Origami Bonsai: Create Beautiful Botanical Sculptures From Paper [Hardcover]

Benjamin John Coleman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 10, 2010

Origami bonsai is the art of folding paper flowers and leaves which are glued to natural branches, creating exquisite botanical sculptures. Origami Bonsai teaches readers from all walks of life the skills necessary to create these intricate and stunning pieces of art.

The beauty of origami bonsai is that even newcomers to paperfolding can create fantastic arrangements. With each page of the book readers will have the opportunity to create their own amazingly lifelike sculptures. Revolutionary approaches in this book include mass production of leaves, painting techniques and depth enhancement. Each page leads to new discoveries that will inspire the creation of wildly complex plant sculptures. Readers will be surprised at how easy these sculptures are to create, and how much they are appreciated by others.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Benjamin John Coleman left his teaching career in 1996 and made the creation of origami bonsai a new way of life. Benjamin's revolutionary approach to the art inspires his continued creation of origami bonsai botanical sculptures. Benjamin lives in Pawtucket, RI.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing; Hardcover with Jacket edition (April 10, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804841039
• ISBN-13: 978-0804841030
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 8.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #204,015 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm a former high school math teacher and computer entrepreneur - turned artist, author and inventor! My education was highly technical; engineering, mathematics, and economics. When people began referring to me as an "artist" I felt confused and a little embarrassed. I had never considered the matter.

Over time I have come to understand that I am an artist; in fact everyone is an artist. Each person combines their unique perspective, a lifetime of seeing, touching, feeling and experiencing, into their work. My goal is to unleash the artist in you. I consider myself no more than a facilitator. My techniques are designed to be simple, yet they have infinite possibilities.

Perhaps you will express your artistic side, just like I do, with a discrete emphasis on the technical, or maybe you will discover an aspect of this art form I have not yet explored. Whichever path you choose, I hope you will enjoy following it, and my books are here to help you along the way.

Origami Bonsai is my first book and one of three books in a series for creating botanical sculptures made from paper.

Origami 101 is a book that takes several new approaches to teaching origami. My hope is that this book will make origami accessible to the scores of people that previously considered it too complex.

You can see many more pictures of Origami Bonsai sculptures made by people from all over the world, as well as a free magazine devoted to Origami Bonsai, and folding videos and lots more at http://www.OrigamiBonsai.org

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic application of Origami, May 9, 2010

By 

Andrew Davidson "AD" (Poconos, PA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Origami Bonsai: Create Beautiful Botanical Sculptures From Paper (Hardcover)

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book but it is surprisingly thorough and greatly illustrated with step by step directions for not only building your own origami bonsai sculptures but also how to care for and ship them as gifts or to customers as you choose. It's one of the coolest books I've read on origami that provides a PRACTICAL application that melds two crafts together. There are advanced topics on scaling, selecting props and accessories and more. I love this book and highly recommend it to others.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars every origamist needs this book, July 6, 2010

By 

Mrs02l - See all my reviews

This review is from: Origami Bonsai: Create Beautiful Botanical Sculptures From Paper (Hardcover)

This is by far one of my most loved books. I came across his etsy site first and ooohed and awed and even drooled some over his work. Then I saw he had released a book and I just had to own it. The book focuses more on technique and has very little in the way of diagrams, but that is what I loved most about this book. The author really took the time to explain how to become a successful origami bonsai folder. He chatters on about taking walks in the woods with his dog and finding inspiration in nature. I especially loved how he talks about painting paper and the steps to go through. I love to fold flowers and often times became frustrated with the paper because it simply didnt capture what I wanted it too. Now I look forward to painting my own. The book is very informative and has inspired me. I look forward to more releases from this author.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good book, February 13, 2011

By 

Sandra - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Origami Bonsai: Create Beautiful Botanical Sculptures From Paper (Hardcover)

This book is very well designed, with a lot of helpfull schemes and images that make it very easy to understand the indications.

It cames with a DVD that shows detailled steps to make wonderfull origami bonsai.

The author really did a great work.