Hi, and welcome to my Origami Haven,
As a child, when toys were scarce and television was non-existent, origami was a wonderful and inexpensive pastime. The pastime entertainment became a more serious pursuit in 1972 when I chanced upon a copy of Robert Harbin's "Secrets of Origami'. That book was a revelation on what was then, to me, unimaginable possibilities in origami designs. It gave me the impetus to start designing origami models of my own.
Over the years, origami became a means of artistic expression, provided a degree of intellectual challenge and self-actualization. More importantly, origami is a little hidey-hole to immerse myself in and get away from the hassles of life, to emerge refreshed, revitalized, invigourated.
Although I have been paper folding for many years, I was folding in isolation for much of that time. The change began in 1993, when I was encouraged to exhibit some of my origami at the 1993 OUSA Convention. Following that convention and quite out of the blue, the Nippon Origami Association (NOA) invited me to send a selection of my origami to be photographed and showcased in Issue 222 of their magazine (February 1994).
The event that probably brought me the most exposure to the international origami community occurred in 1999 when, for a few months, Yurii and Katrin Shumakov hosted some photos of my origami and an interview on their Oriland website.
That some year, things began to happen on the home front as well. Through the pioneering efforts of Leong Cheng Chit and Albert Sng, a small group of origami enthusiasts in Singapore were brought together, to share our common interest in origami, and with the aim of promoting origami as an art form. That group is now more than 25 strong, and has organized or participated in several origami or arts-related events in Singapore.
These webpages serve mainly as a record of the fulfilling events that have taken place since I came out of my self-imposed isolation. I hope, in time and as these pages continue to be developed, to provide articles and links to other webpages that provide insight on the many useful and wonderful aspects of origami.
Best regards & happy viewing,
Ronald Koh
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