From Oct. 1 to 31, the Davis Origami Group demonstrated its paper-folding skills with an origami exhibit on display in the Mary L. Stephens Davis Branch Library at 315 E. 14th St.
The exhibit is in observance of World Origami Days, held annually from Oct. 24 to Nov. 11. OrigamiUSA, the national society of origami, started the international celebration of the Japanese art of folding paper into a variety of animals, plants and objects.
According to OrigamiUSA, Oct. 24 is the birthday of Lillian Oppenheimer, the founder of the first U.S. origami group. She also founded the British Origami Society and OrigamiUSA. Additionally, Nov. 11 is Origami Day in Japan.
“The exhibit will be in the three display cases at the library through [Oct. 31], and the two bookcase displays will be intact through [Nov. 2]. On [Nov. 3], we’ll be moving the exhibit to the Blanchard Room at the library for our World Origami Days special event,” said Judy Ng, a co-leader of the Davis Origami Group, in an email.
For the special event, the Davis Origami Group will hold an origami workshop from 1 to 5 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Ng said there will be more origami models on display and some models will be taught to beginner to advanced folders.
“Among the models taught [will be] finger puppets, toys/games, practical items (containers/wallets), dollar folds, airborne models and more,” Ng said. “Participants are encouraged to bring magazine/catalog covers to repurpose before they are recycled.”
Ng said at 2 p.m., Glenn Sapaden will discuss ways to bring origami to the classroom and the connections between origami and math and origami and art. At 3 p.m., Andrew Hudson, a founding member and co-leader of the Davis Origami Group, will present the history of origami and its everyday applications in airbags, stents and aerospace technology. In addition, Tom Vinik will tell a story while simultaneously folding a piece of paper into nine different objects.
The Davis Origami Group banded together in 2009. Hudson said in an email that the idea of having an origami organization was conceived when several members met at the Pacific Coast Origami Conference in San Francisco.
“The group started off small, but now we have a regular attendance of about 20 people,” Hudson said. “The Davis Origami Group has a twofold mission — it is a social event for origami enthusiasts and also a way of encouraging origami in the Davis community.”
Hudson said for World Origami Days, groups all over the world organize events to celebrate the craft. He said for a while, the Davis Origami Group has wanted to put together an exhibit.
“We found out that the library display cases would be available during the month leading up to World Origami Days, so it seemed an opportunity too good to pass up.”
The Davis Origami Group meets monthly in the Blanchard Room at the Davis Branch Library from 1 to 5 p.m. and Dec. 1 is the next monthly meeting date for the group. Hudson said their meetings are usually informal.
“Usually we start out doing simple models, so beginners are encouraged to come to the first hour,” he said. “Anyone who wants to teach is welcome to do so; we have some experienced folders that will step in and help if things aren’t going right.”
CLAIRE TAN can be reached at city@theaggie.org.
