Modern Origami:

Today, master paperfolders can be found in many places around the world. Akira Yoshizawa of Japan was one of these. He was considered the "father of modern origami" because of his creative paper folding. He also developed a set of symbols and terms that are used worldwide in the written instructions of origami. Although origami is an ancient art, it is still practiced today, both as a hobby and as a profession. Many old designs have been adopted by today's folding masters and adapted into better (or worse) versions. The traditional bases, the starting sequence of folds for many traditional designs, are made and used to make things not even thought about in the days when paper folding was young. Even today, people are coming up with countless new designs. There are origami instruction web pages, chock full of both new and old designs. At one point, I even invented my own origami designs: the lotus bud and the walrus. On the right is an origami pig, a great example of modern origami, whose design was created by modern origami artist Paul Jackson.

A living tradition