Michael G. LaFosse

Michael G. LaFosse stands as one of the world’s most celebrated origami masters, with over forty years of dedication to transforming paper into living art. Trained as a biologist, LaFosse brings a scientist’s eye for detail and a naturalist’s appreciation for organic forms to his paper creations, preferring to study his subjects in their natural habitats before translating them into folded masterpieces.

In 1996, LaFosse co-founded Origamido Studio in Haverhill, Massachusetts, alongside Richard Alexander. This unique establishment serves as a teaching center, gallery, and design studio, but perhaps most remarkably, it functions as one of the only papermaking facilities in the world dedicated specifically to origami artists. Together, LaFosse and Alexander produce custom handmade papers using permanent, finely ground pigments that ensure their works can endure for centuries.

LaFosse’s artistic philosophy draws profound inspiration from the late Japanese Grand Master Akira Yoshizawa, particularly his pioneering wet-folding technique that allows paper to maintain organic curves when dried. This approach enables LaFosse to create pieces that transcend geometric precision, breathing life into each fold. His most renowned works include incredibly realistic animals and plants that seem to capture the essence of their living counterparts.

The artist approaches origami as a performance art, believing that the best pieces achieve elegance from the design stage through every fold. As he explains, even a millimeter’s deviation at one end can dramatically alter the final appearance, much like a singer hitting the wrong note. This meticulous attention to detail is evident in works like his celebrated “Wilbur the Pig” (1991), for which he spent countless hours observing piglets at the Topsfield Fair before selecting the perfect hand-crafted pink paper with just the right texture and stiffness.

LaFosse’s works have graced prestigious museums worldwide, including the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris, the Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts, and the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Florida. He was prominently featured in the Peabody Award-winning documentary “Between the Folds” by Vanessa Gould, which explored the intersection of art, science, and paper folding.

Beyond his artistic achievements, LaFosse has been teaching origami in schools since 1972 and continues to collaborate with educators, using paper folding to teach mathematics and geometry. Together with Alexander, he has authored over 70 books, kits, and videos about origami and paper arts, making their expertise accessible to folders worldwide.

What sets LaFosse apart is his ability to combine scientific precision with artistic intuition, creating works that honor both the mathematical foundations of origami and the organic beauty of the natural world. His legacy extends beyond individual pieces to encompass an entire philosophy of paper artistry, where each fold becomes a conscious act of creation and every finished work captures a moment of living magic frozen in paper.