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Origami Dress
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.
This attractive origami model is one I helped develop with a friend in LA. I figured out many possible variations, just by tweaking certain steps with different sized folds and changing proportions. See the red-dress series A thru D in the photo illustrations for 16 different visual ideas.
One small variation can easily be made by folding up a small strip at the bottom of your square (on the front side) before beginning step one. This results in a white or contrasting color along the bottom of the dress. See photos for two models that use this pre-folding step.
An origami dress is fun to use and to decorate greeting cards, great for birthdays, Mother’s Day, or to accompany money gifts for a shopping spree! A series of dresses can also be used as favors at a party; one way to use them is to hang individual dresses from a ribbon ‘clothesline’ with miniature clothespins, then let each guest remove one to take home with them. Alternately they could be used to decorate each person’s place at a table, with or without names being added. They can be adapted to use for one or more door prizes at a shower or other party; numbers or words can be written on the backs; have guests choose one before turning them over.
Another great idea for the origami dress is making paper dolls. After folding a few dresses, place one on a piece of card stock and lightly trace around the dress. Then remove the dress and, using it as a guide, draw a figure with head, arms, and legs. Decorate and cut out figure, and attach dresses with removable tape. Be sure to fold each of the dresses from the same size square so they all fit your new paper doll!
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
