Are you looking for a good present for someone who likes origami? An origami book is always well received, but Michael LaFosse’s Origami Butterflies: Elegant Designs from a Master Folder might be exactly the special book you are looking for. Read on to find out why.
For those people who know the work of Michael LaFosse and Richard Alexander, their book Origami Butterflies does not need an introduction or a glowing review. They just buy their copy knowing that Michael and Richard’s reputation for quality publications has an assured stamp of excellence.
You cannot go wrong with any book by these authors, much less with this delightful collection of origami butterflies!
So this review is for those people who are interested in origami, but aren’t yet familiar with the work of LaFosse and Alexander. It outlines ten reasons why anyone interested in origami should have this book.
- Clear instructions make it perfect for anyone who would love to witness in their own hands the magical metamorphosis of transforming a square piece of paper into a butterfly. No glue, no scissors, just your hands and a piece of paper!
- An informative essay introduces us to the origin and inspiration of LaFosse’s system of creating butterflies.
- Origami Butterflies contains a section of ideas on how the butterflies can be used for different festive occasions.
- A section outlines suggestions for different papers to use, from fine art papers to dollar bills or candy wrappers.
- Any origami book worth its salt always includes the origami symbols key. This book, of course, is no exception with its excellent explanation of the internationally standardized system of origami symbols.
- A section called “Basic Architecture” clearly explains the basic structure and building blocks for the origami butterflies.
- A couple of pages show photographs of butterflies for which no detailed instructions are given. We are invited and challenged to come back to this page after we have worked through the book, and try to figure out how to fold them.
- All of Michael LaFosse’s butterflies have been dedicated to different people, most of whom are directly connected with the practice of origami. The authors share a little about those people’s history and how each butterfly was inspired by them. Some even include a haiku for the person to whom their butterfly is dedicated.
- The book itself is of high quality, from the kind of paper used to the excellent color photographs showing the finished butterflies. Everything shows great attention to detail.
If a person who loves origami is in your list of people to get a present for, do not hesitate for a minute, jump in! Click on the image below, get the book, and rest assured that you will be adding a wonderful treasure to their origami library. Making these origami butterflies from Michael LaFosse is poetry for our fingers and a delight to our eyes.
Buy Origami Butterflies at AMAZON (Affiliate links – We appreciate your support!)
You wrote: “their book Origami Butterflies does not need an introduction or a glowing review. They just buy their copy knowing that Michael and Richard’s reputation for great origami design and quality publications has an assured stamp of excellence. You cannot go wrong with any book by these authors, much less with this delightful collection of origami butterflies!”
Ain’t that the truth! This book is jammed-crammed full of quality AND quantity. It blew me away that it even came with dvds. Michael and Richard truly go that extra mile to put out works they can be proud of.
I have this book, also. It is a bargain for the full price I paid for it. I also bought a companion “kit” for $10 in which there was instructions, paper and a CD for 8 butterflies, also a bargain. I would also like to comment on the international standards for the symbols. I picked up a couple of cute origami pamphlets put out by the Kamon educational system. I was very disappointed to see that the symbols for valley and mountain were reversed. I hope that anyone buying these books writes a letter of protest to the company as I did. That’s one of the purposes of origami, to bring the world together, not to divide by changing symbols or arguing whether to use scissors and glue or not.
I agree with you, all origami publications should have the high standards of Origami Butterflies, and use the international origami conventions properly. Changing them only creates confusion.