READY STEADY FOLD

Ready Steady Fold Origami The Japanese art of Paper Folding       For workshops contact Richard on 07876415099
	Richard is from King's Lynn but he was in Cambridge recently when he dropped into the Centre to show off some of his creations to U3A circle dancers. He's been folding paper for 5 years and is entirely self taught. He tends to specialise in small swans - like the ones shown here - which take up to 4 hours to make. They are highly decorative in their own right and can be themed and coloured for special events such as weddings. As well as selling his stuff, Richard teaches Origami. If your group or club would be interested in learning more about this ancient Japanese craft, why not give him a ring.
Origami (????, from ori meaning "folding", and kami meaning "paper") is the traditional Japanese folk art of paper folding, which started in the 17th century AD 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. The number of basic origami folds is small, but they can be combined in a variety of ways to make intricate designs. The most well known origami model is probably the Japanese paper crane. In general, these designs begin with a square sheet of paper whose sides may be different colors or prints. Contrary to popular belief, traditional Japanese origami, which has been practiced since the Edo era (1603–1867), has often been less strict about these conventions, sometimes cutting the paper or using nonsquare shapes to start with.	There is much speculation as to the origin of origami. While Japan seems to have had the most extensive tradition, there is evidence of independent paperfolding traditions in China, Germany and Spain, among other places. However because paper decomposes rapidly, there is very little direct evidence of its age or origins, aside from references in published material. The earliest evidence of paperfolding in Europe is a picture of a small paper boat in Tractatus de sphaera mundi from 1490. There is also evidence of a cut and folded paper box from 1440.[1]   It is probable paperfolding in the west originated with the Moors much earlier[1], it is not known if it was independently discovered or knowledge of origami came along the silk route. 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.[2] 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.