Origami Swan

Origami Swan5 a photo by allistair on Flickr.

Modular origami, as it's sometimes called, is much more popular in Japan than here in the US. You can actually buy kits, which are filled with pre-cut little squares of paper. You then individually fold these hundreds of pieces of paper and then fit them together, like a 3d puzzle to form shapes. I had to cut my own small squares of paper, about 500 hundred of them to make this piece. I found the instructions for putting them together online (there are many slightly different variations on the swan, and many other designs as well).

It's not very difficult to make something like this, just time-consuming. It takes several hours of cutting paper into smaller squares, then folding all the individual squares, and then piecing them together. Because it's very repetitive work, it can be very calming and relaxing.

Origami Swan5 a photo by allistair on Flickr.

Modular origami, as it's sometimes called, is much more popular in Japan than here in the US. You can actually buy kits, which are filled with pre-cut little squares of paper. You then individually fold these hundreds of pieces of paper and then fit them together, like a 3d puzzle to form shapes. I had to cut my own small squares of paper, about 500 hundred of them to make this piece. I found the instructions for putting them together online (there are many slightly different variations on the swan, and many other designs as well).

It's not very difficult to make something like this, just time-consuming. It takes several hours of cutting paper into smaller squares, then folding all the individual squares, and then piecing them together. Because it's very repetitive work, it can be very calming and relaxing.

Origami Swan