Why 3D origami is 'meaningful' to me

Your 3Dorigami is always so amazing *_*
Can I ask which you like to make more? Paper-oriented crafts, or things like plushies? :3
Cubelees 


This question made me realize how much I appreciate 3D origami. I did give a different answer about why it's more convenient and easier for me than other crafts like amigurumi/plushies, but there's more than that about why its special to me (but was too long to write in a youtube comment, so I decided to write it on my blog).


I do get that it gets boring folding the pieces and that its too easy cos you just make a bunch of the same triangle units and can make almost anything from it. Its not 'challenging'<-which is what origami fans say to me on youtube, and ask me if I do other origami. But in case you guys don't know, I dont actually like normal flat origami, so I dont care about doing 'challenging' crafts. I like aesthetically pleasing handicrafts. Even though just liking the LOOK of something seems shallow to people, or 'basic' and not really understanding the deeper meaning/purpose etc..like doing it for the challenge, the fun of making it etc..I like good looking crafts that make nice GIFTS for people.


With flat origami its impressive that it's made from a sheet of paper, but afterwards I'm not likely to keep it or display it. I used to do it for fun when I was little, something challenging to kill boredom. But I just used scrap paper, cos I knew it wasnt something I would like enough to keep, and threw it away later. I like more 3D, sculptural stuff which are strong, solid and make better looking displays, something I'm likely to keep.

With 3D origami I've been able to give them as gifts to teachers, doctors, people that have helped me. Some of my old subscribers would know that 3D origami became more 'meaningful' to me when I gave a large green/gold peacock to a dermatologist that treated my severe eczema infection.

(DIAGRAM provided at bottom of this post)

 Long story short: (well, still kinda long)
-I had infected eczema which spread to the whole face and body, the normal doctors couldnt treat it. (started with an allergic reaction to nivea moisturizer! Ruined like 3 years of my life!)
-I didnt wanna keep going to the doctors cos they didnt tell me to come back if their antibiotics and pills didnt work, so I thought they'd get sick of me coming back all the time cos they didnt know what to do about it. I thought it would heal by itself naturally if I just drank lots of water, ate healthy and got lots of sleep.
-It was on going for about 3 months. Worst pain I've ever experienced in my life. Couldnt sleep, showering was extremely painful, and at the beginning of each day my only thought was that I couldn't wait till the day was over.


-One day it got really bad at school, I went to the bathroom to dab water on my face. This girl came in. She was in some of my classes, I only taked to her a bit, didn't know her that well, but she asked me if I wanted to go to the nurse. I said no cos I didn't think the nurse could do anything about it. She just talked for a while saying like "Is this why you were away all of last week?" And then later asked a second time: "Do you want me to take you to the nurse? "
I just agreed
-After talking to the nurse, she said I couldnt go on living like that and had to see a doctor and tell her to refer me to a dermatologist.
-So I did that, but she said the health system is slow and that I'd have to wait 6 months. But later on it got bad again and the doctor just rang up the hospital so I could just go straight away.
-After seeing the dermatologist it healed up in 3 days after taking immuno suppressants. I was so grateful it finally healed, cos I've never seen skin that bad before so I didn't think it was possible to heal. (although it came back and was on & off for 3 years, that was the start of me getting proper help from the hospital.)


-That was kind of a spiritual/meaningful moment when that girl helped me, cos it all started with her taking me to the nurse, which lead to me being able to go to the hospital. She was one of those students that didn't come to school a lot so it was lucky she came to school on that day, and that she came to the bathroom at the time I was there. It was also lucky that we had study period that time, so she was free to take me to the nurse. The fact that we were there at the same place at the same time just felt like everything was happening at the right time, like how people say 'the universe works in certain ways' to help you, and everything falls into place. 


If that didnt happen, I dunno what I'd be like now, cos I kept refusing to see the doctor since they kept giving me pills that didnt work. It felt like everything was hopeless and I didn't know if anyone could treat it, and then that girl just helped me unexpectedly, so it felt like being "trapped under wreckage where for months I agonized and longed to be pulled out"(<-something from Bryce Avary's blog) and then suddenly being 'rescued' and "pulled out from a sinking ship".


I gave the dermatologist a large green/gold peacock (shown above), and I also gave some small models to the girl that helped me, and the school nurse. I'm thankful for my craft skills and especially 3D origami, cos if I didn't know how to make those, I wouldnt've been able to show my thanks to the people that helped me, other than say "Thank you" which isnt really enough. A large 3D origami gift would show ones appreciation and how thankful they are, in the 
hundreds and thousands of folded units in the sculpture.


I was also selling little models around my school at the time and I would never have thought of giving a big model away for free before cos I was too stingy lol. But since that time, I was really grateful that my skin healed and gave the dermatologist a large model to show my appreciation, and he was amazed by it. Since then, I've been giving away big models as gifts and it just seems more 'meaningful'.


I can't do that with other crafts. Plus, with 3D origami, its something appropriate I can give. It would be weird to give a plushie I made lol. It doesn't look as inspiring, it's just like a stuffed toy. Maybe appropriate for a birthday gift, but not like something you give a doctor for helping you. Same with normal origami. It's just a folded sheet of paper. Impressive for a while, but I can't do anything with it. That's why I like 3D origami better, it's something I can give as a gift to people, and something that they can display and keep for a long time. 


I also recently got my wisdom teeth taken out, and the dentist and receptionist were really nice, so I gave them both a little 3D origami tooth when I went back to get my stitches out. The dentist was like "I'm gonna keep this on my desk forever."Then just yesterday, I was in the area, walked past the dentist and in the window I saw the 2 cute teeth models on the receptionist's desk (and its like 'Aww cute! Oh wait, I made that!). Just like a dog pees on a tree to mark its territory, or how kids scrape into desks and chairs at school "I was here" to make a mark to show they've been there, giving 3D origami models and then seeing it on display reminds me that I've been there, and gave that to them. It also shows that people keep it for a long time.


So thats why I do 3D origami. I don't care that its not challenging. I like aesthetically pleasing handicrafts cos they make great gifts. I'm constantly thinking of the next birthday or christmas gift coming up. Even if its a year early (yeah thats how prepared I am^_^), cos I want to have enough time to think up, design, and make the next gift, better than the last one I gave them.


Also through teaching on youtube, a lot of people have written me their long stories just like mine, about how its helped them. A girl visited her old teacher that helped her before. That teacher was having a bad day, about to quit her job cos of people yelling at her, and then that girl came to give her an origami bouquet of flowers to thank her for helping her years back, and it made her day. Another person gave a 3D origami koifish to a cold doctor, who then became more friendly and wanted to help, and moved an appointment for surgery to an earlier date, which saved someone losing a second leg.
watch vid here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkvEN_GCnTw


3D origami is more 'inspiring'. Its like a sculpture that a lot of people might not have seen before, with thought/effort folded in every piece. Because of its intricate look and 3D structure, its more likely to make a treasured gift and be displayed somewhere where people can look at it and think of the person that gave it to them. I've given some to people and they say they get a lot of comments on it. Its a conversation piece, an inspiration sculpture that gives off this inspirational/positive 'vibe' especially if it was given to someone for a specific reason, like for helping them or something. And I don't know of any other craft form that does this. 


As mentioned above, here's the diagram of the peacock that got me into giving big models as gifts. There's a Tutorial as well, a different colour version but similar pattern. I forgot to add the number of pieces for the green/gold version, so here's the number of pieces in the diagram, and the vid tutorial is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?Gc2tidKbW7M&v=SroVtBxlSno

white/ pink version: