Kirigami is like Origami except that instead of just folding the paper you also cut it. It’s essentially the grownup version of folding a white sheet of paper in school and cutting out a snowflake. My attempts at kirigami were frustrating and funny but eventually turned out ok. It’s clearly not going to become my second career but it was something that engaged my attention and took a considerable amount of focus so if you’re looking for a new hobby that will keep you totally engrossed this may be for you. The next time I try it I think I’ll get a mat and an exact blade so I can be more precise with my lines.
Kirigami struck me as an interesting way to try to be mindful and to slow down and get my thoughts off of day to day things that were causing me to overthink and make myself worried. I think if I had tried it at a time when not quite so much was going on it might have had that effect, but for me it was a very detailed and explicit set of directions to turn any of the snowflake style cutouts into hanging wall art or tea cup doilies or any of the other suggestions in the Kirigami Home Decor Kit that were just too much. They all looked beautiful but I just didn’t have the patience to make them.
What it did bring to mind were the vision boards I used to make with students. There is a vision board workshop coming up that I think I’m going to take and get back into creating visual representations of my dreams and goals again.
Duct Tape and Dreams 