Monday 3 November 2014

Beautiful Origami Flowers, by Anca Oprea. Review.



23 Blooms to Fold

By Anca Oprea

Lark 2014

Paperback £12.99

ISBN 978-1-4547-0812-4


Star rating: ****


World Origami Days continue until 11 November. 


Here’s another attractively-presented and capably-produced origami flower-fest. The more, the merrier, as far as I’m concerned. This title teaches you how to fold 23 different blooms, conveniently divided into sections according to difficulty level (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced). The learning curve is very manageable, and I’m sure a newbie will be up to speed with even the most complicated designs after progressing through the projects. 


The Table of Contents doubles as a Photo Gallery - this  works a treat as a project-selector. Also up front is some basic training in folded bases and a rundown of origami paper choices. The author, Anca Oprea, emigrated from Romania to the States five years ago, and has been very impressed by the plethora of origami papers she is now able to choose from. She shares her enthusiasm with the reader.


The flowers are pleasing, and there’s plenty of variety. Occasionally the flower designs require a well-judged snip or some gluing – as in the Passion Flower. There’s no point being an origami purist when beautiful blossoms are at stake. 


The Crane Flower is a fantasy confection consisting of origami cranes as the petals. The clever thing is that you may not notice at first glance (although the name is a total giveaway). This flower would be an appropriate “peace flower” choice for the culmination of the World Origami Days, on 11 November.  


My favourite bloom is the Cosmos. It is recommended to make it out of radial gradient origami paper for optimum effect. It is very dimensional with a puffed-up centre. A fun challenge. The Hydrangea, with its tucked flower centres and clustered petals is very effective. The Lotus looks a bit artichoke-y. I prefer the version with leaves. The Tulips are winners - they are graceful and not the least bit clunky, like some I have seen. The Lily of the Valley is very effective, too.


The author provides how-tos for attaching the blooms to stems and wires where appropriate. Leaf-shapes are given only for the Lotus. A standard sort of leaf shape would have come in handy.


The instructions are presented very clearlyand thoroughly with step-by-step photos and accompanying text. There are no origami fold diagrams.


This is a pleasing title, which makes a nice gift. The author succeeds in sharing her enthusiasm for her subject. She is training to become a teacher – her future students will be very lucky.


Note:  I was supplied with a review copy of this book.

Click on book title at top for Amazon link.

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