Origami is the ancient Japanese art of paper folding. One uncut square of paper can, in the hands of an origami artist, be folded into a bird, a frog, a sailboat, or a Japanese samurai helmet beetle.

Precision is key, whether folding a humble crane or an interlocking modular structure. So is enthusiasm. Written by Kathleen Massara Photographs by Ryan Jenq Paper cranes folded by New Yorkers and ...