PAPER ART

In ancient Chinese culture, people were buried with replicas of their belongings. These were made out of folded paper. Because the Chinese culture puts a high value on frugality, many speculate that origami was popularised due to the fact that it was a way to repurpose used paper.

Traditional origami paper (known as kami) is thin and brightly coloured. It comes pre-cut in squares. However, as paper goes it is not very stable due to the fact that it doesn't use archive-level dyes, and it is not very strong because of its thickness. It is also not always perfectly square due to the way it is manufactured. Kami is not ideal to use when making curved surfaces. It springs back easily which is good for making creases, but impedes curves.

Another type of paper used in origami is wet-folding paper. Wet-folding is the application of water to the paper to soften it during the folding process, so that it is easier for form soft and sharp creases and curved surfaces. Sizing is a water-soluble adhesive that enables wet-folding. It is added to the paper pulp during its manufacture, and bonds the fibres of the paper together as the paper dries. This results in a stronger, crisper sheet. When the paper is dampened, the water dissolves the sizing, making the paper softer and more malleable. When the paper dries again, the sizing bonds the paper fibres together in their new configuration. This makes the shape permanent, rigid and resilient. The more sizing there is in the paper, the greater the contrast between foldability when wet and rigidity when dry. Good examples of wet-folding papers are watercolour paper, available in a variety of colours, and calligraphy parchment.

Foil paper, or foil-backed paper, is a thin sheet of paper bonded to a thinner sheet of aluminium foil. It is often available in large sheets in silver or gold. It is most commonly found as wrapping paper. Foil paper is quite thin and is fairly strong. The most important property of foil paper is that it is malleable. This means you can shape the paper into curves and crimps, and it will hold its shape. Foil paper can be folded into curved, organic shapes that have a natural appearance. �

Akira Yoshizawa (14 March 1911 – 14 March 2005) was a Japanese origami artist who is considered to be the grandmaster of origami. He is considered responsible for raising origami from a craft to an art. By his own estimation, he created more than 50 000 models. He published six books on the subject and exhibited his craft at the Louvre in Paris, France. He is credited with creating the technique of wet-folding.