Midori Furze is a Japanese-born, Sydney-based contemporary artist, an origami instructor and designer. She came to Australia in 1989 and has since lived in Sydney’s Northern Beaches. Midori has been painting professionally since 2009 and has participated in many exhibitions, including Warringah Art Prize, Hornsby Art Prize, Northbridge Art Prize, Manly Art Gallery, and six solo exhibitions. She’s also run many innovative community art events with fellow artists since 2009.

Origami is a traditional art of paper folding in Japan. Midori, like most people in Japan, learned origami as a young child. Living in the different culture of Australia, she found that many Australians knew what origami was but believed it was difficult to learn. Midori wanted to share the pleasure of folding origami with many people and so decided to run workshops to teach origami.

Midori also believes that people have a limit what they can do alone but together, power can be limitless. She was invited to have a solo exhibition at Sydney Children’s Hospital in Randwick. Talking about her exhibition plan with the exhibition curators and walking along the long hospital wall, she found it would be the best space for the origami exhibition.

Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation accepted her proposal in 2010, the origami project, “Fold with Love – 1000 Paper Cranes” was born. Fellow artist, Mayu Kataoka joined her team and they collected paper cranes together. 

The project was 2011 Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation Art program, in partnership with the Sydney Children’s Hospital School and Louis Vuitton Australia.  

Midori said, “Everyone can fold paper crane; it is small and takes only a few minute of their time…but we collected more than three thousand of them! Can you imagine how beautiful and powerful decoration will be on the Children’s hospital walls with 3000 paper cranes together? We are sure it will brighten up the hospital wall.”

Midori has organised many origami workshops and has met countless wonderful origami lovers. She’s also enjoyed teaching origami in Australia. “It is always a pleasure to see the big smiles on people’s faces who make paper cranes for their first time.”

You can read more about the project on her blog “Fold with Love” http://foldwithlove.blogspot.com/

Midori works with event management agencies to design and produce unique origami products. She also available for the wedding decorations and origami workshops.

Previous workshops include work for Powerhouse Museum Discovery Centre, Parramatta City Council, Hornsby Council, University of Technology, Sydney, student union, Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation and more.

Please do not hesitate to contact Midori on origamidolly@gmail.com