The Origami Art Crane series: Vanessa Ong

A TRICKLE OF WATER
A TRICKLE OF WATER

ORIGAMI cranes are a salient feature in all of Vanessa Ann Patiño Ong’s current art exhibit at the ArtPortaCebu Gallery in Consolacion, Cebu. The Davao-based artist was born and raised in Cebu and studied Fine Arts/Interior Design at the University of San Carlos. She transferred to Davao over 30 years ago when she married Randall Ong.

In 2016, she started to paint seriously, joining the Tuesday group led by Lito Pepito when artists would gather together for a painting session. She has since joined several group exhibits in Davao and Manila, and the current exhibit is her second solo exhibit.

Ong is a member of the Philippine Guild of Water Colorists. She is also a member of Ikebana Davao Chapter 133 and explained, “Ikebana has been my subject in the origami series as my inspiration.” There are origami cranes in all her 20 paintings in watercolor and oil pastel in this exhibit.

She explained her focus on origami: “I was inspired by this story. There is a legend in Japan that one folding a thousand paper cranes will be granted a wish by the gods. Sadako Sasakim, a two-year-old child exposed to radiation during the Hiroshima atomic bombing, got sick with leukemia. During her battle with leukemia, Sadako was inspired by the Japanese legend and she hoped that folding a thousand paper cranes would grant her good health. Unfortunately, she died. Because of her determination and her will to live—I have stage four lung cancer—I have put paper cranes set in nature and still life in my current paintings in the exhibit.”

Whether the origami crane legend is true or not, Vanessa Ann Patiño Ong’s works are pleasing to the eye. They are done with simplicity but with a hidden message of strength and stability, reflecting how she looks at life, how she has attained peace and calm amid her difficulties. Her works are truly a pleasure to watch.

Ong’s exhibit runs until April 16.

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