Origami Sessions with Benjamin Tan, Library Volunteer
Origami is a popular hobby in Singapore and around the world. The art form, elegant in both its simplicity and complexity, first captured Benjamin Tan’s interest when he was 17 years old. More than 20 years later, his passion for origami has only grown, and he has taken his love for it to the libraries. Starting out at Toa Payoh Public Library in 2011, he now volunteers at Geylang East Public Library, teaching the art of paper folding to library visitors young and old.
In this article, we speak to Benjamin to find out his motivations behind picking up origami, and volunteering at the libraries.
What made you interested in origami in the first place?
I came across a Chinese book on origami and folded the models from this book. Then I bought more books and kept learning and folding and realised that there is actually a lot more to origami than the common traditional models.
And your interest has lasted ever since then! What led you to the library where you have been volunteering for more than 10 years?
I was searching for a meeting place for our origami group. A group member told me about the learning club she attended at Bishan Public Library and suggested that the library could be a place to meet. From there, I managed to speak to the manager of Toa Payoh Public Library at the time, who offered the programme zone for our group meeting. As I wanted to give something back to the library in return, I offered to hold origami classes for the public during my origami group’s meetup.
What took place during the initial sessions at the library?
I prepared three models to teach beforehand and participants only needed to follow the instructions. The library staff would prepare the room and origami paper before the session, so those interested just needed to come with an open mind to learn.
Sounds like very fruitful sessions! Since you learnt origami on your own, how do you teach your students to practise independent learning too?
In my class, I will introduce some basic folds and share instructions on how to fold them. This way, they learn the basic steps found in most origami books. Hopefully, after mastering these basics, they can follow the step-by-step instructions from other books in the future.
Tell us about the different kinds of origami models. Could you give us a brief run through?
There are traditional types that you commonly see, such as the crane, sailboat and paper plane. This is origami at its most basic, featuring simpler models. Then there’s origami with moveable parts, like the windmill or frog. These are known as action origami. You also have modular origami—origami made with several sheets of paper, each folded similarly to create a bigger module, like a spiked ball. Compound origami uses several sheets of paper, each to form different parts of a subject. As for tessellation origami, a single sheet of paper is folded to form repeated patterns or designs.
Some of these names have been used interchangeably to mean the same thing, and they can also overlap—for example, there are traditional models that are also action or modular origami.
What brings you the most joy from these origami sessions?
I enjoy the part where I can meet up with friends from the origami group and also members of the public who have the same interest in origami as me. Meeting like-minded people is a wonderful and memorable outcome of my volunteering at the library. In fact, I can discuss and talk about origami all afternoon! There are numerous models to try out and origami is so fascinating because it’s like a challenge—how many different things can I create with one piece of paper?
The library contributes to the joy as it’s become a place for us to find inspiration and exchange techniques with one another.
Your group held an origami exhibition at various libraries some years back. Tell us about that.
We organised a roving exhibition of about 200 folded paper creations called “Origami: From Traditional to Modern” with the support of the National Library Board. This was in 2013. We exhibited at the Central Public Library, Toa Payoh Public Library and Sengkang Public Library.
Thanks for your time, Benjamin, and we hope to see you at origami classes in the future!
