FOREWORD
Our designing and authoring efforts at Origamido Studio have resulted in more than 75 publications to date, and if one were to ask Michael which was his favorite, he would not hesitate to say Advanced Origami.
The reasons are many. First, this set of projects enables Michael to tell his story through a handful of his most beloved signature creations. It is true that what was considered “advanced” when this book was first written is not as complex as what people consider “advanced” today. But rather than solely demanding technical prowess, these projects also challenge the folder to impart “the touch of the artist.” Doing so successfully truly separates the advanced folder from the pack. Adding that finishing touch is one area where the newly added video clips communicate so beautifully what words and diagrams just cannot do.
Second, this book allows Michael to discuss the importance of paper—how the necessary considerations of the quality of materials and processes used in making the papers informs the folder’s choices and compromises. Indeed, this was the first book (that we know of) that included custom papermaking instructions for the origami artist. As Michael was developing his creative folding talents, commercially available paper was particularly frustrating for him to fold. Even if the fibers and pigments were archival and deemed suitable for fine art, there were usually other concerns, such as the paper’s size, color and texture. His artistic needs forced him to learn how to make his own paper, custom-engineered to be perfect for each subject.
Third, Michael named our studio by selecting the Japanese contraction Origamido, literally, “fold-paper-school.” Expanding on the “do” aspect, which also connotes the path, way, journey or lifelong commitment to the folded paper arts, he revisits favorite subjects that are near and dear to his heart. Those are the subjects he often “plays,” just as a musician rehearses favorite selections for a lifetime. Practice is the stuff of mastery.
Finally, and against my advice, in this book Michael has shared his long-researched hand papermaking recipes with the public. His wisdom prevailed, and rather than destroying our business of making the perfect paper with and for today’s foremost folding artists, our papers are now more popular than ever as people have realized that a recipe alone does not a tasty cake bake!
Enjoy the advanced origami of Michael LaFosse!
Richard L. Alexander, Co-founder
Origamido Studio
INTRODUCTION
ADVANCES IN ORIGAMI
The history of origami, or paperfolding, is widely recounted in books. What is not often said is that origami art is a relatively modern medium. It is, indeed, a more modern form of art than painting, music, sculpture or any other classical medium of artistic expression that comes to mind. It is so recent, in fact, that only in the last century has origami become a truly creative and expressive medium for both decorative and artistic purposes.
Initially, origami designs were passed from one generation to another. Today, advances in publishing, travel and electronic communications have aided and sped up the sharing of technical and artistic ideas in origami. With the aid of printing, photographs, video, DVD and computers, origami designs are no longer limited by the memory of the teacher and modern designs have become increasingly more complex.
Wilbur (the Piglet) was folded “freestyle” from a single 12-inch (30.5-cm) square of handmade cotton-abaca blend paper. Michael was so taken by a live piglet trotting across its pen while on display at the Topsfield Fair that he produced numerous gesture sketches, and even made special “pigskin paper” for this model. He also adopted an uncharacteristically loose folding style to capture the piglet’s happy spirit.
These new tools have also allowed the origami community to overcome certain technical problems in paperfolding. Since many origami artists consider the use of cutting and pasting to be cheating, these techniques are not encouraged. Through the concerted efforts of the origami community, the technical problems of creating models of any complexity with folding only—no cuts—has been resolved. After half a century of development, these technical challenges have melted away. Now it seems that there is no subject that cannot be rendered without cuts.
Just as origami designs have evolved, so has origami paper. Once limited in variety of color and pattern, commercial origami paper easily met the limited needs of the hobbyist’s predictable repertoire. Nowadays, hundreds of varieties of origami papers are available in a wide range of colors, patterns, textures, thicknesses and sizes. This reflects a greater demand for ready-to-use papers that are better suited to the vast new collections of origami projects published every year. This is certainly a welcome boon to the hobby. However, origami papers are still totally unsuitable for many of today’s complex and super complex origami designs. There are relatively few origami artists folding at this higher level, and such advanced projects require paper with more finely defined qualities. The papers that we have been able to produce have enabled other designers to push paperfolding technology to extreme limits. The designs of Robert Lang, Satoshi Kamiya, Daniel Robinson and others have, in turn, led us to produce papers that are even thinner and stronger. This co-evolution of designs and materials is likely to continue in exciting, unforeseen ways.
We can now fold origami creations with acid-free papers, made from high-quality fiber, which can last for generations with minimal care. And with present-day hand papermaking techniques, you can make your own incredibly strong acid-free paper of any desired size and thickness, colored specifically for whatever design you can imagine.
