• Personal

Personal anecdotes and family stories of Leyla Torres

In the Spirit of Origami

A few nights ago, my husband captured this quiet moment as I folded paper. Origami is a gentle source of joy and inner peace. . . . . Photo © John Sutton . . . .

Celebrating World Origami Days in Vermont

Today, October 28th, I celebrated World Origami Days* at the Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, Vermont. For about five hours my husband, John, and I distributed origami models to children and adults visiting the bookstore from as far away as Moscow! Many smiles and conversations about paper folding evolved as we filled happy hands with butterflies, kissing … Read more

Treasures From Patagonia in Modular Origami Boxes

As a child growing up in Colombia, Patagonia seemed an imaginary place that I always heard mentioned in statements or expressions that implied great distance. When we wanted to describe a place that was far away, we might say something like “I had to go to ‘Patagonia’ to pick up my shoes. It took forever … Read more

Origami is Poetry With Paper

But What is Poetry? According to poet Mariane Moore, poetry isan imaginary garden inhabited with real toads. For me, poetry is a paper garden inhabited by origami toads. ………………………………………. Frog designed by Román Díaz. Fly designed by Ángel Écija.Frog Feeding on a Fly  assemblage by Leyla Torres.

A Colorful Idea for a Birthday Gift Wrap

Even those people who might never think themselves as good at origami have at some point or another experienced some kind of paper folding.  Origami serves many every-day purposes, and we can say that gift-wrapping is basically a type of paper folding.Here is a photo of a gift (actually two) I wrapped today to take … Read more