"Sinalimbay" is not a word one would come across on occasion. Artist Sinag De Leon-Amado shares with WMN, "Sinalimbay is a Tagalog and Ilonggo word. May rhythm na pabalik-balik at paulit-ulit. It's also the precise movement of how you cut paper." she shares. It is also fitting that Sinalimbay is a song from Sinag's brother, Diwa De Leon, the composer, arranger and violinist who provided the evening's music to accompany the beautiful works of art at the quaint Kiss the Cook Cafe.

By Monina Eugenio

Having started to learn paper cuts at age seven thanks to a Childcraft volume, Sinag's delicate works of art are simply a sight to behold. Imagine putting a snowflake under a microscope and magnifying it thousands of times. The amount of detail is astounding! The intricate works, crafted by a pair of scissors and a huge imagination takes five minutes to a day and a half to create. Just like snowflakes, no two paper cut outs are alike. But before having her exhibit, Sinag started small. She shares with WMN, "Sabi ng Dad ko, "Why don't you make more cut-outs?" Tapos naging complicated and more elaborate ang design. From there, I took it as a challenge. Hindi tuluy-tuloy ang pag gawa ng paper cuts. It started from cards tapos dinikit sa stones, [pang-]all occasion and hindi ko siya sineryoso masyado."



The paper used throughout the whole exhibit is proudly Filipino made and was purchased in Sinag's hometown of Iloilo during a recent trip. She muses, "Sobrang gaganda and sobrang handmade, hindi pare-pareho 'yung texture, material. May iba pakpak ng manok,, iba grass. Inincorporate ko 'yung gusto ko i-highlight, ang natural beauty ng paper."

Paper cutting is tricky, so are the processes of unfolding paper, and pasting and framing it. Thus, the artist advises those who want to try it out to "practice and to use art paper because it's delicate to work on."

In this collection, Sinag was able to translate into paper the different moods and feelings each piece invokes to the viewer. With titles like, "Mapagmahal", "Maalindog", "Malamig" and "Malaya", each piece is unique, intricate and delicate, much like snowflakes.

Sinalimbay runs for one whole month (July 16 - August 14, 2010) at Kiss the Cook Cafe, 55 Maginhawa St. Teacher’s Village Q.C.