Handouts Week 8

Modes in Art and Craft

Paperwork

According to Sevilla (2013) 1 “The value of paper depends on whose hands hold it. To a first
grader, it could mean a canvas to roll crayons on. To an office clerk, it could mean a sheet to
print a report on. But to an artist, it could mean a sculpture, an entire advertisement, or even an
avenue to deliver an inspiring message. Working with paper can be quite exhausting but given
sufficient talent, imagination, and patience, a dedicated artist can turn one sheet into a multi-
dimensional centerpiece.”

Paperwork refers to use of paper in business and offices for writing and printing. But it’s only
one aspect of paperwork. Paper also can be used for drawing, painting, stenciling, making toys
by folding it and for decorative purposes. People have been using papers for expressing their
creativity and enhancing the beauty of their surroundings for hundreds of years. Decorative
papers can be divided into several categories, including end paper, lining paper, wallpaper,
wrapping paper, and paper handicrafts.

Here we concern only with paper art that involve making different objects with paper using clean
hands and simple tools. Art of paper quilling, Paper Mache and paper flowers etc. are
appreciated by the classes and the masses. The famous art of cuts in folded pieces of paper,
developed by both the Chinese and the Japanese. The Japanese art of folding uncut sheets of
paper to make objects in called origami.

Paper Art

Or Origami is the art of paper folding. The Word is Japanese, literally meaning to fold (oru)
paper (kami). Origami, pronounced awr uh GAH mee, is the art of folding paper into decorative
objects. The term is the Japanese word for folded paper. There are about 100 traditional origami
figures, most depicting such natural forms as birds, flowers, and fish. An abstract, ceremonial
form of origami, called a noshi, is a pleated paper ornament attached to gifts. Most origami is
folded from an uncut square of paper. The most common sizes of square are 15 centimeters and

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25 centimeters (6 and 10 inches). The preferred paper is thin Japanese paper called washi, but
foil-backed wrapping paper and heavy art paper are also used.

Origami, like paper, originated in China. But the art flourished in Japan. Since the 1940's, it has
reached new levels of complexity and realism. Origami is a form of visual / sculptural
representation that is defined primarily by the folding of the medium (usually paper).

Origami: Brief History

No one really knows when and where origami was invented3 . Some origami historians argue
that since the invention of paper is credited to Ts'ai Lun of China in A.D. 105, paper folding
must have been invented soon after. Paper was then introduced to Japan in the late sixth century
by Buddhist monks, and paper folding was brought along with it. In Japan, paper was considered
an expensive commodity, and it was used in many aspects of Japanese life, most notably in
architecture.

Modern origami owes a great deal to the efforts of YOSHIZAWA Akira. After centuries of
people folding the same traditional models, Master Yoshizawa published books with completely
new models starting in the early 1950's. He, together with American Sam Randlett, also
developed the standard set of origami diagram symbols that is still used today. Exhibitions of his
work, both in Japan and around the world, introduced origami to many people, leading to the
formation of various origami associations including the Origami Center of America (now
OrigamiUSA), and the British Origami Society. Now there are origami masters and enthusiasts
in many countries, forming a widespread but close-knit community. Yoshizawa, who died in
2005 at the age of 94, is still regarded as the grandmaster of origami. Today, master paperfolders
can be found in many places around the world. New and improved folding techniques have
produced models that would have astounded the ancients. The artistry of paperfolding is also
flourishing.

Origami Paper

Almost any laminar (flat) material can be used for folding; the only requirement is that it should
hold a crease. Origami paper, often referred to as "kami" (Japanese for paper), is sold in
prepackaged squares of various sizes ranging from 2.5 cm (1 in) to 25 cm (10 in) or more. It is

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commonly colored on one side and white on the other; however, dual colored and patterned
versions exist and can be used effectively for color-changed models. Origami paper weighs
slightly less than copy paper, making it suitable for a wider range of models.

Origami Instructions

It is strongly recommended to search for good books and try paper art. Instructions are available
on net and videos could be watched to learn and practice origami online.

Origami Fold

Origami is the art of folding paper into a shape representing an object. There are many folding
techniques that you need to learn to form a shape out of a piece of paper. Two most important
techniques are valley-fold and mountain-fold. At least, you must know what they are and you
will have no problem of folding a simple origami model by using only these two folding
techniques.

Origami Base

When you are making some origami model, you will be doing the same set of folds in the
beginning stage even though the final outcome is different. These set of folding in the beginning
stages is called origami base and you need to know a few bases since they are coming over and
over depending upon models of origami you are working on.

Types of Origami

Origami has expanded and evolved beyond birds and boats. There are now many types of
origami. In a recent, informal survey, origami enthusiasts have come up with over "80" different
types of origami. There are different ways to categorize paper folding. John Smith's Evolution of
Origami6 sorts origami chronologically: Classical, Neo Classical, Modern, and Hyper-Modern.
David Mitchell shows a family tree7 of origami design styles.

i. Action Origami

Action origami models are unique in that they move. The most obvious action models are the
paper airplanes. But the oldest action models have been with us for over 400 years.

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The cootie catcher may have been invented in the early 1600's. This device has had many names:
"salt cellar", "fortune teller", "flipper", and "scrunchies". A cootie catcher is decorated with dots
whereas the fortune teller is labeled with numbers or colors and messages. Waterboomb,
Flapping bird, jumping frog are examples of action origami.

ii. Modular Origami

Modular origami, also called unit origami, requires two or more pieces of paper. The paper is
folded into a shape called a "unit" or a "module". Many units are assembled together to form the
final origami model. Often, the final model looks remarkably different compared to the
appearance of the units themselves.

iii. Wet-folding

Wet folding origami is a relatively new way of folding paper. It was developed by origami
master Akira Yoshizawa and it involves moistening the paper before you fold it. The resulting
model has a softer, textured look with gentle curving lines. Gilad’s web site shows the difference
between a regular origami dog and a wet fold origami dog.

iv. Pure & Pure land Origami

Most people know origami as the Japanese art of paper folding where a single sheet of paper is
folded into a model without the use of tape, glue, scissors, or other tools. Not exactly true... rule
of no cutting, glue, tape & tools is only true for Pure origami.

The rules of Pure origami are as follows:

 Start with a square piece of paper,

 Do not use glue, tape, or scissors, and

 Do not decorate the model after it is complete.

Pure Origami is a relatively new invention. Making paper creations with folding and cutting was
common in the past. The 200 year old book Senbazuru Orikata shows models where cuts have
been made. It was okay to have cuts. Even today, some Japanese origami books will have models
that have cuts.

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v. Origami tessellations

A tessellation (also called tiling) is when shapes are arranged side by side to produce a pattern
with no gaps in between. Tessellations have existed since ancient Egyptian times and are still
common today in floor and wall tiling.

vi. Kirigami

Kirigami is similar to origami in that it is a form of paper art. The major difference is that in
origami, you fold paper whereas in kirigami, you fold and cut paper. The term "kirigami" was
coined by Florence Temko in the United States. She used the word kirigami in the title of her
book, Kirigami, the Creative Art of Papercutting, 1962. The book was so successful that the
word kirigami was accepted as the name for the art of paper cutting. In Japan, the word kirigami
had been in use for a long time because "kiru” means to cut, and “gami” means paper. So,
kirigami meant to cut paper. Most people will remember kirigami as a way to make paper
snowflakes. Unfolding the paper snowflake is a delightful surprise because it's almost impossible
to make the exact pattern twice. Paper snowflakes have six sections because the paper is folded
in half and then thirds.

Stenciling

Stenciling is another amazing technique of art and craft. Like paper cutting and folding we can
see almost everyone tries stenciling once in his/her life even without knowing its real name. We
already got an idea of stenciling in paper art in types of origami - Kirigami is an example of
paper stenciling. For getting a clearer idea we should understand what a stencil is!

A stencil is a thin sheet of material, such as paper, plastic, or metal, with letters or a design cut
from it, used to produce the letters or design on an underlying surface by applying pigment
through the cut-out holes in the material. The key advantage of a stencil is that it can be reused to
repeatedly and rapidly produce the same letters or design. The design produced with a stencil is
also called a stencil. The context in which stencil is used makes clear which meaning is intended.

To stencil is also referred to decorate something or some place by using stenciling technique on
it. It’s been used for screen printing from hundreds of years. Screen printing requires a stencil
and a fine cloth or screen. The stencil carries the design to be printed. Ink is squeezed onto the

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printing surface through the areas of the screen not covered by the stencil. The stencil can be cut
out of paper. Or it can be made by tracing a design directly on the screen and blocking out the
nonprinting areas with glue or lacquer. A stencil can also be made by giving the screen a light-
sensitive coating and putting the design on it photographically or by laser. The screen printing
process can be used to print on paper, glass, cloth, wood, or almost any other material. It can
print on objects of various sizes and shapes, including draperies, bottles, toys, and furniture.
Screen printing can be done using automatic or hand-operated presses. Screen printing is also
called silk-screen printing or serigraphy.

Stenciling: History

The use of stencils goes back thousands of years, for both practical reasons10—before rubber
stamps or printing presses or photocopiers were invented, stencils were used to teach children
their ABCs; politicians used stencils of their signatures to get through their piles of official
correspondence and to make surfaces look more beautiful and more expensive. The Europeans
who colonized America were familiar with stencil designs in the houses, churches and public
building of their homelands and brought these traditions to the New World with them. In early
America, as soon as people began to have the time and money to beautify their surroundings they
started to apply stencil decorations on their walls and even on their floors. In the later 18th and
19th centuries, stencils were also often used on other surfaces as well. These included textiles,
especially bed and table coverings; furniture; and household articles such as tin and wooden
trays, boxes and trunks. Early stencils were usually made of oiled heavy paper or, less
commonly, leather. Later, stencils were made of tin and specially treated linen. All of these
materials are still used today, although the most common modern stencil material is flexible
strong plastic. Usually, a multi-color pattern required a separate stencil for each color (three
colors, three stencils).

Stencilers have always preferred to work with fast-drying paints to reduce smudging and speed
up the work. The usual paint for stencil work today is acrylic. Examples of original stenciled
work in New England can still be found in the country villages and prosperous farmhouses
where owners wanted stylish surroundings, but could not easily obtain or afford the costlier
wallpapers, printed or embroidered textiles and woven rugs which the stencil patterns imitated.
This stenciling was usually the work of professionals. These were traveling artisans who rode
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from one job to the next with their collection of stencil patterns, dry pigments and stubby
brushes. Later in the 19th century, as materials became more readily available and mass
production of all sorts of household items increased, two important trends developed. One was
that amateurs, including many housewives, began to beautify their surroundings with stencils.
The other change was that numbers of women became professional stencilers for the first time.
They didn’t work on walls and floors, but rather were employed to apply decoration to furniture
in factories like the Hitchcock chair factory in Connecticut, or did piecework at home, stenciling
on tin and smaller wooden articles. But in spite of a few bursts of renewed interest, most notably
in the late 19th century work of Louis Tiffany and the arts-and-crafts movement, during the last
150 years other technologies have steadily replaced stenciling as a means of quick, economical
decoration. Printed wall coverings, printed and woven textiles, photography and computer
images are a few of the many means available today for bringing pattern and color into our
surroundings. Still, stenciling is an important part of America’s colorful past. And its modest
revival today is a renewed expression of the universal human impulse to “make things look
pretty.

How stencils work!

So, what exactly are stencils11? Think of a stencil as a series of holes cut into a sheet of resilient,
waterproof material (like paper or plastic). When paint is applied through the cut out areas to the
surface beneath, an image is formed. A stencil can be used to draw or paint identical shapes,
letters, patterns or symbols. Open sections of the stencil are called islands. These are the areas
that allow color to be applied on the surface under the stencil. Bridges are the stencil material
that separates the islands and keeps the shape of a stencil. These areas block color or paint from
reaching the surface. So, now you know about stencils. But, what is stenciling? Stenciling is the
creation of an image through the application of color on a stencil and through the removed
sections (islands), leaving a reproduction of the image on the underlying surface. This can also
be referred to as stencil painting.

Types of stencils

You should know that there are different types of stencils available in market. I listed the most
common here for you to become familiar with.

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 i. Pre-Cut Stencils

With pre-cut plastic stencils, once you have it, you're ready to apply paint. We refer to them as
plastic, but stencils can be made of a large variety of materials (cardboard, mylar, polyethylene).
However, since they are most commonly made of plastic, I'll refer to them that way. It helps to
keep things simple. There is an endless selection of pre-cut plastic stencils available. I can't say
enough about the talented stencil artisans and designers that are out there creating craft patterns
and projects that allow all of us to become artists! The drawback of a pre-cut plastic stencil is
that the size of the image is not negotiable. The size of the stenciling pattern will be the size of
your painted image. You can’t change that. Luckily some designers offer a couple of different
sizes on their designs. The key to remember is to find the right design and make sure the size fits
your project area.

ii. Pre-cut Printable Stencils

They provide many benefits like they can be adjusted in size on a copy machine or with your
printer options, since they can be printed, you can have your stencil now and the price difference
between pre-cut stencils and free printable stencils is significant! Don't think that a printed paper
stencil can't be used again and again like a pre-cut plastic stencil. Just cover the top of the paper
with a clear protective coating like clear shelf liner before you cut it out and it will last. Just wipe
it off with a damp cloth after each use.

iii. Cut and Paint Stencils

Cutting out stencils is the extra step of a cut-and-paint stencil design. Cut-and-paint stencils
require you to actually cut out the openings (islands) where paint is applied. However, for the
extra work, they provide some great advantages. A cut-and-paint stencil design is usually printed
on paper and so it can be reduced or enlarged to fit almost any project size. This is a big deal. If
you like a Plastic Pre-Cut Stencil and it comes in two sizes -small at 2’ and large at 4’- and the
area you have for an image is 1’ then the plastic stencil will not work for you. Take a cut-and-
paint design to a copy machine and re-size it to whatever your project area requires. Flexibility is
great! Using a craft-knife cut out the objects on the stencil. Make sure your blade is sharp at all
times. Dull blades may cause the paper stencil to tear. The goal is to cut along each line only
once with a firm, smooth motion. With your free hand, hold the stencil firmly and rotate the

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stencil so that you are always cutting at a comfortable angle. When cutting past a thin bridge area
carefully use a firm finger to hold down the paper. Always keep your fingers well away from
where you are cutting. If you are working with a multi-layer stencil don’t forget to cut out the
registration holes in each of the four corners, which will be used for the alignment of the stencil
overlays.

iv. Stencil Patterns - Single and Multiple Layer Stencils

When discussing stencil patterns, you need to be familiar with the differences between a single
and a multiple layer stencil. Single Layer (Silhouette) Stencils are complete with only one
stencil. I call these Silhouette Stencils because they create an image that appears to be a shadow
or silhouette of an object. They do not offer much opportunity to use more than one color.
Multiple Layer (Overlay) Stencils consist of more than one stencil (called overlays) and they
leave you with a more complete image than a Single Layer Stencil. If you are really trying to get
that hand painted look, a Multi-Layer Stencil is a must. They are more work of course but the
results are well worth it.

v. Printable Stencils

What's the big advantage of printable stencils? Well, just think. You had an idea for a new
project. Maybe an old piece of furniture caught your eye. You knew you could breathe new life
into it and make it a one of a kind work of art. All you needed was the right stencil design. If you
are anything like me, you want to get started now. What better way to do that than with a stencil
you can print? You go to your computer. Find the right design. Print it and away you go!
Another large advantage of downloadable or printable stencils is that you can adjust them to fit
your project size. Just enlarge or reduce on a copy machine until you get a good fit. Then you
can copy onto stencil film, cut and you have a permanent stencil. Sure it's a little more work but
you have more control in designing your project. You're not restricted to using only what's
available.