by Chris Channing
The Japanese have been credited with many things- and origami is one of them. This ancient art form has been recorded as being practiced over 1,000 years ago, meaning the art form in question is centuries old!
The goal of origami, both today and a thousand years ago, is to use geometric folds to create some sort of shape or figure out of a piece of paper. It is also crucial that all this is done without cutting or gluing paper together. An example of a traditional Japanese origami piece is the origami crane. Today, the origami crane is still probably one of the most popular and well known origami pieces.
There are two basic uses of origami- for fun and craft in younger children and for the curious, and for those who want to make a truly remarkable piece of art that can withstand the tests of time.
Many people enjoy origami as a fun craft. For this reason, pretty much everyone has tried making origami or has at least seen it. Beginner’s origami pieces are usually things like the origami flower, origami stars, and origami balls and boxes. Probably, one of the best beginner’s origami pieces to learn how to make is the origami ball. At the bottom of this article you will find some sites with origami guides, such as for the origami ball.
It is very easy for a beginner to learn how to make an origami ball, and this is why it is probably a good first origami experience. After one has learned the basic origami pieces, he / she can move on to make more difficult origami. The origami swan is a medium difficulty origami piece that is a good project for more experience origami makers or anyone who is up for a little bit of a challenge.
Origami is a fun occasional experience for most people, but a small group of artists have really taken origami to the next level. Origami was previously created by just guessing how to make folds and getting lucky when an interesting shape was created. However, in our post scientific revolution world, mathematics is now being used to design origami pieces.
Final Thoughts
Origami processes can take hours to complete, which means that a certain level of patience is required for the best effect. It isn’t unnatural for a piece of origami to have over 100 folds, such as the swan as mentioned before. Other pieces of advanced origami can even reach over 1,000 folds- so origami should not be observed by the testy or those who lack enough patience to complete a solid piece of art.