Vanda Battaglia - Origami Made Easy Ebook: Step-by-Step Lessons for the Beginning Folder: Origami Book with 14 Projects & Online Video Tutorial: Great for Kids and Adults!

VANDA BATTAGLIA was born in Bergamo in 1958 and works in the health field. Passionate about the manual arts and fascinated by paper, she first encountered and instantly fell in love with the art of origami in 1998, and later came to specialize in origami miniatures and jewelry design, her two favorite types. She has displayed her creations in numerous exhibitions, most recently in Origami, Spirito di Carta, held in Turin.

A member since 1999 of the Centro Diffusione Origami (CDO), an association active on the national scale, Battaglia is on the centers directing committee and has been responsible for exhibitions since 2009. She belongs to Bergamorigani, a Bergamo group that promotes the local dissemination of this art form. Since 1998, Vanda has organized on average one exhibition per year, placing her own works on display side by side with those of other artists. In 2014 she was a special guest at the Swiss National Convention. Generally folding models designed by other artists, she seeks expression for her creativity in her choice and miniaturization of originals that inspire her. Origami offers her the possibility to play with form and color while the multifold properties of paper allow her to enhance models, especially geometric and modular ones, which are her favorites.

FRANCESCO DECIO was born in Bergamo in 1956 and entered the world of origami in 1992. Impressed by the variety and quantity of forms that can be created with this material, he has learned over time how to appreciate the various genres of this art formfrom geometric to figurative, from modular to functional while inventing new models and reproducing games and puzzles that enable people to rediscover the concepts of geometry in the folds of paper, but also allow them to play with forms for the sheer pleasure of seeing the generation of ever new creations.

Since 2001 he has been a member of the directing committee of the Centro Diffusione Origami (CDO), in which capacity he has overseen a variety of publications and conceived designs for various models. He has participated in numerous origami events of the highest order in both Italy and abroad. As a guest of honor at Swiss and Polish conventions, he has presented his works inspired largely by solid geometry.

Decio has assumed the responsibility of sharing with others the joy of discovering and folding an infinite number of new models. He is convinced that origami is an art form for all intents and purposes, and that all those who engage in it can express something of themselves through paper, whether by folding models of their own invention or reproducing those of other makers while infusing them with their own personal style.

ARALDO DE LUCA lives in Rome and is one of the most highly esteemed art photographers in the world. Refining his own visual-narrative language with a skillful use of light, he has succeeded in creating a legacy of around 80,000 high-quality images of works of art. He has published over 30 photography books in various languages worldwide, among which is his bestseller The Treasures of Egypt. www.araldodeluca.com

Chapter 1

THE VALLEY FOLD

TOPICS AND SYMBOLS

Valley fold indicated by a row of dashes
Arrow indicating the direction of a valley fold
Fold and unfold arrow
Crease created by a fold
Paper edges
Line widths
Numbered steps	1 - 5 - 8 - 17 - 21

PRACTICE MODEL

Place Card Holder

The Valley Fold Line

The valley fold, indicated by a row of dashes, is one of the two basic folds used in origami. In a valley fold, one part of the sheet always remains firmly on the table, while the other is moved into a new position above the part on the solid surface.

To make a valley fold on a sheet of paper, one side of the sheet is lifted from the surface, and then folded into a new specific position. No matter how much a sheet is flattened after a fold is made in this way (fig. 1), the crease will create a little channel, which, if enlarged (fig. 2), resembles a valley.

The Arrow Indicating the Direction of a Valley Fold

An arrow with one tip is used to indicate which edge should be lifted and/or in what direction it should be moved. It can also indicate the exact point to which a given edge should be taken. Here are three examples of arrows associated with the valley fold.

Examples of the use of the valley fold symbol with different arrows.

The bottom edge must be drawn to the top one.

The right edge must be positioned over the left one.

The left corner must be drawn to the opposite (right) one.

The Fold and Unfold Arrow

In origami, every fold serves as the basis for the next one. Sometimes folds need to be unfolded. The fold and unfold maneuver is indicated by an arrow with a curved shaft and two tips, one at each end. Here are some examples.