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| Flying Folds |
Are you fascinated by Origami? Origami is the Japanese art of folding paper into shapes that look
like animals, birds, etc. I always wanted to learn origami, and several years ago I took a
short course on origami while I was on a cruise ship. What I
thought would be very easy, was not easy at all. I felt like I was
all thumbs trying to put together a very basic form.
I recently was able to view an awesome exhibit of origami, taken to a whole
new level. This exhibit was featured this summer and early fall at
Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis. It features sculptures by Santa Fe
artists Jennifer and Kevin Box. These sculptures were created in
collaboration with world renowned origami artists. The large metal
sculptures use a lost-wax casting and fabrication. Each sculpture
glorifies the art of origami through museum quality metals. They are
really something to behold.
There were 18 sculptures placed throughout the gardens. In this review I
will share some of my favorite sculptures and tell you a little bit about
each one.
Crane Unfolding
The first sculpture we saw when we entered the garden was the one
pictured above. In this beautiful sculpture you can see a
crane emerging from a single piece of paper through the folding process
to the finished crane.
Here is the sign by the sculpture that expresses what the artist
felt.
Rising Cranes
This sculpture depicts a number of cranes rising from a rock
base. This sculpture was set in a small water feature at the
garden and I like the way the sculpture is reflected in the
water.
Emerging Peace
This sculpture is a favorite of mine. It depicts a butterfly
starting out as a caterpillar and finally a beautiful butterfly.
I like the write up on the sign below.
Hero's Horse
I love the sculpture of the horse and the message it sends. It
looks great among the trees in the park. Here is the sign by the
horse.
Master Peace
Asian legend says that if you fold 1000 cranes in a year you will be
granted a wish. The artists who created these sculptures created
1000 cranes and wished for peace. This sculpture is called
"Master Peace" and is made up of 500 of their cranes. The other
500 cranes are scattered throughout the world.
The sculpture stands tall in the pond in front of the climatron ( a
wonderful indoor feature of the garden). Below is a close up
photo I took showing a section of the sculpture.
White Bison
The White Bison were displayed alongside one of the paths in the
garden. I thought they were very interesting in their two tone
look.
Rock, Paper, Scissors
This simple hand gesture game is played throughout the world. I
was fascinated to read that it originated in Asia in 200 BC. It
evolved over the years and today uses three common items. Here is
the sculpture depicting the game.
Paper Navigators
The last sculptures in this review are the boats that were placed in
the pond in the Japanese garden section of the Missouri Botanical
Garden. They can be seen as you take the path around the
pond. I like the way the sculptures are reflected in the pond.
This is just a small selection of the sculptures that were shown at
our botanical garden. The sculptures will be taken down
soon. I hope you will be able to view them if they come to a
gardens near you.
Learning Origami
If you are interested in learning origami you might want to try one of
these books offered at Amazon.
Rising Cranes
This sculpture depicts a number of cranes rising from a rock
base. This sculpture was set in a small water feature at the
garden and I like the way the sculpture is reflected in the
water.
Emerging Peace
This sculpture is a favorite of mine. It depicts a butterfly
starting out as a caterpillar and finally a beautiful butterfly.
I like the write up on the sign below.
Hero's Horse
I love the sculpture of the horse and the message it sends. It looks great among the trees in the park. Here is the sign by the horse.
Master Peace
Asian legend says that if you fold 1000 cranes in a year you will be
granted a wish. The artists who created these sculptures created
1000 cranes and wished for peace. This sculpture is called
"Master Peace" and is made up of 500 of their cranes. The other
500 cranes are scattered throughout the world.
The sculpture stands tall in the pond in front of the climatron ( a wonderful indoor feature of the garden). Below is a close up photo I took showing a section of the sculpture.
White Bison
The White Bison were displayed alongside one of the paths in the
garden. I thought they were very interesting in their two tone
look.
Rock, Paper, Scissors
This simple hand gesture game is played throughout the world. I
was fascinated to read that it originated in Asia in 200 BC. It
evolved over the years and today uses three common items. Here is
the sculpture depicting the game.
Paper Navigators
The last sculptures in this review are the boats that were placed in
the pond in the Japanese garden section of the Missouri Botanical
Garden. They can be seen as you take the path around the
pond. I like the way the sculptures are reflected in the pond.
This is just a small selection of the sculptures that were shown at our botanical garden. The sculptures will be taken down soon. I hope you will be able to view them if they come to a gardens near you.
Learning Origami
If you are interested in learning origami you might want to try one of
these books offered at Amazon.
Easy Origami (Dover Origami Papercraft)over 30 simple projectsCheck PriceOrigami Extravaganza! Folding Paper, a Book, and a Box: Origami Kit Includes Origami Book, 38 Fun Projects and 162 Origami Papers: Great for Both Kids and AdultsCheck Price
