The Artist
Haylie Elise has been folding paper for as long as she can remember. She brings simnple traditional origami models to life and folds the complex creations of modern origami masters. Haylie's folded masterpieces are available for your wedding, corporate event, personal collection, or other gathering, She lives in Asheville, NC, with her pet goldfish Günter.
The Art
The word origami stems from two Japanese words - Oru (meaning to fold) and Kamii (meaning paper). The ancient art of paper folding originated in China around the first or second century A.D. and made its way to Japan by about the sixth century.
Traditional origami requires the folding of a single uncut square. Cutting is not permitted, nor is gluing or any type of adhesive. Modular origami, however involves folding several smaller units and joining them together. Again, gluing is frowned upon as a well-designed model should lock on its own.
Perhaps the most renowned origamist is Akira Yoshizawa, born in Japan in 1911. Not only is he reponsible for the creation of well over 50,000 models, but he is credited with single-handedly bringing about origami's present renaissance.
Other pioneers at the forefront of this art include:
- Robert Land
- John Montroll
- Fumiaki Kawahata