By Tracy Anne Cruz

I am sure that all of us went through that experience of folding this scratch papers and turning them into little art works. Just as most of us thought that this is just a hobby or such a waste of time, it is not.

In Japan, this is an art. An art of folding papers. Origami is the traditional Japanese folk art of paper folding, which started in the 17th century CE and was popularized in the mid-1900s. It has since then evolved into a modern art form. The goal of this art is to transform a flat sheet of material into a finished sculpture through folding and sculpting techniques, and as such the use of cuts or glue are not considered to be origami.

In Japan, the earliest unambiguous reference to a paper model is in a short poem by Ihara Saikaku in 1680 which describes paper butterflies in a dream. Origami butterflies were used during the celebration of Shinto weddings to represent the bride and groom, so paperfolding already become a significant aspect of Japanese ceremony by the Heian period (794–1185) of Japanese history, enough that the reference in this poem would be recognized. Samurai warriors would exchange gifts adorned with noshi, a sort of good luck token made of folded strips of paper. (wikipedia.com)

Just by using your imagination, you can make an origami of almost all of the things that you can think of.

Here are some of the websites where you can learn how to make one.

http://origamiinstructions.blogspot.com/

http://www.origami-resource-center.com/free-origami-instructions.html