Wednesday 9 March 2016

Origami Garden, by Ioana Stoian. Review

Origami Garden
Amazing flowers, leaves, Bugs and Birds
Ioana Stoian
Search Press 2016
Paperback £10-99 (includes 20 sheets of origami paper)
ISBN 978 1 782 21 275 1

Star rating: *****

The trees are budding. Spring’s just around the corner. Time to feature a delightful new garden-themed origami book. Ioana Stoian, author of Origami Garden, caught the origami bug at the source – on a trip to Japan. The fruits of her newfound enthusiasm are a career as a pro papercrafter – and this superb origami book. Origami Garden  contains the author’s own designs, traditional designs, and designs contributed by contemporary origami artists.

Origami Garden is a joy from start to finish. The book’s production values are sky-high, and the origami projects are super-appealing (you’ll want to make them all). Front-of-book, the projects are imaginatively displayed in themed “sets” – Washing Day (clothes on a line, picnic basket, bumble bees, flowers),  A Sunny Afternoon( birds, butterflies, flowers, mushrooms, cat), By the Pond (jumping frog, crow, etc.), In the Garden (ladybirds, leaves, pot plants, caterpillar, watering can). Next up –  a photo gallery project directory with project skill level indicated. This is followed by the individual project how-tos, with step-by-step illustrations and accompanying text to show you all the moves. Each project gets a close-up here – still imaginatively propped. Back-of-book, tucked into a pretty print envelope... a stash of 20 sheets of origami paper, mixed prints and plain. The prints are particularly appealing, in zingy contemporary patterns in cheerful colours.

Namechecking some of the star projects: Slow snail (amazing spiral configuration), Autumn leaf (the beauty is in the detail – veins), Busy Bee

This winning labour of love is super-giftable. It would make an ideal birthday gift for a child, although you don’t have to be a child to appreciate the childlike joy this book – and its projects – generates.




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