Goldengami's Weblog

I am an artist and former art teacher with a great interest in multi-cultural art. One of my students demonstrated a unique form of origami to me which was taught to him by his grandmother. She informed him that swans were created in China from many small pieces of paper and given as gifts. This was a departure from the traditional Japanese single sheet Origami I knew and had included in my curriculum. The beauty of his little swan engaged me and led me to do further research about this art. I discovered that this style was popularized here in the U.S.A. in 1993 by some illegal Chinese immigrants. They sailed into our harbor on the “Golden Venture” ship and were captured off the New York coast and later imprisoned. While waiting for their immigration trials, they exhibited the most remarkable creations made out of these tiny folded paper units. Once I saw their skill and artistry I fell in love with the possibilities and began to explore my own ideas.