Origami Page:
The Pen Box i

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.

Click for printable file.

My origami Pen Box is simple to make and can be used to hold many items, not just pens and pencils. Handy on a dresser for small change, jewelry, or hair accessories they can also be useful in a bathroom to organize beauty supplies such as Q-tips and cotton balls. How about using them to sort out different sizes or kinds of hardware for those household fix-up jobs?

You can fold these boxes from colorful or decorative papers to brighten up the space where you use them. They can also be made in different sizes to use as drawer-dividers for rubber bands, paper clips and other office supplies. Keeping one of these boxes near your work area is also great for important items that you like to keep nearby, like your favorite chocolates! If made with sturdy paper, like from old calendar pages, these boxes hold up surprising well for frequently used items like car keys. And when they wear out they are so simple to replace!

How many ways you can find to put these origami boxes to use?

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

All of her Paper Dream Paintings can be seen in her Etsy shop where custom matted art prints of her original work can be purchased. Go to: www.etsy.com/shop/LyricFineArts

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