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David Chan Chiu-wing shows an origami eagle, one of his new designs.
Sophia Zhang
Paper-folding art unravels imagination
by Sophia Zhang
Origami, the art of folding paper from Japan , demonstrates the charm that a piece of paper has on people. With concentration and patience, a plain and simple sheet of paper can be turned into a sophisticated and complicated model like a dinosaur or a crane. The art helps strengthen creativity and treat people with mental problems, enthusiasts say.
¡§Origami can make one calm. It is a kind of happiness that is very serene and comfortable. This is the most attractive thing to me,¡¨ said David Chan Chiu-wing, chairman of the Chinese (H.K.) Origami Society, which he founded with friends in 1991.
The organisation promotes its activities through exhibitions, the Internet and programmes telecast on buses. It has more than 60 members, including the elderly and primary school students. Only several members are professional origami makers while others are amateurs like Chan, who is a toy designer.
¡§I like folding models of animals, especially those extinct species like dinosaurs. It is just like I am the Creator¡KBut before you start folding, you have to think and observe the animals' structure carefully. You will never succeed if you do not have a design in mind,¡¨ Chan said.
Creating a good piece of origami needs knowledge of mathematics and anatomy as well, he said.
Anatomy is sometimes used to help design a more lifelike animal's model. Skilful origami designers know how to use geometry to analyse the folding of a piece of paper and divide it into little blocks which can eventually form the shape of a design. Designers also have to find out the simplest and the most understandable way to fold the model.
During the process of folding, one has to pay attention to the sheet of paper and instructions, or the model may go wrong. Concentration is needed, according to Chan Wing-chong, a member of the origami society.
¡§I was an irritable man in the past, but origami made me become placid,¡¨ the 33-year-old Chan said.
He started doing origami eight years ago out of curiosity. Now, he is an origami designer and has published his own book of paper folding.
¡§You have only a piece of paper, and how do you make full use of it? Unlike painting on which you can add something, origami requires you to think carefully and try your best to utilise the whole sheet of paper¡KIt is something that requires logic,¡¨ he said.
Origami also demands creativity and imagination. Chan said it was impossible for a good origami maker to only learn from a teacher. Good practitioners have to develop their own ways of folding paper. When Chan teaches others to do origami, hisfirst priority is to make them understand the logic behind each fold and encourage them to create their own pieces of work, rather than just memorising his instructions.
¡§Teachers can only teach you 80 per cent (of the skills). You have to rely on yourself to learn the remaining 20 per cent,¡¨ he said.
The process of folding a model always brings a strong sense of accomplishment to fans.
Wong Po-san, a 40-year-old primary school teacher who has taken up the hobby for 12 years, said: ¡§I feel really satisfied during the process, especially when I come up with a good design. You can always discover new ways of folding.¡¨
He usually begins with an idea and tries to sort out how to fold a piece of paper in mind. ¡§It is very easy for me to imagine what it will be like if I fold a paper in this or that way, especially when I take or wait for a bus,¡¨ Wong said.
Like many origami practitioners, Wong finds paper folding a way to relieve daily stress.
¡§Sometimes when I am tired after work, I will pick up a piece of paper and start folding it up. It is a good way to relax when I am under lots of pressure,¡¨ he said.
The art is also much enjoyed by both young and old people.
Au Yeung Lai-ching, 68, who took up origami last October, said the art could train her brain. ¡§I have to keep thinking when I am folding a sheet of paper. And it can also train my fingers. I like handiwork,¡¨ she said.
¡§Although I am at the elementary level and I can only do some simple pieces, each time when I finish a model successfully, I feel really happy¡KI will be a bit upset if I fail to make it, but I will just try again.¡¨
She said she would take down notes at every monthly gathering of the origami society to help improve her skills. ¡§It is so fantastic that a piece of paper can make so many things,¡¨ she said.
The magic of origami also works on children.
¡§I like origami more than watching TV and playing computer games,¡¨ 10-year-old Wu Sze-hon said. ¡§Those TV games are boring and will hurt my eyes. Origami is much more interesting.¡¨ Sze-hon started to learn origami three years ago.
Some people consider origami can train children to be more attentive and creative.
Meanwhile, origami is used as a therapeutic tool to help people with mental illnesses in Western countries. With the combination of art and medical functions, origami is practised in many hospitals and medical centres.
In Hong Kong , the New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Centre is one of the organisations which offers different handicraft activities like origami for recovered mental patients.
A therapist at the centre, Vivian Wong Lai-kuen, said: ¡§Origami helps patients boost confidence, interact with others and train their coordination of hands and eyes.¡¨ The advantage of origami is flexibility. Paper can be folded in different ways. The level of difficulty can be adjusted according to a patient's ability, Wong said.
