Fold It! Create 3-D Works of Art

Did you know that people have been using fans for around 2,000 years? Fans appear in wall carvings from ancient Egypt and other areas of the Middle East. Some were made from feathers, but others were woven. The ancient Chinese also used fans, but scholars believe that folded fans, like the one pictured here, developed in Japan. Tradition suggests that the idea for the folding fan came from observing the wings of bats.

This folding fan was painted by a Chinese artist and scholar named Zhang Yuanji. In addition to his talents as a painter, Zhang Yuanji also wrote poetry and essays and worked as a publisher! 

Cranes and pine trees, like those that decorate the fan, are symbols of long life. When the two are shown together, they bring to mind the wish called song ling he shou, or “live as long as pine and a crane.”

Technique 1

Start at one end and fold up a small flap that is one inch wide. (Use your ruler to make a little pencil marks at the top and bottom of your sheet to make sure the flaps are one inch wide.)

Go to the other end of your sheet and fold up another one-inch flap. Keep folding, first at one end and then at the other you have made 10 flaps and 9 creases. Go slowly and try to keep your folds straight and the sections equal. 

It may help to press down on each fold to strengthen the crease. (A plastic spoon or knife will work well for this step.) 

If you picked Technique 1 to make your fan, go to the Finished Folding? Make a Handle! section to finish your creation.

Technique 2

Fold the 6“ x 10”rectangular paper in half using a hamburger fold.

Math Connection: This technique offers opportunities to explore fractions in a hands-on and visual way. The first fold produces two halves. Use your ruler to measure the width of each side. (You should find that there are 5 inches on each side of the fold.)

Next, fold each side so that they meet in the middle at your first fold. These two folds will make 4 flaps. Each fold is ¼ of the length. Use your ruler to measure each flap. (You should find that each flap is 2 ½ inches wide.)

Keep folding the flaps in half first in one direction and then in the other so that they line up with the folds (or creases) you’ve made. Pressing down on the folds with a plastic spoon will make your folds neat and clean. 

Fold each of the outside flaps in half, keeping the fold facing the center. 

Then, make the final fold by flipping your fan over and folding the outside flaps in towards the middle. 

How many flaps do you have now? How many folds? (You should count 8 flaps and 7 folds.)

Use your ruler to measure each flap. 

(You should find that each flap is 1 ¼ inches wide.)

Technique 3

Carefully mark off equal intervals of one inch each on both of the long sides of your paper. Then line up the ruler’s edge with each set of marks (one mark at the top and the other at the bottom). 

Use a plastic picnic knife to “score” the paper where you plan to fold it.
(Scoring means pressing a crease line into the paper to make it easier to fold the flaps.) 

Once your scores are made, fold the flaps, first in one direction and then in the other until you finish folding all the creases you scored. 

If you picked Technique 3 to make your fan, go to the Finished Folding? Make a Handle! section to finish your creation.

Finished Folding? Make a Handle!

When your paper is all folded up, make a crease about a half inch from the bottom of the fan. Wrap a piece of colored tape or tie a ribbon around the crease so that your handle is fixed in place.

You can add a scallop design at the top of your fan by cutting a small curve at the top of your folded fan about a half inch from the top. 

You can also cut small diamond shapes into the sides of the folded fan—just be sure not to cut all the way across the flap.

Spread out your fan and enjoy your creation.

Keep on experimenting with different sizes, colors, and decorations! 

Make the front and back covers:

Begin with the cardboard rectangles. (Recycle those materials! The rectangles for this example were cut from a frozen pizza box.) 

Mark the center points of the short sides of the cardboard rectangles. Cover the “back” side of the rectangles with glue using the glue stick. Position one piece of ribbon (or string or yarn) so that one inch is on the gluey surface. Leave the rest of each ribbon hanging loose.

Be sure that the ribbons are on opposite sides of the rectangles so that they will match up correctly when the sensul is folded up.

Place the glue side of the cardboard square on the paper rectangle so that it fits within the larger paper rectangle. The inch of the ribbon on the glued sheet should be caught between the cardboard rectangle and the paper. 

Line up the edge of the paper with the edge with the ribbon to make it easier to trim the edges of your sensul.

Once the glue is dry, trim the extra paper so that the paper and cardboard are the same size. You have made the front and back covers for your sensul! 

Once you have finished the inside pages of your chain manuscript, you will make a bow with the ribbons to protect your little folding book.

Illustrate Your Chain Manuscript!

Once you have the paper neatly folded, draw or decorate your folding book. Try developing a theme or story that you find inspiring. Think about the visual story you want to tell as you plan your images. Add captions, poems, or quotations to help explain the meaning of your images.

Once you have finished your illustrations, glue the back of the first section of the story to the back (paper side) of your cardboard cover. (Make sure that the ribbon will be on the right of the book once it is folded up.) Finally glue the last section of your story to the back cover. (Make sure this ribbon will also be on the right side of the book when it is folded up.) Make a bow with the ribbons and your sensul (or chained manuscript) is ready to travel!

Many examples of parfleche bags made by various Native American peoples can be found in museums today. 

Made of rawhide, these containers were colorfully decorated with different shapes and patterns that had meaning for specific groups of Plains and Northwest Coast Indians. 

The geometric designs that were used to decorate these containers continue to inspire contemporary Native American artists.

The term parfleche actually comes from French words for “turning away arrows” because the prepared hides were so tough and strong.

These bags were traditionally made by women, using long pieces of wet or damp rawhide. First, the sides of the rawhide rectangle were folded so that they met in the middle of the rectangle. Then, the ends were also folded to meet in the middle, creating a secure pouch within the container. Many different sizes could be made using this technique. Once the rawhide dried out, the containers (or pouches) held their shapes quite well. To finish their containers, the makers decorated the surfaces of the bags with brightly colored paint and added leather ties or fasteners—and the parfleches were ready to use. 

This particular flat-case parfleche, made by the Yakama people who live in Central Washington State, is a variation of the usual design. Notice how the upper flap has been trimmed into a triangle shape? The fringes also add visual interest to this parfleche.