

This is nothing new to Ethan Berkove, professor of mathematics at Lafayette College in Easton, who with several of his students will give a presentation and conduct a folding session at the museum at 1 p.m. “Since even our DNA is folded,” says origami artist Paul Jackson, “you and I are born from folding.” Lang (U.S.), Yuko Nishimura (Japan), Richard Sweeney (UK) and Jiangmei Wu (China/U.S.).Īrtists, engineers and scientists from all over the world are using folded paper to create increasingly elaborate and provocative sculptural works.

Hailing from four continents, the artists include Erik Demaine and Martin Demaine (Canada/U.S.), Vincent Floderer (France), Miri Golan (Israel), Paul Jackson (UK/Israel), Dr. A thousand orizuru strung together is called senbazuru (literally, a thousand cranes) and is a popular gift for friends and family on special occasions.Įach artist in the exhibit has created pieces specifically for this tour. The crane has a unique significance in Japanese culture, and Japanese legend says that to fold a thousand cranes either will bring good luck or the fulfillment of your wish. Most of us know origami as the simple “orizuru” or paper crane. The principles of origami also are used in medicine, such as in developing stents in heart surgery in which a small object must be unfolded into an artery or in commercial applications, where objects such as packages must be neatly placed in trucks, airplanes and warehouses. Modern origami practitioners generally discourage the use of cuts, glue or even markings.īut there is more to the ancient art than that. In origami, the goal is to transform a flat sheet square of paper into a finished sculpture through nothing more than folding and sculpting techniques. Origami, literally Japanese for “paper folding,” has evolved from the 17th century craft into a highly expressive, global art form that combines art and science. She says most visitors have a preconception of what origami is. Johnston has been responsible for installation of the works since the exhibit began touring in 2015. “The reaction from people to the exhibit has been amazing,” says Christina Johnston, a registrar and courier for International Arts & Artists. Finally, make one more outside reverse fold to create the tip of the elephant’s trunk.Mehalakes says it took two weeks to set up this exhibit at the museum, which also entailed painting the gallery walls dark gray and turquoise as requested by the organizer.

Make another outside reverse fold, this time fold the paper so it points up.

Note that the paper’s edge (blue arrow) should be perpendicular to the base.Use the crease line made in step 3 as a guide. Adjust the height of the fold so the top edge (green arrow) is parallel to the bottom edge.Use the pinch fold made in step 6 as a landmark. Make an outside reverse fold: Fold the left side of the paper towards the right.Rotate the paper a little so the base (the elephant’s feet) is pointing down. You don’t need to fold all the way down, just make a pinch to identify the halfway point. Make a pinch fold: Fold the left-tip to meet with the right tip (join the green dots).Fold the model in half (top to bottom).Fold the left-point (marked with red dot) to meet with the other red dot.Repeat with the bottom-left edge of the paper. Make a kite fold: Fold the top-left edge of the paper to meet the center crease line made in step 1.Take a square sheet of paper and place it so it is in ‘diamond’ orientation.Take note of the textual information and landmarks. The proportions are important for the elephant to look like an elephant. This is a relatively easy origami elephant.
