This is about the Japanese art of paper cutting, whose name is made up of the words “kiru” (cutting) and “kami” (paper). Symmetry is a very important aspect of technology. Beautiful and precisely cut snowflakes, stars and flowers are good examples of simple projects that emphasize the symmetry of the design. If you enjoy arts and crafts, pop-ups, scrapbooking, and origami, you'll love these craft projects too. With Kirigami you can not only make unique gifts and cards for every occasion, but also beautiful decorations for your own four walls. Learn more about the history of paper art and try making a pop-up card yourself!
The difference between Kirigami and Origami
The technique is often confused with origami, but these two paper techniques are not the same. Both use folding paper to create flowers, animals and other designs. But pure origami does not allow for cuts in the paper and no sticking or tearing. Scissors are also used in Kirigami. This results in masterful-looking objects that amaze you. A variation of the art of paper cutting is the so-calledPop-upsthat fascinate young and old.
You use scissors or a craft knife with a fine blade.
In contrast, origami is the most popular and well-known paper technique. Great figures are created by folding a single square sheet. Although it is allowed to make as many folding movements as necessary, it is forbidden to cut the paper or use glue.
MAQUIGAMI: It is an art in which you create figures without using any utensils. You can only work on the paper with your hands - by tearing, binding, folding and creasing.
KUSUDAMA: This folding technique is based on origami. Several folded paper figures are glued together to form a ball. Unlike cutting craft, these are much more complex compositions. These require more than one sheet of paper and their difficulty can vary depending on the number of pieces making up the figure. Literally translated from Japanese, the term means “medicine ball”.
What accessories do you need for Kirigami?
You don't have to go to Japan to learn kirigami. You don't need any expensive tools either. Get newspapers to lay out, a cutting mat, scissors, a craft cutter with a fine blade and colored construction paper. It is best to use thick printer paper. A ruler can also be helpful when cutting. You can either create your own designs or print out a ready-made stencil. But before you get started, you should learn more about the history of this art.
Brief history of paper art
It is believed that the technique was first used in Japanese temples to make sacrifices to the gods. By the 17th century, it was recognized as an art form throughout Asian culture. People in Japan and China created such designs to represent wealth, grace and man's relationship to the universe.
In the United States, paper art did not become popular until the 1960s and 1970s. In 1962, the book “Kirigami, the Creative Art of Papercutting” by Florence Temkos was published and brought this Asian craft closer to people in the USA. An interesting aspect of art in the United States is that people have begun to combine such cutting techniques with a variety of other traditions. Bunraku, a form of Japanese puppetry, is sometimes made with paper puppets that have moving body parts.
Paper crafts for children
Kirigami helps children convey the importance of Japanese culture while developing their cutting skills, fine motor skills, planning skills. The most popular example for children is making paper snowflakes to decorate windows for Christmas. Paper doll chains used as a simple means of entertaining children are another good example.
As a hobby for adults
In the early history of technology, paper was so expensive that craftsmanship was limited only to the rich. However, today everyone can enjoy this interesting hobby. Many people enjoy crafting but find hobbies like painting, scrapbooking, or woodworking too expensive. Kirigami is now a very inexpensive craft. Paper is inexpensive, especially if you use a computer or copy paper to practice your designs. The only other equipment necessary is a sharp knife or fine-tipped scissors, a ruler, construction paper, and a cutting mat. Get inspired for your crafts with the free templates!
In architecture
Origamic Architecture (OA) is a type of Kirigami. Compared to paper snowflakes, these objects are real masterpieces of paper cutting art. OA was developed by Masahiro Chatani in the 1980s. He and Keiko Nakazawa have published many books on how to make these amazing creations yourself. In fact, many architects and designers today have theirBuilding concepts inspired by the art of origami.
Most Kirigami architectural designs are created when the paper is half opened (90 degree angle). This type of OA requires cutting and folding. An example of this would be the pop-up card. But there are also variants in which the card is opened completely (180 degree angle). This requires cutting, folding and gluing. This can be seen with some pop-up books. Less common are the designs that can be viewed 360 degrees when the paper is opened.
The art of Nahoko Kojima
There are many artists who create fascinating objects by cutting paper. This can be furniture, accessories or modern art installations. The Japanese artist Nahoko Kojima, for example, creates unique animal sculptures.
Kirigami art in fashion
In 2008, artist Robert Ryan took art to a new level by wrapping paper cutouts around a unique dress. The design appeared in an issue of Vogue UK.
Possible uses of folding art in your own four walls
Although this type of paper art is not as popular as origami, we can still see many examples of how you can implement this paper technique in your own home.
- With this paper art you can make pop-up cards for any occasion.
- Use paper cutouts as embellishments for scrapbooking artwork!
- Works of art can also be embedded in a picture frame. You can also spice up various home accessories with the cutouts. In combination with light, e.g. B. from a light bulb, imaginative light-shadow effects are created.
- You can use this to make great seasonal decorations, for example for Christmas, Easter, etc. The cutouts can be used to make garlands, gift toppers, window decorations and much more.
Flowers
Autumn leaves
Spider web for Halloween
Christmas
Pop-up Christmas cards
Paper Christmas tree decorations
Table lamps
Make your own pop-up cards
Pop-up cards are sometimes referred to as “kirigami” because paper is first folded and then cut. Once your child has mastered these skills, he or she will be ready to make some pop-up cards. These pop-up cards are easy to cut, but when the flat sheet of paper transforms into a three-dimensional work of art, there's a lot of excitement! Print out one of the templates below and try it yourself!
Templates of castles and palaces
In our templates there are two types of such templates: multicolored, with lines of different colors and black and white. For the multi-colored templates, the different colors of the lines mean different types of folds and paper cuts, namely inward folds, outward folds and a cut line. For example, here the red line is the fold line inwards, the gray line is the cut line and the blue line means “fold outwards”. Please note, however, that the colors of each template may be different. But looking at the finished projects, you can easily figure out the meaning of each line.
In the second type of template - black and white - different types of lines are used instead of colors.
Solid line → cut
dotted → fold inwards
Line of points → fold outwards
After printing the pattern with the lock, place the sheet on the cutting mat and use a sharp knife to cut along the lines on the template. Folding is a little more difficult, so it's best to use a ruler to help. Depending on the line type, you fold inwards or outwards.
Have fun crafting!
