I’ve been doing origami for a very long time. I’m currently 21 and started as a small kid(less than 10 years old) by getting a book from my aunt and learning how to make leaping frogs. I’ve had some amazing opportunities, projects and just a bunch of wonderful times with origami and people. Improving in origami starts very fast but starts getting much slower after some time, at least in the aspect of precision and ability. On the other hand it’s such a developed art that there are countless models to choose from, all varying in difficulty and needed time. I love the feeling of figuring out a difficult pattern after many attempts, something people get from beating difficult parts of a video game.
I still use the book to teach people and when I'm having difficulties explaining:
One of my favorite aspect of this hobby is how impressive it can be at higher skill level. I still remember the time I learned how to make origami roses and made more than 100 of them for all the girls (and some guys) in my grade in high school and people I knew in grades below and above. Origami isn’t something I’d give as a present for an occasions like birthdays, anniversaries and so on (since it might come off as being cheap) but it makes a great addition to a present decoration or just a gift without an occasion.
Folding paper can be both relaxing and challenging depending on the model. After all these years I don’t think there’s been a single day that went by without me folding one or more model, even if I’m outside I can use receipts, fliers or anything I can turn into a square.
Multitasking is something I can’t concentrate without, I have to do something with my hands otherwise I’m restless; I fold while watching movies, tv, at lectures, listening to music. My favorite place to fold paper has got to be while in public transportation since it’s a great way to spend time instead of idly waiting for the next stop or just staring out the window. I’ve taught origami in a retirement home for two years and still teach in a high school for four years now, teaching is something I still want to get better at. It’s easy to learn how to fold something but teaching someone with a lot less experience is a whole different skill.
The lack of interest in art in general is something I’m very disappointed with in my and younger generations, I wish I had more people I could learn from or teach in real life, it’s especially disappointing since there are so many fields, so many possibilities. Two of my three sisters are also very interested in different forms of art. My older sister actually introduced me to steemit (@kristyglas) and I’m glad I finally joined, with all the wonderful people here and great communities. I found a few people who are interested in origami already: @plushzilla with his petal cranes(I'll get to this as soon as I buy some flowers), @enternamehere had an interesting origami journey from artworks, and @douruijing who makes a bunch of tutorials I like to check out.
Here's something inspired by @plushzilla, this is the smallest I can make a crane and Kawasaki rose(only fingers), next to it is a bottle with around 100 cranes, makes for a pretty cool present/decoration.
I used to know only one other person irl who was almost as interested in origami as myself, we went to high school together for 3 years, we would share models, show off and compete. That was probably when I improved the most at origami since I’m naturally competitive. I learned about my favorite model from him, the Kawasaki rose, I’ve folded it so many times, and our roses never looked the same even though we used the exact same instructions. Here’s a comparison, his rose is in a bit worse shape since it got squished while moving to a different country:
Origami is a form of meditation for me most of the time, sometimes I do it when I have a problem to solve or I’m trying to come up with some idea. Sometimes I do it to daydream while listening to some music. I’ve had a wonderful dream of being locked in solitary confinement for years with just paper and music, I would be more than content with a life like that.
Folding is never something that would prevent me from socializing, if I have the urge to make something I can do it while talking to people and I tell them that it helps me focus on the conversation.
Probably the best aspect of this hobby is how inexpensive it is, if I wanted to I could make origami for years with just a stack of printer paper (500 pages), this hobby paid itself off ages ago, I think the most I’ve spent on origami in one year was 10USD and I paid it off in less than a month. Probably the only sacrifice I had from origami was when I developed carpal tunnel one summer because of overworking, it was a very sharp pain in my wrists and inability to move my fingers, after some therapy the condition is much better now as long as I fold in moderation. I try to buy as little paper as I can to be less wasteful, unless I’m doing something specific that requires a specific type or color of paper I simply use old notebooks, scraps or anything I can get my hands on at home.
I would classify the difference between a beginner and expert the ability to understand complex patterns, ability to use different materials, ability to explain to others and definitely precision. Even though I’m pretty good at almost any material and have teaching experience I can and will improve in all four aspects.
I wouldn’t classify my life experience in origami as a consistent increase in difficulty, it was more of a lot of discoveries about new forms of origami, different methods and improvements. I did traditional models such as cranes, frogs, water bomb and similar for a long time, later I discovered new books and different animal models. Then I had a phase when I discovered modular origami (origami that uses multiple pieces) and fell in love with geometric shapes and their possibilities. After that I spent at least a year in a subgenre of origami called 3d origami, it’s very simple and uses only one type of unit that combine in several ways allowing artistic expression. Later I found out about origami tessellations, it’s one of my favorite forms of origami for meditation due to its repetitive nature, it begins with a hexagon/triangle/square on which you make a grid as tiny as you want and start pleating on top, making different shapes that look unbelievable (I had to take some models apart just to prove to my friends that they were made of a single paper). I’ve had a pause for some time since I didn’t find any new models I could do but after getting more precise I picked it up again not long ago. Nowadays I focus more on specific projects like my recent posts on steemit, 1000 cranes in a week, 800 unit spike ball, 3d origami swans and so on.
example of modular origami:
example of tesselations:
Teaching in the retirement home was volunteering but teaching in high school has been a job for three years now (one year was volunteering since I was still a student there), I earn more than enough to support my hobby. I do wish to incorporate origami in my future job as a psychologist in therapies of some sort, I’ve seen a great improvement in memory and dexterity of old people in the retirement homes after only one hour a week for some time and will probably go back when I have more time at university.
I'm very excited about the future of my origami since steemit added a story, a structure to my works that I didn't have before, I can only see myself improving and hope people join and fold with me.