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Origami Star
Mary Ellen Palmeri
Welcome to our monthly "Origami Page". Origami is folding paper and ending up with delightful figures and models, such as flowers, boxes and animals. This feature will showcase a different origami model in each monthly issue, with diagrams and photos to help readers learn how to fold them. Most models use one square of paper, some use a rectangle, and others use more than one piece of paper.
Photo by Mary Ellen Palmeri
To help celebrate Independence Day, this month's model is a traditional origami star.
There are several kinds of origami stars - one uses a thin strip of paper that gets folded over and over. Other models use two or more squares that are folded and then put together to make a star. Origami stars also vary by how many points they have; some have only 4 points, and others have 5, 6, or 8 points.
This model uses one folded square, and has a single cut before unfolding it to create the 5 points. These stars have been used as ornaments by hanging with string or thread. They can also be added to pictures, leaving them dimensional or pasting flat.
Begin by folding a star from the attached diagrams. If you're unhappy with the finished shape, try re-folding it and cutting at a different angle. Then have fun experimenting and decorating. Make stars in several sizes and decorate in different ways; try folding from a variety of types of papers. A transparent or translucent effect results from using tracing paper or even waxed paper.
Enhance individual stars by drawing on them and/or adding glitter. You can also create a decorative version by cutting out the center - this is done in step 9 while the paper is still folded and cutting off the bottom (solid point). If you cut this point in a line parallel to the cutting angle shown in step 9, the result will be a cut-out star in the center of the larger star!
Happy folding!
Origami originated in ancient Asian cultures and has been adapted by contemporary artists worldwide to reflect their own cultures. Local artist Mary Ellen Palmeri has incorporated paper folding into many of her mixed media art paintings, and teaches origami classes locally and nationally. Some of her work can be seen in a Tucson Happenings feature here: Artist_Profile
Ms. Palmeri's original origami models have been published in books and magazines, she has been featured on broadcast media, and her mixed-media fine art works often include various original origami models. Origami LAFF (Lyric Arts Folding Fest) is a Tucson based club founded by Ms. Palmeri to provide a venue for sharing this art. The group meets monthly at a local library; for more details please contact the artist at info@lyric-arts.com
