Folded Like Origami

For my artwork, I did an origami of an elephant and cherry blossom flowers. Using available materials, I chose the construction paper as an alternative to origami paper for my medium. I also used scissors to cut the papers into square since most origami starts with a square base. I instantly chose the elephant because they are very adorable giants and cherry blossom flowers because they are pretty, simple, and easy to make with the available time I have left. The two shows my love for nature which represents the fauna and flora, respectively.

I almost even forgot that I can do art. Ever since elementary, I recognized my lack of creative talent. I remember just hating activities and projects that would make us draw, paint, and whatnot. Although, I appreciate artworks very much – I love going to the museum, theaters, admiring personal artworks of my friends, and even looking around places for different forms of art.

Fortunately, I learned about origami or the art of paper folding. It was in high school when our teacher challenged us to submit a dragon origami in a project for a perfect score. I thought it was going to be easy since we’ll only be following instructions or patterns. Hence, I went for the dragon origami. Some of my classmates found it hard to follow instructions when I, for one, enjoyed it on the contrary.

At this point, I found my own way into art. When I do origami, I just feel happy doing my “thing” that I barely realized, it already made me an artist. Following patterns or folding instructions provides a sense of freedom in some way and discipline to myself. It’s like arranging chaos or an abstract into order and forming it to a unified structure. Origami is so complex, however, definitely creative. I believe that the art lies in folding itself. Any pattern or technique one may use; the final output can still be achieved when done properly.

In effect, I have hesitations that my artwork would not actually materialize or come out as I expected. Origami is a tedious art that requires patience, focus, and discipline. Whereas, I still struggle to master the latter two. I have fears when it comes to pursuing origami since I have yet a lot of skills to learn and develop. Ultimately, there is also mathematics in folding and I’m still figuring out how my academic future unfolds in that case.