Origamist Tomoku Fuse says that one should think out of the box to create exceptional shapes and designs. By Shrabasti Mallik
The word origami takes me back to my school days when the art education teacher took pain to teach us the intricate bends and folds of the art, with a single piece of paper.
Attending Tomoku Fuse’s discussion and demonstration on origami changed my entire perception of the craft. When I asked her how she made boxes and other abstract shapes with one single piece of paper, she explained, “It is called unit origami. It requires several pieces of paper to create hexagonal shapes and boxes. Origami does not necessarily have to mean one piece of paper.” Owing to her passion for unit origami, which is created by joining together multiple folded paper sheets, she soon became a pioneer in the field and came to be called the ‘Unit Queen.’
During the demonstration she spoke about her love for origami and how she first learnt the art in the hospital where she was admitted as a child. “I was barely eight or nine at that time and I enjoyed how a few folds of a piece of paper can turn into interesting figures, shapes and objects. It was one love I never let go,” she recalled. Her love for origami has taken her to places.
She has participated in numerous exhibition across the globe. Some pieces that she created for the exhibitions were very difficult to make. They were several feet high and were created by joining together several individual pieces.
She informed that to make a larger model, one may use two or several pieces of paper, they may not have to necessarily be in a square shape. A rectangular piece of paper may also be used in some cases. But “the core of origami, the centre of this art of folding, is one square sheet of paper.”
Nature, she said, is her constant source of inspiration. “I do not follow any hard and fast rule. Mostly artists follow norms and believe that one has to create certain shapes to make a definite object. I do not follow this. I begin with a sheet of paper and keep experimenting until I arrive at something beautiful. This method allows me to come up with new ideas to experiment with shapes,” she said.
Through her demonstration she also shared that apart from folding, origami also includes cutting, painting and forming shapes. She, however, is not influenced by modern methods and feels that “the art that I practice gives liberty to think and explore my creativity.”