Welcome to Origami

Skills Needed For Origami

It is true that origami is the art of folding paper so you might assume that the only skill needed for this hobby is the ability to fold paper. Origami is much more complex than that however. To be sure, the physical skills needed are good eye hand coordination and hand dexterity. And those may be enough to make simple beginning level origami projects such as those suitable for young children. However to advance to the more complex creations one needs to utilize other skills such as concentration, patience, mathematical sequencing and logic.

In some cultures such as Japan, origami plays a big part in everyday life. Many people practice origami everyday either as a hobby or even as a career. As you can imagine, choosing origami as a career requires great mathematical skill and creativity. In either case, origami requires a great deal of patience as folding intricate designs can be tedious work. Not everyone has the patience necessary for origami and in those cases, sometimes origami can help to nurture patience where it didn't exist before.

For beginning and intermediate origami projects such as folding a crane or airplane, one needs to be able to read diagrams, understand them and follow step by step directions. In order for the project to turn out right, no step can be omitted and the folds must be made as stipulated. A certain amount of creativity and imagination are also helpful. More advanced designs require logic and much thought. Folding paper itself is not difficult but completing and origami project can be pretty tough.

Origami is an art that can be learned, even by young children. There are many books available with step by step instructions for origami projects of various skill levels. Therefore one must be able to read or at least follow instructions from others. Origami is a fun hobby that can bolster self esteem and leave one with a satisfied sense of accomplishment. By starting at the basic level and working one's way up to complicated designs, the skills needed can be developed and perfected over time.

Origami is an excellent hobby to take up and is perfect for children since they can derive so many benefits from it. As long as one has the physical ability to fold paper, then the other important skills needed can be learned along the way. If one is impatient, lacks focus and becomes frustrated, it may seem that they would be a poor match for origami. However, if one starts with very basic and easy designs instead of jumping right into the more complicated ones, then those skills can actually be cultivated and the benefits from them spill over into one's everyday life as a result.

Working on the . . . chain gang (Asbury Park Press)

How could gum wrappers make a woman wax nostalgic? I'm glad you asked. It happens while she's teaching her two daughters how to make the same gum-wrapper chains she made when she was 12.

Candy papers, dandy links (The Columbus Dispatch)

Once upon a time, there was no lack of brightly colored gum wrappers for making paper chains: Carefree pink; Juicy Fruit yellow; Big Red, uh, red. These days, although gum sticks are still wrapped in silver foil, the color-charged paper sleeve is hard to find.

Origami as drama (AM New York)

3 Stars Origami, the Japanese art of paper folding, permeates the background of Rajiv Joseph's play "Animals Out of Paper." The set is peppered with arts and crafts supplies and completed models of three-dimensional paper animals, including a giant hawk, hang everywhere.

Origami as drama (AM New York)

Origami, the Japanese art of paper folding, permeates the background of Rajiv Joseph's play "Animals Out of Paper."

Turn wrappers into bracelets (El Paso Times)

DENVER -- How could gum wrappers make a woman wax nostalgic? I'm glad you asked.