Founded in 2006, the Origami Club seeks to explore the ancient art of paper folding from the traditional crane to modern masterpieces. We meet every week as a group to discuss and fold origami. Though we typically fold from diagrams, we may deviate to play with crease patterns and original designs. We also collaborate with other clubs on campus by holding origami workshops and tabling for events.
All experience levels welcome and all materials are provided! See the Meetings page for more information about our meeting times.
Origami is the art of folding paper. It originates from the Japanese characters "oru" (to fold) and "kami" (paper). The use of cutting or gluing is generally discouraged—only folds are used to transform the paper into a sculpture. Unlike sculpting, which is an additive or subtractive process depending on the medium, origami is a purely transformative process. No paper is added or removed during origami folding—only transformed.
Origami first originated independently in various parts of Europe, China, and Japan. There is very little historic reference to origami folding, as paper degrades quickly. The earliest reference to paper folding originates in China where people fold "yuanbao" (gold nuggets) and burn them as a funeral ritual. Origami in Japan is said to originate from Buddhist monks who traveled to Japan. Japanese paper folding was usually limited to religious rituals or formal ceremonies, as paper was expensive back then. However, by the 17th century, origami was prevalent in Japanese culture.
Contemporary origami was founded by Akira Yoshizawa, who along with Sam Randlett, developed a system that allowed folds to be communicated through arrows and lines. Now, fold patterns became more complex, and the number of designs diversified. Origami is not just a fun pastime—origami has become a recent subject for physicists, mathematicians, and engineers to study, and permits new discoveries about the rules of how paper can compress and lay flat.
The most common form of origami is folding from a single sheet of paper. There is also modular origami, which consists of folding several smaller units and fitting them together to create one large origami piece. Some well-known diagrams, such as fortune tellers and jumping frogs, can be categorized as action origami (origami that is meant to move around). Origami models can also be abstract or mathematical in nature, and there are interesting patterns to be found in crease patterns.
There is an advanced technique called wet folding that can create detailed works of origami, which involves making the paper wet in order to make the paper easier to bend.
Origami is not limited to store-bought paper. Folding using newspaper, money, napkins, towels, and even homemade paper can make for fun creations.
Origami is a great hobby to pick up, as all it requires is a sheet of paper to start out. Origami can help improve motor skills and act as a relaxing stress-relief activity. Origami also works well as a group activity, either with people folding their own diagrams or folding modular pieces that can be combined into one large piece. With origami, you can create intricate decorations for home decor, events, and parties, or create useful items such as boxes, bookmarks, envelopes, and more. What will you do with your origami?
