Origami
One request I frequently receive from students is "can you make...?" and they usually mean something dimensional created from paper. Origami is the Japanese art of paper folding and is a popular medium that teaches students about shape and form.
Origami creations can be made from any kind of paper, usually square. I will be demonstrating with 12 x 12" scrapbook paper, for ease of visibility on camera and because I have stacks of it lying around at home from when I made 'analog' scrapbooks more than a decade ago. In these times, we all just use what we have.
Snack Cup
With five simple folds, you can make a small cup. Highly recommended for single-serving snacks, not at all recommended for beverages.
Standing Fox
This little animal is one of my favorites. He's fairly simple to make and very fun to color when you're done!
Swan
This is another animal that can stand by itself. Also very easy to fold and great to color.
Penguin
Fairly simple with just a few folds. Try making him fatter or skinnier, taller or shorter, by varying the spacing of the folds.
Sail Boat
This is an especially fun piece to personalize. Where would your boat take you if you could go exploring?
House
This is a very basic fold and one that is the foundation for a variety of other more complex origami pieces.
Piano
Or you might think it looks like a sofa. Either way, it's a nice stand-alone piece. Learn to fold the house first since it includes all the basic steps for this creation.
Fox Puppet
This piece also starts with the basic house fold, but with a few extra steps, it becomes something quite different.
Rectangular Box
Yet another project based on the versatile House fold. This is a handy way to store small items like crayons or trinkets.
Square Box with Lid
You'll need two pieces of paper for this, and one needs to be 1/2" square smaller than the other. I recommend you color both papers before folding. This makes a safe place to keep small things or a nice presentation for small gifts.
Jumping Frog
More students ask me for this creation than almost any other. He actually is more like a hopping frog, since he works better making small movements forward. Big ones tend to make him flip over onto his back. :)
Flying Bird
This has always been one of my favorite creations, but as I find out here, a thinner paper and precise folds does help your bird to fly better.
Origami to the Next Level
If you can follow the simple instructions in the videos I've posted and understand the basics of different kinds of folds, there are hundreds more things that you can make if you want to begin exploring on your own. There are books available to learn to do all sorts of paper folding. You can also find hundreds of tutorials that are accessible online.
As a shoutout to my youngest daughter (age 17) who has done all my videoing for this website, she's given me permission to show some of her work. After watching me do all these demos, she decided to try some origami on her own. She looked up videos on YouTube and just followed along. After a week, she gathered some of my houseplants and random fabric and craft supplies and set up the following scene to showcase what she'd created. You can have a lot of fun exploring new ideas and taking inspiration from other people who do work that you admire. Enjoy taking your origami creations to the next level!
