What Origami Taught Me

To the sceptic, origami is folding paper. To the rational, origami is full of instructions. To the idealist, origami is a movement. But to the creative, origami is the vision that is created by diligent hands. – Hannah Williams

This Thursday, I had the opportunity to participate in an Origami class hosted by Toshiko called the Happy Origami Wonderland. This experience was sponsored by Indytute which is an online platform allowing you to purchase experiences such as origami classes as gifts that you and your loved ones can participate in.

Now, I went into this class completely oblivious to how difficult origami can be. However, it was fine because most people in the class were beginners just like me. The class is a two person experience so my sister came along and we had fun bonding together over this workshop.

Before I delve into what I learnt in the class, I would like to take a moment to appreciate the culture of the art-form by pointing out what I learnt about origami:

1. I understood the meaning behind the crane as a symbol of hope. In fact, one thousand cranes was the exact number in the Japanese culture.
2. There is a specialist origami paper which is much softer.
3. Origami can be therapeutic. There is also mindfulness origami in which the tutor also specialises in.

In addition to learning about the culture and history of origami, I also learnt about myself from taking this class. Here is what I learnt:

1. Be a doer and not a watcher: I noticed that because I was anxious, I began watching rather than doing which in turn made it difficult for me to keep up. So after being helped by the wonderful teacher, I was able to get back on track with the class.
2. Practice:  When I completed the final piece of the flying crane and it looked fine, I settled for that and didn’t push myself to try again or even practise/ perfect what I have already made. This is a completely complacent attitude and to get the full experience, it was important that I personally try to practise and not leave what I learnt at the workshop.
3. Ask for help: Don’t be embarrassed to ask others and the instructor for help. It can be simple questions but as long as it needs answering they are VERY valid.

Overall, origami is an activity that requires the ability to listen carefully, follow instructions and solve problems through intuition, common sense and even to some extent team work especially in a group.

Here are the pictures of the Crane and the Japanese Maple Leaf made in the class

For more information on this Origami class or other available workshops, please feel free to visit:

Website: Indytute

Twitter: The Indytute

Also, check out the instructor Happy Origami Wonderland on Twitter and Instagram for class information and lovely origami creations!