Paper art is known as a type of art form that is often intertwined with the crafts. This is because paper art requires a certain amount of skills and techniques for one to master where it involves the use of paper as the primary medium to create. Paper art is usually made in 3-dimensional where it would involve various types of skills and techniques. This would include the likes of folding, gluing, moulding, layering and even stitching.
As the name implies, paper art involves a lot of paper or cards where some has even associated this type of work with origami as it is known in the western world. Origami is a type of craft where it stems from the culture in Japan which refers to the art of paper folding. Today, it is widely adopted by schools and educational institutions, particularly for children where they are taught this art form to invoke their creativity and to create various objects and organisms. Other types of art forms that came from countries like China and Korea include Zhezhi and Jong-ie-joep-gi respectively.
Historically, paper folding as an art form came through since the Egyptian era although it was not for aesthetical purposes. It was only when paper was invented in China that it became quite an artistic skill. In Japan, the first origami was recorded to as far back as the 6th century and this would eventually grow and expand where papermaking become a major art form. It would then later go on to incorporate various other types of techniques and methods that include embossing, marbling and iris folding while some artists have also been known to have cultivated an expertise in paper cutting.
To say the least, origami would perhaps the most commonly known paper art although it is not widely regarded as a professional art form as origami could be taught and it is not so much a skill set. One can learn origami through books or a guide. In this context, the art of book making and paper cutting becomes a more appropriate area that can be classified as paper art as they require creativity and a certain level of skills. An artist would be required to inject creativity into making different types of books and the design of these books would illustrate their artistic talents and skills.
Other areas that paper art are often associated with include paper-mache and cardmaking. Typically paper art involves many areas that can be explored where the artist would include designing of paper-bags, book covers and such. Some have even used paper to create scenarios which are then posted onto a photo frame which would then demonstrate a type of art work. As seen in the artwork, the artist used paper cutting techniques and created a scene of a woman with a tree and a bird on top as well as a frame to complete the piece. Simple as it is, the effort and time spent on completing art works like these can usually be very high and daunting.
