
This owl is considered kirigami because the ears in the back were cut out.
Every time I see a cool looking thumbnail of a origami figure I want to try and make I get ricked into making kirigami – a form of folding that incorporates cuts into the design. I know what you’re thinking, and yes this is a big deal. Origami is the art of folding a sheet, or two, into a figure without the aid of scissors, glue or anything else. To me, everything else is just sculpting with paper, which is fine but it’s not origami.
What bothers me more is the false advertising in the books, videos and other instructional materials I trust to show me how to make “origami” with the aide of some glue or scissors. Even some of the books I picked up from the library that proudly display paper cranes and other figures are simply bait to get you to open the book and see the materials they suggest to use with some of the designs that include paper, scissors, glue, string, and so on.
Being the purest I am, I usually skip these instructions and go for the more traditional approach, but it still feels like it’s a bait and switch. Like I’m being drawn into this mystical and ancient art form that uses only a square piece of paper and your hands … and a bottle of Elmer’s if you’re feeling “crafty.” The idea of “arts and crafts time” kills the experience for me.
The art of obsessiveness
Origami is the art of being obsessive. I’ve heard this comment a few times from people interested in my challenge this month.
“Origami is about not just doing a figure from memory, but doing it well from memory. Getting the lines just right, and making sure the end result is as close to perfection as possible.” These are some sage words from a coworker of mine that I think ring very true. It’s an aspect of the challenge that I haven’t considered, until now.
I’m going practice the figures that I’ve memorized a few times a day searching for perfection until I have it.
Later days,
Matt
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