Works Of Satoshi Kamiya 4 -

Over the next two weeks, the shaping began. Leo worked under a bright lamp, using tweezers and a drop of water to soften the fibres. He shaped the head, a process requiring five separate sinks and reverse folds just to form the snout. He teased out the horns, three on each side, each one a delicate spike of compressed paper. He formed the legs, coaxing the dragon to stand on its own four feet for the first time.

The collapse is the moment in Kamiya's designs where the flat, creased paper, looking like a topographical map of a nightmare, is simultaneously pinched, pushed, and pulled into the 3D silhouette of the creature. It is a form of origami alchemy. Leo took a breath, the scent of rain from the open window mingling with the earthy smell of the paper. works of satoshi kamiya 4

The tail was the worst. It was a narrow, sinuous coil of paper, meant to curl back over the body. One false crimp, and the entire effect was ruined. Leo spent a whole evening on a single inch of the tail, reversing a fold, then reversing it back, until the paper wept microscopic tears. Over the next two weeks, the shaping began

The paper lay on the table like a coiled serpent. It was a perfect square of pure, unblemished Washi, two feet on each side, the color of a winter dawn. To anyone else, it was just a sheet of handmade fiber. To Leo, it was the arena. He teased out the horns, three on each

The mane flared.

He set down his tools.