origami circle - join the waitlist

Date: April 27, 2026

Time: 6:30 - 8:30 pm

Location: Strathcona County Library, Sherwood Park, Alberta

Origami Circle: Craft, Connect, Create.

A relaxed social evening of folding and creating together led by Tara Woltjen, yoga and origami instructor. 

Each participant contributes to a community garland while reflecting on the power of creativity and connection.

Three weeks from now, we’ll be gathering to fold, reflect, and create something beautiful together.

The Origami Circle is currently full (which honestly makes me so happy), but I want to gently encourage you — if you’re feeling the pull — please add your name to the waitlist.

Here’s why it matters:

Sometimes spots open up. Life shifts, plans change, and waitlisted folks often get a chance to join after all.

And just as importantly, waitlists tell the library, there is a hunger for spaces like this. For quiet creativity. For shared making. For moments of being human together.

So if you’re curious, even a little, add your name.

Even if you don’t get a spot this time, you’re helping plant the seed for more gatherings like this in the future.

I’m looking forward to sitting in a circle with you enjoying paper folding, stories, and small acts of care for what we carry together.

More soon,
Tara

(Paper will vary from the image - each garland is unique to the group that creates it.)

day 59 - intervention

Origami embodies nonviolence through intervention. 

It's a gentle, intentional art that changes something — a piece of paper, a mood, a mind, a space — without aggression. 

It can take grand forms, like the 1000 cranes installations in Hiroshima, displayed in a public memorial space dedicated to honoring and healing, inspiring reflection and solidarity.  

But it can also be:

Symbolic: Folded hearts or flowers left in public spaces for people to find, or community garlands made for a cause.

Environmental: Transforming waste materials into decorative or useful objects, or using compostable and recycled materials as an intervention against overconsumption.

Personal/Mindful: Origami can interrupt spirals of stress. Each deliberate fold is a mini-training in nonviolent, thoughtful intervention.

Social: Origami fosters connection, cooperation, empathy and communication. It can express care or solidarity when words fall short.

Today I'm practicing intervention by letting the deliberate, mindful, act of folding shift my own mental state.

day 53 - action

"We are clearly in a lot of emergencies right now. They demand action. But action demands thought and thoughtfulness: who are we, what are our values, our goals, our allies, our possibilities, and our powers?"

- Rebecca Solnit 

In my origami practice, the action begins the moment I stop deliberating and start making thoughtful decisions. 

This little heart, folded from a dictionary page, started as a way to use up a scrap of paper.  But when I finished and saw the word pulse on it's surface I felt like it was also a message to my Self: action is the heartbeat of nonviolence.

I started to think about all the ways nonviolent action is like a pulse: 

• It animates values, making them circulatory rather than theoretical.
• It's rhythmic, moving in waves of pressure and pause.
• It is a repetition of persistent gestures, not one big event, keeping a body, a community, a system alive.
• It carries life to the edges, moving blood where it's needed just as action mobilizes care, attention, resources and pressure to areas that have been starved of them.
• It responds to stress, it adapts to crisis by intensifying.
• It is a sign that the body — or a society — is active, alive and evolving.
• And if it stops, something is wrong.

Today I'm practicing action by letting the answers to these questions guide my choices and evolution: Who am I, what are my values, goals, allies, possibilities, and powers?

---

day 46 - compassion

"One love, one heart" 

- Bob Marley

Those words feel like the perfect companion for this folded heart today.

Visually, this heart is two halves not quite meeting in the middle, holding tenderness even when things are cracked or split.

Compassion is like that. Not shiny or perfect, but steady, warm, and willing to frame what’s fragile. It is the quiet work of helping the two halves of the heart — or two people — find their way a little closer together.

My blog name, One Love Origami, was inspired by this song. At the time it simply felt good and sounded beautiful to me.

Over the years I’ve come to see not only how creative expression can help mend a broken heart, but also how beautifully folding paper brings people together across languages, cultures, and differences. It generously and inclusively extends an invitation, much like the song: “Let’s get together and feel alright.”

Today I'm practicing compassion by meeting my own missteps with kindness — noticing my inner critic and softening its tendency toward prosecution, practicing a little non-violence toward myself so that I can also meet the world with more love.

Heart designed by Fumiaki Shingu
Frame designed by Kamikey

day 38 - kindness

“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” 

- Dalai Lama

This is one of the reasons I return again and again to origami as a contemplative art.

It shows me that kindness can come in many forms —even when all you have to start with is something small: a piece of paper and a willingness to try.

Paper is almost always within reach. A receipt, a scrap, a square from a notebook. 

Possibility is everywhere.

When the folds are challenging, I remember that someone, somewhere, was kind enough to lay out the path so that others could follow. Each diagram is an act of kindness, given from the heart.

And from those simple folds — all sorts of possibilities:

• A heart folded for a friend.
• A little frog to amuse an impatient child.
• A flower left behind as a thank-you.
• A shape that bridges language when words feel far away.

This double-layer heart reminds me that kindness, too, has layers. There is the kindness we receive, the kindness we learn, and the kindness we choose to pass along.

Today I’m practicing kindness. It doesn’t need perfect timing or special materials. Because kindness — like a piece of paper — is almost always within reach.

day 30 - amends

Amends begin with acknowledging harm.

They are accomplished when we repair with dignity.

This emerald green heart reminds me that amends are, first and foremost, emotional and relational. They are about reestablishing trust and care. 

The pretty gold details echo the Japanese art of Kintsugi which honors what was broken by making the repair visible and meaningful. 

It says, we can't go back to how things were. 

We can go forward mended, changed, and more intentional. 

Today I'm practicing amends by asking, where can I make amends in my life in a way that adds care, not just covers cracks? 

What would that look like?

Heart Pendant - Fumiaki Shingu

day 29 - forgiveness

"Forgiveness is a reflection of loving yourself enough to move on." 

- Steve Maraboli

Forgiveness doesn’t erase what happened —

it allows something new to emerge. 

Once paper is folded, the mark remains, a memory held in form.

But sometimes a mistake becomes the opportunity for new growth, expansive and unanticipated.

Today I’m practicing forgiveness, not by undoing the past, but by allowing it to unfold differently.

Heart Pendant, Fumiaki Shingu

Double Leaves, Nana Takahashi

day 25 - friendliness

"One who prevents you from meeting your destruction is your friend, mitra. Maitri is the spirit that compels your friend to be there for you; friendliness." 

- Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, 

Commentary on Patanjali's Yoga Sutra 1.33 

Friendliness doesn’t require a big extroverted personality.

Sometimes it begins with simple approachability - with how safely we are able to meet what and who is around us.

“Trauma-informed spaces” may sound sophisticated, but they often begin exactly here:
not fixing or advising, simply offering presence and goodwill.

This origami model delights me because it mirrors that idea. From one square of paper emerge three figures: a heart, and two friendly cats side by side.

Three forms, one uncut square - a moment of single sheet origami magic.

Relationship.
Reciprocity.
Connection held at the centre.

Nothing added. Nothing cut away.
Just one sheet, transformed.

A reminder that friendliness unfolds not so much between us as through us.

This practice brings me a great deal of joy. Thank you, friend, for being here to share it with me.

Today I’m practicing friendliness by reaching out with something whimsical.
If you feel inclined, I’d love to hear - what’s bringing you joy today?

Pocket Heart with Two Cats, Kamikey on YouTube

day 22 - mission

"My mission is to create a world where we can live in harmony with nature." 

- Jane Goodall

At the heart of non-violence is a mission. A practice of returning to what matters, again and again. 

In yogic philosophy, one's mission may be referred to as svadharma, the specific, unique duty of an individual based on their nature. It is one's personal "right way of living".

Today I'm clarifying my mission by asking myself, what core belief is at the heart of my practice of nonviolence?

Heart Pendant by Fumiaki Shingu

day 19 - acceptance

"Open your heart to who you are right now,/Not who you would like to be." 

- John Welwood

Acceptance doesn't mean being a doormat, liking everything that happens, or tolerating the intolerable. 

It's simply acknowledging what is. 

This little book is handmade, hand-stitched and heartfelt. 

It fits in my pocket and has just enough pages to jot down snippets of poems, lyrics, observations and reflections for a week or so - tidbits that may not mean much to anyone else but are important to me. 

When I look back, I see that they reflect my truth in those moments. Each little book becomes a sort of mirror - a way of learning to accept what I see reflected back to me.

Today I'm practicing acceptance through a wabi-sabi lens, nurturing the understanding that nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect. 

day 13 - creativity

"The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt." 

- Sylvia Plath

Creativity isn't always about inventing something brand new. Sometimes it's the thrill of noticing patterns - like constellations in the night sky - and exploring the spaces between them. 

I love repeating favorite folds. Each one lets my ideas orbit, spin, and collide, letting sparks of inspiration light up in unexpected ways. 

Today I'm practicing creativity by following curiosity, intuition, and emotion, trusting that even the smallest spark can become a guiding star.

day 8 - healing

"Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity." - Hippocrates

Healing isn't something I can force. It seems to happen when there is enough space, safety and support for things to settle. 

This layered pin speaks to me of a history. It reminds me that healing doesn't hide the scars or the story, more often it is a matter of incremental integration. 

Today I'm practicing healing by seeing it as the bridge between harm and hope, rupture and repair. I recognize that it takes time and is still tender in me, but is growing stronger. 

day 6 - simplicity

"Our life is frittered away by detail... simplify, simplify." 

- Henry David Thoreau

Simplicity asks me to remove what isn't needed. To proceed one sheet, one module, one fold at a time. 

Today I'm practicing simplicity by letting this be enough.

Rectangular Frame designed by Kamikey, Hearts by Origami Club

day 5 - believing

"Despite everything, I believe people are really good at heart." 

Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl

Believing doesn't always mean certainty. 

Sometimes it's a choice to continue even when you don't know for sure and the outcome isn't clear.

Today I'm practicing believing in myself and the power of community by sticking with this Season for Nonviolence project.

Easy Heart on Origami Club

day 3 - appreciation

"Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well." 

- Voltaire

Appreciation begins with recognizing the goodness, beauty or efforts of others and then offering respect by acknowledging it. 

I don't design origami (yet). I appreciate the designs of others and using the paper I have available, I create my unique versions of them.  

Today I'm practicing appreciation by crediting those designers and sincerely saying thank you. Without your hard work and heartfelt efforts to share, I wouldn't have so many lovely choices of models to fold and express myself with. 

I appreciate you!

Special thanks also to the creators of and on Pinterest, YouTube, and other social media platforms. Without those technologies my repertoire would be so much smaller.

Finger Heart by tatsukuriorigami on YouTube

day 2 - smiling

"Peace begins with a smile." 

- Mother Teresa

Smiling is easy to dismiss as superficial, but today I'm paying attention to how profound it really is. When my face softens, something deeper seems to soften too. 

This little vignette reminds me that small shifts can change both the expression and the impression, and they can be contagious. 

Today I'm seeing what happens when I let that softness show more freely.

Black Cat Silhouette by hiroko_daichan origami on YouTube

the season for nonviolence

"Only when it's dark enough, can you see the stars." 

Martin Luther King Jr.

Tomorrow, January 30th, marks the beginning of the Season for Nonviolence, a 64-day practice observed internationally between the anniversaries of the deaths of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

This year, I'm choosing to enter this season through a personal daily practice: folding paper, paying attention, and spending a few minutes each day with one of the values connected to nonviolence.

This isn’t a teaching series or a set of instructions. It’s simply a record of practice, what I’m noticing, what I’m trying, what feels possible on a given day.

Origami slows me down. It asks for care, patience, and a willingness to begin again. That feels like a useful place to stand right now.

If this practice offers something to you, a pause, a thought, a moment of steadiness, you’re welcome to take what you find useful and leave the rest. 

Click the links below if you'd like to explore this more deeply in your own way.

Specifically, I’ll be following the Season for Nonviolence values as outlined by the Gandhi Foundation, alongside reflection prompts developed by the Gandhi Institute. 

Mostly, though, I’ll just be folding one day at a time.

library session, origami folding resources and references

This post accompanies a live origami "Paper to Pin" folding session offered at the Strathcona County Library.

During the session, folds are taught live and by demonstration. It is an analogue, embodied, traditional knowledge experience supported by the web, not replaced by it.

The links below are provided as optional references for participants who would like to revisit the forms later.

They point to external resources with diagrams or guides that are free to view and good for beginners.

Patterns explored today:

* Simple Origami Cup at Origami Club

* Heart Pendant at Origami Club

* Tanzaku (traditional, unpublished)

* Mini Zine at Migra Whistle

Note: 

*Many variations of these origami models exist; these links are offered as starting points rather than definitive instructions. 

* You are welcome to bookmark or explore these pages on your own time if you want to practice a fold again or make more origami models at home.

Origami Pattern References

This link leads to diagrams and folding guides for simple paper forms like hearts, cups, and more:

Origami Club — Diagram Library 

Origami Club is an index of a large collection of origami diagrams, folding animations and videos that you can explore by category and by western and Japanese seasonal holidays (animals, objects, basic shapes, Valentine's Day, Star Festival etc. ).

Zine Folding Instructions

Migra Whistle

Fold a single sheet of paper into an 8-page mini-zine using this beginner friendly guide.

This page includes downloadable zine folding diagrams and printable files that show how to fold and assemble simple zines. 

The downloadable files on this site include a Zine Folding: How To document you can use as a reference for folding a mini zine from a single sheet of paper.

trending 2026: analogue bags

2026 is the year to embrace anologue. 

Let's wean ourselves off of our phones by loading up baskets and bags to reach for between tasks. 

Stash craft supplies, notebooks, puzzles and pens to support your well-being and reduce screen time. 

I know what's in my bag - a good book, a healthy snack, a commonplace book and origami paper! 

What's in yours?

january 22: paper to pin origami event

I'm excited to meet the participants of my upcoming class at the Strathcona County Library! 

"Paper to Pin - Folding Words into Wearable Inspiration"

January 22, 2026 from 7-8:30 pm

Transform a beloved word, quote or story into a wearable origami pin. Beginner-friendly folds to carry inspiration closer to the heart.

Four simple origami models will help us honor the words we choose, carry and share. Paper becomes our co-creator, holding what matters so we can linger with words we love.