa ating paglakad (The challenges and struggles we face in life strengthen us as individuals. Let's face and embrace these trials and let them be our strength in our journey).”

Drawing strength from personal struggles

The 27-year-old artist used to be an animal handler in a zoo and a high school dance choreographer in his home city, Tagaytay.

Because of the 2020 Taal Volcano eruption and the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, however, both sources of his livelihood were severely affected.

“Hindi ko po talaga alam ang gagawin ko 'nung time na 'yon kung paano maka-survive nang walang trabaho (I really did not know what to do at that time, how to survive without a job).”

Despite the challenges he faced, Agluba tried to make the most out of his time by learning how to sculpt through online tutorials and social media.

His hard work paid off after a few months, as art collectors started buying his art online and commissioning him for custom sculptures.

384312280_327358783123347_4661012353756199266_n.jpeg

Photo from Patrick M. Agluba (MANILA BULLETIN)

Later, his talent shone in competitions, earning him the Juror's Choice Award at the 6th Tarlac National Art Competition in 2022 and the Grand Winner title at the 7th Tarlac National Competition in 2023.

“Wala po akong idea noon na mananalo ako sa mga kompetisyon katulad po nito. Hindi ko po alam na dito ako dadalhin ng panahon, sa paggawa ng mga sculpture (I did not have an idea that I would win in competitions like this. I did not know that time would lead me to creating sculptures).”

Untitled design - 2023-09-26T185824.302.jpg

Photo from Patrick M. Agluba (MANILA BULLETIN)

Agluba says he plans to use the cash prize he received at the National Sculpture Competition to purchase art supplies for his upcoming first solo exhibit scheduled for January.

The entries and winners of the National Sculpture Competition are on exhibit at the Montano Hall Gymnasium until Sept. 30.

Related Tags

NCCA sculpture Cavite City Cavite
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.