Origami Ikebana

Book excerpt: Make realistic and decorative paper flower arrangements with this stunning origami book. The Japanese art of flower arranging is an age-old practice that honors nature and creates beauty through harmony and balance. This brand new book, Origami Ikebana, shows you how to create unique ikebana-inspired paper flower arrangements any time of the year. Since discovering ikebana some years ago, origami artist and author Benjamin Coleman has worked on developing techniques that enable him to create ikebana-style floral arrangements with simple folded paper. In this book, Coleman combines the principles and techniques of ikebana, origami and makigami (paper rolling) to create beautiful and lifelike paper flower arrangements. You'll learn how to construct stems from paper-mache-like makigami rolls and cap them with exquisite folded paper flowers and leaves, as well as how to display the arrangements on stone-like bases made of paper. Topics covered in this ground-breaking origami book include: Basic origami flower folding and assembly techniques Painting the leaves and flowers to enhance realism Using incremental leaf sizes for a greater sense of depth Making stems using makigami paper rolling techniques Creating "stone" bases for your arrangement from origami paper Dozens of different origami flower arrangements are described in this book, and the downloadable video contains detailed step-by-step video lessons showing you how to create each model. Don't spend a fortune on real flowers and plants that will wilt in a week--make your own beautiful paper floral arrangements that will last forever! This origami book contains: 128 page, full-color book Step-by-step instructions Colorful diagrams and photographs Origami flower folding and arranging techniques and tips 8 different leaf types 30 flower types Downloadable instructional video