The point of this blog is to help people make origami. I know my friends in Fremont, California have always asked me how I make my origami pieces and I could never tell them by words, but through hands-on demonstration. After I'd show them, they'd always complain that their's looks lame compared to mine, but I'd always tell them that I've been doing for a very long time so I've had some experience haha.
I've been doing origami since the summer of 4th grade leading into 5th. I saw my sister do it and I've always thought the things she made were awesome so I wanted to learn as well. That summer, my family decided to go to Utah for one whole week just for fun, but my sister was in New York working for my uncle's bakery along with my two cousins so she didn't come with us. So, I took her origami book and origami paper, and braced myself for the 12 hour trip. I think I was about 8 or 9 years old when this trip happened. The book I used had the word ORIGAMI written on the cover and inside had detailed pictures of what to do and how to do it. This was perfect for my 8 year old mind at the time. I had to do a little reading about "valley" and "mountain folds" and it was pretty simple to understand. So for about half the trip, or at least a quarter, I didn't sleep but folded paper all the way there AND back. That's how addicted I was to origami! If you ask anyone that I've been on long road trips with, or even the 15 minute trip to the mall, I always fall asleep before I hit the highway to any stop we make hahaha. This life changing experience during my childhood drastically impacted my life in a way I wouldn't have known until I reached high school.
I want to help you be able to experience this joy I experience every time I fold paper into artwork. I want to provide simple step-by-step instructions that are easily accessible, and possibly clarify some instructions from other sources. This blog is also to help those that don't want to buy origami books (or can't find them), don't have friends that do origami, or just people who like looking at pretty paper. My instructions aren't the only way to make origami, but rather I just want to help people bring joy to the people they love like I do.
Plus, I just like teaching people for some weird reason hahaha.
Lessons I learned from folding paper
I mentioned how origami affected my life so might as well say how it did right?
Origami didn't play a specific role in my life until high school when I decided that I need to pick up this skill again. When I did, it gave me life skills that I didn't notice right away. You may think, "How can folding paper over and over again teach important life skills?" Let me explain. When you do origami, you need to fold paper in a specific way or else the artwork won't turn out as well. What I learned is how to fold the paper those specific ways and why I needed to. I learned to be precise with my folds and creasing because once that fold/crease was made, it was on the paper forever. Basically, I learned to be precise and make correct decisions after looking at my options and trying to see the consequences of my decision. I applied this into my real life by always making sure the work I did was nice and crisp like a good origami fold, and to always look at what I'm doing and make sure I'm doing it right.
I hope that you'll be able to learn these same life techniques as I did because being precise in life is a good way to go. Not accurate, precise. Not capable, willing.
Inspiration
I want to show you why I decided to do my instructions the way I do them.
Plus, I just like teaching people for some weird reason hahaha.
Lessons I learned from folding paper
I mentioned how origami affected my life so might as well say how it did right?
Origami didn't play a specific role in my life until high school when I decided that I need to pick up this skill again. When I did, it gave me life skills that I didn't notice right away. You may think, "How can folding paper over and over again teach important life skills?" Let me explain. When you do origami, you need to fold paper in a specific way or else the artwork won't turn out as well. What I learned is how to fold the paper those specific ways and why I needed to. I learned to be precise with my folds and creasing because once that fold/crease was made, it was on the paper forever. Basically, I learned to be precise and make correct decisions after looking at my options and trying to see the consequences of my decision. I applied this into my real life by always making sure the work I did was nice and crisp like a good origami fold, and to always look at what I'm doing and make sure I'm doing it right.
I hope that you'll be able to learn these same life techniques as I did because being precise in life is a good way to go. Not accurate, precise. Not capable, willing.
Inspiration
I want to show you why I decided to do my instructions the way I do them.
This is the book I learned the crane from (you can as well) and THIS is how origami instructions should be:
 |
Compare to step 10 in the second set. This is MUCH clearer.
|
NOT
 |
Look at step 10, you can't really tell what to do even with the text.
|
Notice the difference? The top set has real life pictures with the person's hands, while the second set has only computer generated pictures with only captions that try to help you out. My examples will be much like the first set so pretty much anyone will be able to create the same art I do and love.
All my instructions might resemble the good set of instructions since that is the best way to do it, but I'll try to provide up-close shots that can make sure you're folding things correctly and not have confusing arrows pointing everywhere haha.
This is legit Geronimo!
ReplyDelete