Paper blasphamy

I may or may not have mentioned that I have been known to do origami from time to time, and that this year I've committed myself to doing a new design each month. Originally this was intended to be for me to come up with designs of my own, but having twelve ideas for things you want to make, and figuring out how to make said designs in a months time while doing other things are two entirely differant things.

So I sort of settled for an intermediate step. Where I fold something I've not folded before and then think on ways to use it differantly, in new designs at another time.

Well I was doing just that when I came across a word that origami folders of some groups cringe at. I'll give you a hint, it starts with a C ends with a T and has a U in the middle.

One of several new designs I was exploring was asking me to take scissors to the nice little square before me. It was shocking, and disappointing and... well admittedly amusing.

Here I was with a square of paper, thinking on ways to create interesting and intricate designs with it and I was agast at the idea of cutting that paper.

It seems silly to some but part of the beuty of origami is that once unfolded the integrity of the square or rectangle (or in some other complex foldings any number of shapes) is intact and uncompromised. It's taking the rigid form defined by hard straight lined borders on a nearly two dimenional basis and creating wonderful three dimensional (or four depending on your views of including time) sculpture. Cutting is like cheating.

But it does make me think that perhaps I need to allow myself more exploration of form changing in some of these ideas I intended to create. I should look into more modular origami (forms made by using multiple squares of paper) and perhaps even Kirigami (which if memory serves is the name for paper crafting that involves cuts). As artforms in their own right they may have something for me.

It's funny how sometimes we get stuck inside those little squares and forget that you can learn and use other things too.

Modular still appeals to me the most though, if for no other reason then that with a single peice of scrap paper I can make many squares of paper and fold them into forms (singly as origami, or together as modular origami) without the aide of having to carry scissors, razors, glue, tape or any other such things.

The simplicity of the relationship, between material, creator and form.

I did end up cutting that pattern, and the world is still here. Some ways to play with the design have come to me and it may help me broaden my thinking some in the future.

All this from some simple squares of paper. Perhaps if more people prcticed this art we might all benefit fro the things these squares have to teach us.