Posts Tagged ‘origami paper folding’
Origami is just another word for the art of paper folding in such a way as to represent an object. Origami paper can be any paper that will hold a crease or a fold, although some papers are preferred over others. Origami paper is sold in squares varying in size. It is generally white on one side and colored on the other (sometimes patterned).
Washi paper, made from fibers of the bark of the gampi tree, is stronger than ordinary paper made from wood pulp. This paper is available on the commercial market, but is expensive. Foil-backed paper, a sheet of thin foil glued to a sheet of thin paper, is sometimes used in origami. The foil paper is available in a multitude of colors. Likewise, one can make tissue foil by gluing a piece of aluminum foil to the front and back sides of a piece of tissue paper.
Kami appears to be the most popular paper for origami. It is the easiest to find and the cheapest to buy (other than plain white copy paper.) As a rule, it is printed on one side only with a solid color or pattern. Also, as we’ve mentioned before, paper money is a popular medium for origami.
Origami is an interesting craft. I’ve often watched someone take a plain, ordinary piece of paper, crease and fold it back and forth and eventually manipulate it into an art form. How fascinating!
Those of you who have mastered this craft know that you must follow a few origami folding instructions. There are several basic folds and techniques to learn. Once these are learned, the process should become much easier.
According to Wikipedia, origami is the traditional Japanese art of paper folding. The word origami originated from oru which means ‘folding’ and kami meaning ‘paper.’
There are only a few different folds used in creating this craft, but these folds can be combined in various ways to represent an object. This is done by using geometric folds and creases, usually without gluing or cutting the paper. What is fascinating about this is that this is done using only one sheet of paper. The finished creations are often very amazing, appearing to be complicated to create.
Money origami is simply the art of origami (paper folding) using paper money. While the thought of using a small $1 or $5 bill may appear to be rather limiting, the objects created are often quite impressive. Some time ago I received an email with photos of several items created from money. Whoever created these was really talented, as the results were extraordinary. Most if not all of them had used the designs in the money in such a way as to be features of the item they created.
What would make a person think of using money for this purpose? Perhaps he or she had a long wait somewhere – at the airport, in a restaurant or doctor’s office, and just pulled out a bill and started playing with it. Seems like a good way to pass the time!