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Tracey
Roman/Daily Forty-Niner
Elephants,
flowers, hats, fish, cranes and rings are
made by children and adults of all ages
at the ninth annual festival.
Gardens
host Origami Festival
By
Clarissa Segovia
Daily Forty-Niner
Elephants,
flowers, hats, fish, cranes and rings were
made over and over by children and adults
of all ages at the ninth annual Origami
Festival on July 18. The Public Corporation
for the Arts and the Earl Burns Miller Japanese
Garden co-sponsored the event, which attracted
more than 500 guests.
The
Japanese Garden at Cal State Long Beach,
which has been proclaimed to be one of the
most widely used and socially conscious
in North America, was the perfect setting
for the event.
Jeanette Schelin, director of the Japanese
Garden, said that origami is a wonderful
way to express your creativity and learn
about Japanese culture. The garden itself
embodies in its appearance and events the
essence of Japanese culture and was the
perfect setting for people to experience
the art of origami, which literally means
paper folding.
In
some form or another, origami is a part
of the school curriculum in many countries
because it also brings many benefits.
Alison
Redfoot, the garden's education coordinator
said, "The benefits of origami, however,
go beyond the pleasure and decorative qualities
of its creation. The memorization of the
folds strengthens one's memory and is used
as a fortification against memory loss.
Also, the geometry of the folds is known
to aid one's development in mathematics."
Yoichi
Yamauchi, author and winner of many awards
for his origami creations, was one of about
15 volunteers that were teaching the art
form at the festival. Yamauchi, who relearned
the Japanese tradition of origami after
many years, says that the reason that he
enjoys origami is because in business there
are problems but it is only the joy of life
doing origami.
At
the start of each demonstration Yamauchi
asks for each child's undivided attention
and surprisingly even the most active child
complies. Awe struck with their own creation,
children show off the flowers that they
have created under Yamauchi's instruction
to their family and friends. But, Yamauchi
does not only create flowers some of his
most elaborate work includes elephants and
whales that stand at four feet tall.
An
admirer of origami artwork, Norman Stingley,
who himself creates art out of wood, has
a piece created by Yamauchi hanging in his
own home. In a 32x40 inch glass case, Stingley
says that the impeccable image made of only
green and yellow paper is so intricate that
when people view the art they "think
it's a painting."
Why
many are awe-stricken by the Japanese art
form may be best explained in the words
of Stingley, "It's beautiful and fascinating that
people can make these kinds of things just
from folding paper."
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