MANILA, Philippines (Reuters) — A Filipino artist is making a different brew by creating artworks out of coffee beans.
Advertising graduate Ella Hipolito combined her love for coffee and art by using different blends to make sculptures and paintings.
“The coffee can be arabica, robusta, etcetera, but to create different textures, you need different grounds, like course or fine and then the tone can change depending on the roast, If you want a light, dark or medium roast. Sometimes I mix my own blend to achieve different shades,” she said.
It takes her three to five days to finish a painting, mixing monochromatic shades and layering bits of ground coffee to add depth to her caffeinated pieces.
Special preservatives were added to protect her special paint from being damaged.
Hipolito’s works typically feature landscapes, caricatures, animals and abstract paintings that remind her of her family and the Philippines.
Her coffee beans are sourced from her friends who runs their own cafes, but she sometimes sources her own beans when she needs something specific.
Prices of her artworks ranges between $100-$1200 depending on the size and intricacy.
Since starting in 2010, Hipolito has broadened her talent by sculpting pieces out of coffee beans, which she personally handpicks individually.
Sculpting figures using wire and coffee takes double the time and effort, as every bean needs to be perfectly put into place.
One of her popular sculptures was the civet cat, an animal popularly known for it’s droppings being brewed as coffee in the southern Philippines.
“It’s very experimental because coffee is not a commonly used instrument and you need to give your full attention in order to create different styles using coffee grounds,” she said.
Hipolito has exhibited her work in several galleries in the Philippines, getting praise for her aromatic artworks.
“To think it’s coffee. Coffee easily spoils and insects are attracted to it, so it’s kind of challenging to create something that’s different, produce an outcome that’s beautiful,” said Josh Moises, manager of Art Circle gallery, which doubles as a cafe.
Hipolito plans to further expand her love for coffee and experiment with different mediums in the future.
