Ancient Japanese Craft Of Paper Folding

Origami is sometimes referred to as the ancient Japanese craft of paper folding, but this art form actually started in China, hundreds of years earlier. In the sixth century, this art was introduced to Japan at the same time that paper was introduced there.

The traditional form is based on a square piece of paper, from which an endless variety of shapes can be created through a various numbers of folds. When practiced in ancient times, this art form did not involve cutting or pasting.

Many artists have contributed to this paper folding art form. Josef Albers is given credit for creating curved and spiral shaped works, and Akira Yoshizawa introduced other new techniques and intricate art forms as well.

His wet paper folds help to hold the shape better when the design calls for more complex structuring. For the past thirty years, The American Museum of Natural History in New York has erected a Christmas tree adorned each year with different paper shapes, like origami stars, cranes, dinosaurs, turtles and others.

This art form can be a fun craft project or hobby for the average person, but there is a small group of artists who have really taken it to the next level. Previously, paper folding was created by simply guessing which folds to make and getting lucky when an interesting shape formed.

Now, with the aid of computers and mathematics, and the origami math geometry Kawasaki theorem education, it is being taken to higher levels of style and precision.

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