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By Ken Ige, Star-Bulletin
Mary Shota's origami dragon is smaller than a dime.

Enter the
(paper) dragon

In her quest to push the boundaries of what can be accomplished in origami, Mary Shota has come up with a 1/2-inch dragon, with 77 folds, in celebration of the Year of the Dragon.

Shota, who began her miniature series with folded paper cranes in 1996, said, "I try to come up with a new idea every year. Because it's the millennium, I thought I'd do a limited edition Asian horoscope with one creature per year.

"Next year, the snake, is my year. It seems easy, but I'm still working on the design."

She uses two pieces of 3/8th-inch paper for the dragon's body and one 5/16th-inch piece of paper for it's head, taking three days using tweezers and a magnifying glass to complete it.

While her smaller pieces run about $8 to $13, placed in small glass vials to be worn or collected, the dragon sells for $40 in a limited edition of 1,000.

She's not tempted to work beyond that number, saying, "I think that's all I want to make."

Shota can be reached at 236-7025, or look for the Sho Creations booth at the following holiday craft fairs:

Oct. 21 -- Waiau Elementary Craft Fair, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Oct. 28 -- Leeward Community College Fun and Craft Fair, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Oct. 29 -- Hawaii Lupus Foundation Fair, McKinley High School, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Nov. 18 -- Benjamin Parker Elementary, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Dec. 9 -- Mililani Shopping Center Fair, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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Nadine Kam, Star-Bulletin

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