Learn Origami!

Origami is the Japanese art of paper folding. It allows you to turn a flat piece of paper into nearly anything you can think of, like an animal, flower or a hat. All you need to start learning origami is a piece of paper – you can even use a page of this newspaper once you’ve finished reading it!

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Here are two beginner origami projects to get you going, thanks to Sydney-based origami artist Michael Clonaris. Michael has been doing origami for more than 40 years and is the co-founder of The Origami People with his wife, Etsuko.

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First up, some origami terms and basics. You’ll often need a square, so to make this out of a rectangle, such as this page, you’ll need to fold a corner across to make a square with a rectangle at the bottom, and then carefully cut or rip along this line to make a square.

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The two main types of folds are:

1. Valley Fold: This is when you fold the paper towards you
2. Mountain Fold: This is when you fold the paper backwards away from you

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Don’t worry if it looks a bit strange – that’s all part of it!

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Thanks to Luke (from a prison in QLD) for the idea to include some origami in the newspaper.

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