Origami Wet folding

          The photo above is an example of a wet folded origami swan by origami artist Hoang Tien Quyet. The process of wet folding is a combination of paper folding and sculpture together. It allows origami artwork to have smoothness and curvature instead of the rigidity of the usual origami. It allows origami to be more defined in a 3-dimensional sense due to the texture it could provide to the object compared to the 2-dimensional blockiness of dry folded origami. 

           So, is it possible to do origami wet folding with normal printer paper? Yes, it is possible but it will be very difficult because printer paper's fibers are too thin making it tearable (pun intended) and hard to work with. At the same time, much like dry folding origami, there is no such thing as a perfect paper to use for wet folding. It always depends on the model the artist is trying to recreate. The fewer the curves, it's much more recommended to use a much thicker kind of paper. The paper is then dampened using wrung wet rag to wash the surfaces of the paper before folding. This allows the paper to be more malleable and easier to manipulate. And once the folding is done, the origami is left to dry.

            I chose this example because I also am very fascinated with origami. Growing up in Asia,  it's quite common to come across traditional paper artworks like Parol on Christmas, paper parasols, and origami toys that elementary kids make during recess. I particularly love folding origami flowers because it allows me to be productive and at the same time stay focus during class. I also find it very therapeutic, and since I am usually just doing origami for the process, I end up just discarding the work I've done. Sometimes, I would give it to the person closest to me if I am feeling particularly social that day.