World Origami Days Oct. 24th - Nov. 11th

You can learn all kinds of things from the internet. Until I joined and began actively using Instagram I had no idea there was such a thing as World Origami Days.Turns out there's a 2 1/2 week period each year from October 24th through November 11th that are internationally celebrated as World Origami Days.

From the Origami USA website:

"October 24 is the birthday of Lillian Oppenheimer (1898-1992), who founded the first origami group in America. She was also one of the founders of the British Origami Society and OrigamiUSA. A dynamic woman, she was delighted in the magic to be found in a piece of paper and wanted to share it with the world.

November 11 is Origami Day in Japan where the paper crane has become a symbol of peace."

To commemorate World Origami Days I decided to fold a koala bear. Partly because it's from another part of the world but mostly as a small gesture of appreciation to my friend Michelle who came all the way to Grand Rapids to see my Tiny Crane origami entry in ArtPrize this past fall.

Sitting in my MI garden with my Australian friend Michelle :)

The thing is Michelle lives in Australia. She did have business in NYC first (showing her art) but then she made a side trip over to MI making her my first official visitor since I arrived earlier this summer. So this little koala is in honor of her and all of the origami artists all around the world, past and present.