As the daughter-in-law of Lillian Oppenheimer (a co-founder of OrigamiUSA), Laura Kruskal (1923-2019) was an active participant in establishing the origami community in the United States beginning in the late 1950s.
Traveling the world with her husband, Martin David Kruskal, Laura created and taught origami models made from rectangular paper, since that shape was most widely available everywhere she went. She was well-known for her festive origami crowns and was a prolific and creative designer of many other simple but lovely origami models.
Over the years, Laura generously shared her plethora of models, which were published widely in books, magazines and newsletters, and demonstrated in YouTube videos. Until now, there has been no publication devoted solely to her creations. To correct this oversight, we are pleased to present this e-book of Laura’s origami crowns, which she designed and taught at almost every annual OrigamiUSA Convention between 1989 and 2018.
You may notice that some of the models presented in this book are variations of others. Laura became a prolific creator by finding myriad ways in which to change existing models. We hope you will be encouraged to create your own variations. Included in the book are photos of variations along with two crowns inspired by Laura.
Laura would be horrified by the assorted diagramming formats in this publication because she always envisioned a “perfect” book. But our purpose is to document our love for Laura, to memorialize her artistry, to share her creative juices, and to encourage you to follow in her footsteps by becoming creators in your own right.
NOTE: Since Laura designed approximately 30 crowns, we know this book is not complete, and numerous crowns are undated. If you can identify any of the remaining crowns or know the year of an undated crown, please contact us at admin [at] origamiusa.org or 212-769-5635, and we can make the appropriate corrections. It takes a village! Thank you.
