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June 21 Advice from an origami masterI wrote an email to Dr. Robert Lang, asking for advice on how to become a serious folder. Considering his popularity and busy work schedule, I didn't expect him to write back immediately. But I found his reply in my mailbox early this morning.
Dr. Lang used to be a successful physicist and engineer, but finally chose to become a full-time origami artist. He is noted for designs of great detail and realism, and includes in his repertoire some of the most complex origami designs ever created. His work combines aspects of the Western school of mathematical origami design with the Eastern emphasis upon line and form to yield models that are at once distinctive, elegant, and challenging to fold.
This is the link to his webpage: http://www.langorigami.com/
A lot of breath-taking models can be found in the 'Art' section of this site.
Now, let me share the origami master's advice with my friends interested in getting serious with this art form:
"Hi XXXX,
If you want to seriously pursue origami, you should indeed continue to
pursue folding from books, but I would also strongly recommend getting connected to the various origami communities, because there are important ideas and techniques that are only communicated through direct interaction with folders and/or by direct observation of folded models. What's in books is always somewhat behind the current cutting edge. That said, let me suggest some books. First, some books for reference, to see what great folding looks like: Yoshizawa, Origami Dokouhon I -- One of the classics by the great master. You're not getting it for the folding sequences, but for the pictures of Yoshizawa's own folding. Any other of his advanced books would also work. LaFosse, Advanced Origami LaFosse, Paper Art Mingei Museum, Origami Masterworks The two previous books are only picture books, not instruction books, but they are good references for craftsmanship in your folding. Now for some instruction books: Kamiya, Works of Satoshi Kamiya Yoshino, Supercomplex Origami Any of the Origami Tanteidan Convention books Lang, Origami Insects II To learn about how to design origami: Engel, Folding the Universe Lang, Origami Design Secrets That's a good set to get you started. Now, to broaden your origami experience: You should join the origami-L mailing list to learn what's hot, and to get pointers to the latest hot topics and artists (like Eric Gjerde and Joel Cooper's brilliant tessellations). You should join OrigamiUSA (www.origami-usa.org) so you can attend their annual convention, which is the largest origami convention in the world. You should also join Japan Origami Academic Society (Google for info) to receive their periodicals (JOAS's magazine, in particular, publishes the most significant new origami designs). You might also consider coming up to San Jose for their local folding group meetings. I'm encouraging joining societies and attending meetings because although one can learn a lot of origami just from books, there are lots of things that will advance your skills much faster that come from direct person-to-person interaction. Hope that helps to get you started. Feel free to ask if you have more questions. Best regards, Robert"
A long way to go, isn't it? But as long as you are pursuing the way your heart chooses, you will never feel lonely.
Many thanks to Dr. Lang, my origami idol. Comments (34)
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