Origami ... where art and fun collide.

An origami rose
image credit

Have you ever made a paper hat, or boat, or frog, or replica of the painting "St. George and the Dragon." Origami is the art of folding paper. I pretty much stopped at making a paper gift box, so I couldn't even call myself a beginner. However, I've seen some of these works and am truly astonished at the possibilities. There are pieces of origami so complex and artful that they are considered priceless ... wow.

Do a quick search online and you'll discover galleries of origami that will challenge your definition of paper folding. How is it possible to achieve some of these designs? I doubt I could replicate these things in clay, much less paper. Absolutely incredible. And, if you've examined how they are made--using wet paper, multiple pages, alchemy and magic--then you know how fantastically impossible they are. I honestly can't imagine ever doing it, even if I was immortal and spent all my days trying.

For these reasons, I find origami fun and enjoyable, but also a form of art that's impenetrable by most human beings. I'm sure most anyone could at least paint something on canvas, or carve a thingie from wood, or even screech out a tune on an instrument, but delicately folding paper into Chinese dragons and spectacularly lifelike swans is so far beyond those others that it's hard to believe anyone can do it at all. Okay, I admit to exaggeration, however origami is definitely art and I love seeing the really good stuff. I suppose it's akin to my fascination with Bonsai trees (also an art, but it's more like a dance within nature itself), in that I love delicate treasures. Maybe someday I'll learn ... maybe.

- M