Peter Pinder, fiberglass artist and coincidental émigré, is a man with many stories. Visitors to his Asin house are often regaled with humorous accounts of his past experiences or wry commentaries on anything and everything from politics to music.

Peter can be described as a sculptor/artisan/inventor. His work spans several mediums, but usually has its foundation in fiberglass or resin. He creates work that amuses the senses and tickles the brain. His alarmingly deceptive imitation rock pieces make for charming and functional furniture pieces. His recent undertaking, the much-publicized Political Game of Chess, features the colorful characters of EDSA Dos as the cleverly executed chess pieces cast in polymerized marble (marble dust and resin). As a follow-up to the political chess chess set, he is thinking of doing a Rock vs Pop set. His latest obsession is the Bugger (part Bug, part Hummer) all-terrain vehicle. The vehicle features a Volkswagen engine and front-end chassis, encased in Peter's custom-made fiberglass shell reminiscent of the Humvee SUV. The truck has many add-on features, such as more storage compartments and more comfortable seating space.

His quirky sense of humor is also manifested in his home - where the common bathroom is plastered, floor to ceiling, with photos and articles torn from newspapers and magazines collaged into surprisingly coherent fragments of social commentary. And of course there's the giant roach - increasingly tired of several visitors commenting on how (somehow) they'd never seen roaches as big as those in the Philippines before, he created a 2-feet-long mother of all roaches in dark resin and posed it next to the toilet bowl. Its missing leg hangs above the bathroom mirror.

Peter Pinder's home is a collection of Pinder family creations over the years. Imitation rock pieces and tooled leather furniture scatter across the main sitting room, and his children's remarkable craftwork (no, we're not talking about popsicle-stick boats) are displayed on tables and shelves along the walls.

Peter has three children from his previous marriage - Reuben, and twins Azra and Samantha. Reuben assists in his father's work, while the twins, who are recognized visual artists in their own right, actively exhibit their own paintings and art crafts. Peter is now married to Ella Picazo (since 1998). Ella is a painter, but these days she concentrates more on cooking for the Pinder family café - the Pudding Shop, which is located on the premises of their Asin home.

Peter was born in Ireland to English parents. Ever the adventurous young man, he decided at one point to hitchhike his way from the UK to Australia. As he was making his way across the globe, an airline poster for the Philippines caught his eye. From that one picture, he decided that he just had to visit the country. He first visited in 1971, and eventually returned in 1975 to settle in the cool mountain resort town of Baguio. He found the lot in Asin (with its gorgeous views), and decided to set up shop there. He and his family continue to live there today. Visitors - tourists, artists, art collectors, normal folk, or people who get lost on their way down Asin Road (apparently quite a few of them show up at the Pinders' place by accident or out of desperation), are always welcome to kick back at the Pudding Shop and hang out with Peter and his family.

A bit of trivia: Peter was one of the extras in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now which was filmed in Pagsanjan, near Manila. Apparently, a casting executive of the film was told that if he needed Caucasian faces for the movie, he'd find them in Baguio. At that time Baguio had a large population of American and British expatriates and military personnel (at Camp John Hay, then an air base/recreational facility for American troops stationed in the Philippines). The casting agent found his way up to Baguio and signed a few dozen men to play soldiers in the film, Peter included. In the first release of the film, Peter wasn't really visible. However, in Redux, he got quite a bit more exposure (try to spot him if you've got the video).

* Peter can be contacted at (63917) 362-4184. He can also be emailed through Ella at ellapinder@yahoo.com.

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