All About Origami

Origami is the Japanese art of folding paper to create different shapes. The word origami is the combination of the Japanese words “ori,” meaning “to fold,” and “kami,” meaning “paper.” When first beginning with origami, begin with some basic, easy folds to get yourself started understanding the process.

Origami began in China during the first or second centuries. It found its way to Japan in the sixth century, when paper was introduced to the country by Buddhist monks. The art was passed down entirely through demonstration and oral history until 1797, when the first written instructions, entitled “Folding 1000 Cranes,” were published. The book described how to fold the traditional sacred crane. From there other instruction books began to follow.

Traditional origami involves folding a single piece of paper, usually 6-by-6-inches square, to create a shape. Kirigami adds the additional step of cutting the paper. In Kirigami you begin with a folded base and cut it to create patterns before unfolding. The results are usually symmetrical like a snowflake. Modular and Golden Venture origami involve assembling a number of individual folded pieces of paper to create elaborate three-dimensional sculptures.

Traditional origami square paper is usually brightly colored on one side and white on the other. For some shapes, the colored and non-colored sides help you follow the folding instructions. In other shapes the paper is folded so that the non-colored side adds elements to help create the shape. Sometimes specially patterned papers are used, while other times a shape calls for starting with a non-square piece of paper.

Origami has a number of “base” folds, or folds which are used as a starting block to create many other shapes. While not all folding starts with a base fold, it is a good place to start to understand how origami works, and in particular how creating certain creases leads to the finished product. Some classic base folds are the book fold, cupboard fold, triangle fold, kite base, diamond base, fish base, square base, bird base and frog base. Learning these bases will get you started on the origami path.


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