SECOND TERM JOURNAL ENTRY 1

    ORIGAMI

       Hi everybody ! I want to talk about origami, in other words, paper folding art. While I was in high school,  one of my roommate was interested in origami. She was watching videos  all the time showing  how to make a frog, bird, rose etc. While watching the videos, she was trying to do whatever they did.
       One day, she recommended me to do the same thing. 
  I tried to do a frog at first. After finishing, I was really happy. My next try was the crane  origami which we made for a friend of us as a birthday gift. With the help of some close friends, we finished it in two days. It was worth seeing her happiness when we gave her the present made by us. That is my origami history. Now, let me talk about history of origami. 

  "Ori" is the Japanese word for folding and "kami" is the Japanese word for paper. That is how origami got its name. However, origami didn’t start in Japan. It began in China in the first or second century and then spread to Japan during the sixth century.

    At first, there was very little paper available.So, only the rich could afford to do paperfolding. As easier papermaking methods were developed, paper became less expensive. Origami became a popular art for everyone, no matter if they were rich or poor.

     In 1797, How To Fold 1000 Cranes was published. This book contained the first written set of origami instructions which told how to fold a crane.Morever, the crane was considered a sacred bird in Japan. It was a Japanese custom that if a person folded 1000 cranes, they would be granted one wish. 

     In 1845 another book, Window on Midwinter, was published which included  approximately 150 origami models.This book introduced the model of the frog which is a very well known model today. With the publication of both these books, the folding of origami became recreation in Japan.Its popularity spread to the world in time. 

    The interest in origami continues to increase today. Today, master paperfolders can be found in many places around the world. Akira Yoshizawa  is one of these. He is considered the "father of modern origami" because of his creative paperfolding. He also developed a set of symbols and terms that are used worldwide.

     As BELVA DAVIS said, If you can dream it, you can make it so. If you have a bit patience and interest, don’t hesitate ! Here is a video link if it interests you. Enjoy it 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rc9lVHvfzMY