Within Origamigos (our Origami Spirit membership) we interviewed Himanshu Agrawal. Here we highlight his origami work as a lovely example of origami mastery.
Himanshu Agrawal (India) has been practicing origami since 1989 and has set 5 world records for large origami installations. Through this post, you can appreciate his fantastic origami work.
Himanshu believes that whatever we need to express can be expressed simply either with a few words, or a few folds.
His thoughts are in line with the definition of origami mastery as we describe it in Origami Spirit.
What is Mastery with Origami?
Mastery in Origami is a stage when you understand the techniques of paper folding and are also familiar with applications of origami that make it so valuable, for example, the usefulness of origami in education, therapy, science, and art.
“Whatever you need to express can be expressed simply either with a few words or with a few folds.”
Himanshu Agrawal
Origami mastery is being able to beautifully interpret other people’s designs and/or being able to create our own figures.
Himanshu’s work reflects mastery with origami as he has beautifully interpreted the origami creations of different designers as well as creating his own origami pieces.
Many people prefer to fold or design figures that have few steps that result in a recognizable figure. But some people tend to favor complexity and love to spend hours folding one super-complex figure.
All can be inclusive, and mastery with origami does not necessarily mean that you have to fold complex figures. Mastery means something slightly different for each origamist.
If you have folded paper before, you might be familiar with some guidelines to rate origami figures according to levels of difficulty.
Origami models can be rated as Simple, Low Intermediate, Intermediate, High Intermediate, Complex and Super-complex.
That scale describes how easy or difficult a model might be, but it does not describe where you are personally on a path to origami mastery.
Origami mastery is about you and your relationship with origami as a whole.
“Mastery with origami does not necessarily mean that you have to fold complex figures. Mastery means something slightly different for each origamist. It is about you and your relationship with origami as a whole.”
Origami practitioners have different tastes and inclinations. Mastery of origami is being able to self-define your personal relationship with this practice.
You achieve mastery in origami when you have tried different styles and subjects, can interpret the work of different origami designers, and have identified your folding preferences and themes.
Himanshu Agrawal
Himanshu Agrawal has been practicing origami since 1989 and has set 5 world records for large origami installations.
Himanshu’s origami sculptures have been displayed around the world in venues such as the National Art Gallery in Singapore, the CODA museum in the Netherlands, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) in Mumbai India, and the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad museum in India. In addition to his origami installations, Himanshu has designed art for marketing and communication.
For Himanshu, teaching origami has been a fulfilling activity. He has had the opportunity to share his origami work with people of all ages and special interest groups such as the convalescing and people who are blind. From folding in isolation to folding with the global community; from folding palm-size models to folding a 105-feet dinosaur he describes his origami journey as being full of joy.
To find out more about Himanshu Agrawal, visit his website and social media outlets
- Himanshu Agrawal’s website https://www.orukami.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/origami.india
- Istagram: https://www.instagram.com/origamihim/