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Adorable sea creatures can be created using the art of origami and simple instructions provided in Laurie Ide’s recent book, "Hawaiian Sea Life Origami: A Beginner’s Step-by-Step Guide" (Mutual Publishing, $13.95).
Thirty-six different designs, including a hammerhead shark, box jellyfish, squid and spinner dolphin, were created by Karley Ide, Laurie’s 12-year-old daughter who is a sixth-grader at Island Pacific Academy.
Karley’s designs evolved from her love of dinosaurs. She received a book about origami dinosaurs at the age of 6 and was unable to follow the difficult instructions. "I felt lost," she said.
Rather than giving up, Karley decided to create her own steps to complete the dinosaurs. She folded paper and came up with her own designs by figuring out how to simplify the process. She moved on to other creatures, which evolved into the creation of her original sea critters that are featured in the book. "It was difficult to remember what steps were needed, since I randomly folded the paper," she said. "But, we went back and figured out the steps. We thought it would make a good book that related to Hawaii."
Each of the sea animals names are listed in both English and Hawaiian. Color photographs accompany the step-by-step instructions. An introduction offers advice on using recycled materials such as paper bags, wrapping paper and magazines in place of traditional origami paper. All of the designs in the book were made using a single 5-7/8-inch by 5-7/8-inch sheet of origami paper.
The book was definitely a family affair, according to Laurie. Her mother, Ethel Shimizu, took all of the photographs featured in the book and her 8-year-old son, Kamren, who also attends Island Pacific Academy, helped paint the backdrops for the sea creatures.
