In May, we ventured outside the Drink & Draw box to try our hands at the ancient art of paper-folding known as origami. Anthem Branding hosted the event, sharing their open and airy workspace with us. All sorts of enthusiastic creatives showed up ready to play with paper.

Erin Vito warmed us up with a demonstration of the traditional Crane pattern. Some found making cranes to be addictive — many already knew the pattern well from childhood. We then challenged ourselves further with more complex patterns depicting local critters such as horse, bear, buffalo and mountain lion.

We soon sought sustenance in the provided munchies and bevvies — energy needed to be maintained in order to follow instructions, bend, fold, score, and crease the bedazzling origami paper on hand.

Some found translating the 2-dimensional pattern instructions to a 3-dimensional sheet of paper to be quite the focus-inducing activity. Others found teamwork to be the missing link in achieving those “ah-ha” moments — “oh, so you fold it THIS way!”

At the end of the night, the table was piled high with a colorful menagerie of paper-powered wildlife. Thanks to Anthem Branding for hosting this brain-tickling, finger-flexing AIGA event!