Paper player

He cringes when he thinks of school classes folding paper cranes after reading "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes" (by Eleanor Coerr, 1977). The cranes are too difficult for beginners, he says.

Looking around his studio, LaFosse points to a paper goldfish he refined in three hours of intense work. He spent 8-1/2 years perfecting a bat. Both are made using a fine-art technique called wet folding. By lightly wetting the paper, it's possible to make softer shapes. Dry-folded shapes (like those in the projects shown here) are more rigid and geometric.

This is a golden age for origami, LaFosse says. There is a tremendous amount and variety of paper available and lots opportunities for learning to fold it. About 25 new origami books are published each year. Videos are a good way to see the steps in making a project.

LaFosse is also enthusiastic about other applications for origami techniques. What about designing space-saving items or innovative highway maps? Yes, to an origami master, even the "mountain" and "valley" folds of a well-designed map are a thing of beauty.

Paper-folding has been practiced for centuries, but its history is shrouded in mystery. The reason, says origami master Michael LaFosse, is that for much of its existence the tradition was passed along by one person showing another. Not much was written down.

Paper was invented in China about 2,000 years ago. The Asian art of paper-folding probably began soon afterward. From China it caught on in Korea and then Japan. A few of the ancient origami designs have survived. They are simple pieces that don't require complex written instructions.

The paper arts still enjoy a special place in Asian cultures.

Paper-folding spread to Europe around AD 700. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), the famous Italian painter, scientist, architect, and engineer, is sometimes credited with making the first paper airplane. If that's true, it probably was an example of pure folding, with no cutting or gluing. That would make it consistent with today's origami, in which no scissors, glue, or tape is used. (Multiple sheets of paper are OK, though.)

Origami's popularity with children grew with the kindergarten movement, begun by 19th-century German educator Friedrich Froebel. The idea of using instructional booklets and standardized pieces of paper (15 centimeters, or about 5-3/4 in., square), for paper-folding was especially well received in Japan. There, modern paper-folding fused with traditional Japanese origami. Mr. Froebel reportedly was unfamiliar with the word "origami."

During the 20th century, Akira Yoshizawa of Japan helped establish origami as a serious art form. He has created more than 50,000 origami works. With American Sam Randlett, he is also credited with developing the lines-and-arrows notation used in origami instruction.

• Don't use expensive origami paper at first. Sheets of newspaper and pages from magazines work fine, as do old catalogs and computer printer paper. Gift wrap has vivid colors and designs. (It also has a 'front' and a 'back,' making it easier to follow directions.) Construction paper is too thick and won't fold cleanly.

• Start with squares. Cut paper into squares that are 6 inches or 10 inches on a side. More important than the size is the squareness. Misshapen paper can lead to folding problems.

• Practice a piece by using one sheet of paper. Don't worry about multiple trial creases, but replace the paper when it's worn out. Once you've practiced. use a fresh sheet for the final folding.

• Make a series of 'step folds' to help you remember a complex project. Fold a sheet of paper up to Step 3, for example. Label it and make any helpful notes on it. Take another sheet and fold it to Step 6, and so on. File the 'steps' together in a resealable plastic bag and refer to them for review. Origami artist Michael LaFosse keeps crates of these tutorials.

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