Origami – The Paper Folding Art
When it comes to paper crafts, origami, quilling and scrapbooking are popular paper crafts just to name a few, but there are many more that were created a long time ago. Today in this article we will be talking about origami. What it is, how it’s done, and its history.
What is Origami?
The word origami comes from the Japanese words oru (folding) and kami (paper). Origami is an ancient practice/art done by the Japanese. Origami is a sequence of folding techniques that are used to create decretive paper statues such as, dragons and the famous paper crane. Due to its simple steps It is also used by children to create fun things like baskets, games (such as the fortune tellers) and cute figures used to decorate their bedrooms. The western community has really changed origami and altered its original uses. It is now mainly used for fun as it is no longer very important to society.
How it’s Done
Origami is mainly folding to create the lovely statues that can be made. Due to that there aren’t many supplies you need to use to complete an origami craft. The only thing you will need is a special origami paper that is very cheap and is easily found at a local art supplier. Origami paper, also known as koi paper, is very thin and flexible making it easy to fold and bend. In origami there are bases that are used to start off a project such as the bird base, diamond base and kite base which are created by only 4-5 folds that can be learned easily by anyone. In origami you need to have very strong hand and eye coordination because you must be able to fit your hands into small cracks to create perfection. If you have poor hand and eye coordination the end product may be messy and unusable.
The History of Paper Folding Art
There is no official date to the birth of origami but there is evidence of it in 1440 when a folded paper box was discovered in Europe. One of the first known books of origami was published in 1797, It gave instructions on folding the paper crane. Origami was not originally created in Japan, it was created in China but as the art grew more popular Japan soon claimed it as their own. It was officially invented in 105 A.D in china. Origami was also used mainly for ceremonial purposes, due to the high price of the origami paper at that time. For a while origami’s popularity died down, but suddenly in 1954 it’s popularity grew again. And origami and was used for fun all around the world by people of all races and all ages.