BIRDYJOSH and BIRDYLU ~ A Paper Birds' Story

After the two paper birds were created, they were released in the little forest in back of the house... Many chicks were born... See the story in a poem at the end

BIRDYJOSH AND BIRDYLU ~ A Paper Birds’ Story ~ © Mirta Oliva
eBook and Paperback formats

 

THE ORIGAMI ART

For those not familiar with the word Origami, it is an ancient Japanese art using paper to form animal and human figures, objects, etc. The word was derived from “ori” or folding and “kami” for paper. Playful and entertaining as a form of manual arts, it is enjoyed worldwide by children and adults alike. I could go on and on discussing this famous paper-folding act, but this book was not designed to teach the popular Origami techniques; its purpose, rather, is to tell a story " the tale of two loving paper birds…

CHAPTER I

It all started when one recent summer day I remembered the origami figures I used to make as a child and later on as an adult: the paper boat was easy, who hasn’t made an origami boat? Easy as well were the box, hat and other objects. My true desire, though, was to make a paper bird but this project turned out to be a little bit more difficult… After a few trials and errors, a typical paper bird was created but that was not enough to satisfy what had been lurking in my mind. Somehow, I had envisioned a colorful and playful paper bird who would act as a live, feathered one.

What a whimsical idea…! A little tired and not too happy with my creation, I laid down on the sofa, falling asleep in no time. That was the beginning of a beautiful dream, in full color, about my paper bird. I could vividly see the little birdie flying away and away as I was trying to reach it but our cat Boxer was getting ahead of me. Timely, as to avoid being hurt by the kitty, the intrepid birdie made a U-turn and soon thereafter had perched itself on my shoulder, a good sign of trust or perhaps fear of the playful kitty that, by now, was hiding behind the curtains…

The next day, upon waking up from my beautiful dream, the first thing I noticed was the colorful origami paper bird that, in answer to my prayers, emerged as a live, real bird… or was it not? And that creature, which I called Birdylu, began acting as a feathered bird, flapping her paper wings and all.

Though Birdylu was trying hard to display signs of happiness by flying all over the room, she had a nostalgic look in her big round eyes; that made me realize she needed a companion, a look-alike, act-alike male. It was then that I quickly grabbed a piece of paper, folded it once and again and many times more, creating a handsome, airborne chick quickly named Birdyjosh, all the while praying that it, too, became alive. Wasting no time, it headed toward Birdylu… and the two of them would not stop flying… And there was the wedding The story continues, but below are some excerpts with some pictures depicting part of what went on…

A PENSIVE BIRDYLU… (The broken branch, the nest with eggs, the moon...)

                     

A LOGICAL CONFUSION -  When Birdylu was bringing a worm to her paper chick she was surprised to see a little bird " a real feathered bird.

  What was Birdylu to do?

A BIG PARTY IN THE SKIES ... Many chicks were born… Birdyjosh and Birdylu’s big family lived in the little forest behind my house. The paper birds got along so well that I prepared a big party in the skies… My children gathered seeds and worms and…

 

 

"What a sight, what a night, I could not believe my eyes".

(The story in a poem)

BIRDYJOSH AND BIRDYLU
A Paper Birds' Story
(The book condensed In a Poem)
© Mirta Oliva

I folded the paper time and again
And so you were born, my Origami paper bird
BIRDYLU was your name - and you flew and you played
Your eyes always calling for a handsome paper mate

So I went right along and folded paper again
And soon he was born, BIRDYJOSH was his name
The pair was in love, I noticed one day
So I prepared a wedding for the sweet paper birds

My prayers were answered, you flew in the room
staring through the window at the green leaves and blooms
I only knew then they‘d be leaving my den
But I’d always be watching both birdies and hatchlings.

To get seeds and other goodies they'd get out of the roost
Safeguarding their 'lil bodies from the light of the high moon
The birds built their nests - the chicks came and went
And Boxer my cat would not go near them

For it happened one day, BIRDYLU was surprised
A feathered-chick had arrived - It really blew her away!
With only one worm - what was she to do?
When two little beaks were begging for food!

It was then that I told her, you must feed both birds
The one with the feathers and the one of papier
So BIRDYLU fed both chicks and soon they would play
Minding not a bit of what they were made

And when the time was near for the feathered little chick
To join her own breed, I saw more than one tear . . .
All birds shared the forest very close to my backyard
So they would see each other by the silver moon at night

One day I arranged
A big party in the skies
What a sight, what a night,
I could not believe my eyes!

With the colors of the rainbow more chicks were born
They all lived in harmony, they all shared the fun
And BIRDYJOSH and BIRDYLU, dressed in red, green and blue
remained always together, forever true . . .

 

GOOD NIGHT BIRDIES…

Reviews

[Glen Yumang Manese]

Interesting read of a write here... you blend both a story format and then a poem to collaborate the piece in a tight knit... verse... Your pictures are for some reason not displaying... and would add more to this piece... again... I like Origami myself... as a child and was a challenge to make different objects...

[myrt2013]

Thank you for your interest in my writings. About the photos, initially they posted but disappeared right away, with only one surviving. I could not get them back and it may have to do with the use of space. As to the blend of prose and verse, the poem was written after the book was published. There is more to the story that the poem reveals but at least you get some ideal of what the story is all about. Since Amazon's preview for paperback/eBook is very limited as to text and pictures, I added the above to provide more detail. My websites AntiquesArtBookworld.com and olivaarteshow.com have more pictures. Since I like origami, I began painting random pictures of the birds and when I had about five or six I "saw" the beginning of a children's tale. I then began writing and, as the story evolved, I added more drawings and paintings to suit the theme. I used my artistic license to modify some of the origami birds' body poses, etc. Hope you enjoy the "raw" websites.