THE ART OF UNFOLDING; WITH JADE HUYNH OF SVVAN ORIGAMI
Jade Huynh, Svvan Origami-- Origami Artist & Installation Designer
Photo Gallery by Rebecca Gottbetter @beckshotz
LA-based artist Jade Huynh is empowering the community through her love of origami. Her use of hand-picked color palettes and textures within her work bring every piece she creates to life. We had a chance to catch up with Jade to learn more about how she got into this craft and what projects she’s working on:
LIZA: How did you get into origami?
JADE: So, the journey with my origami started when I was in fourth grade. I remember my first model ever folded was a paper crane. We were learning about the bombing in Hiroshima during World War II. And I think a way that the teaching assistant attempted to lighten up the mood was to teach us how to fold origami and integrating that with Japanese culture.
And at that time, my parents worked full-time and were not able to really get me exciting toys. So I was always very creative and innovative off with the resources I had to kind of have fun with. And, you know, paper was so easy and the moment that I was able to learn that I could make something out of almost nothing. I think people overlook like the value of a sheet of paper, and I look at it in such a different lens, but I was able to really explore and create so many models. I would go to the library as a child and check out all the origami books and fold all the models and I would go to the next library, check out the books that I didn't previously, and attempt to finish all the models in there.
And as I grew up, in my teens, I still practiced origami, but just not as frequently. I didn't go to school for art. I went for pastry and baking to be a pastry chef. I guess I cooked from the age of 19 to 24 professionally. I was able to complete all of my goals and I was under the age of 25 and I was running the pastry department at La Meridian in Minneapolis at the time. That's a really nice hotel and it's a lot of responsibility for a 24 -year-old, which is fine. I knew I could do it, but, you know, spending 80 hours a week in the kitchen, I mean, I felt like I was just missing out on life and it wasn't fulfilling something inside of me, right?
So once I got my dream position per se, I would go home at night and I would try to start a new hobby to kind of fill in whatever that void is. And I picked up origami again. I started by going to the libraries and checking out books and folding all the models. And again, I did that for maybe about three weeks and I just felt like my enjoyment with origami plateaued. And there was a voice inside me that was like, this can't be like the peak of origami. Like there has to be more. So I did some research and just went on some websites, found more models. But what happened over time is that I started to really just break the traditional rules. Technically, you're not supposed to cut or, you know, whatever to the paper. It was 2014 at that time and I wanted to make it my own. I wanted to make it exciting. And I think with my experience in pastry, just working with more delicate articulate items, it was helpful for me to translate those skills into origami, just like the repetitious moments. And it's not one or two hours of work. It's definitely like weeks, months, even years at times.
I just started to fall in love with like all these funky things I was making with origami. And then people started saying that they wanted to buy my work. And then one thing after another, then that's how I became a small business. And then over time, I realized that origami was my passion. So I quit pastry. And I was alone in that endeavor…so even though I was very confident in my path, it was a bit of a lonely road. And it's difficult when some of your colleagues that have worked with you for like several years kind of give you like the shoulder shrug of like, “Oh, you're going to want to pursue origami professionally?” and it's like well yeah, you know? But I just stuck to my guns. I kept pushing. I kept creating. I kept researching and I don't know. I'm fortunate with all of the fun projects I've been able to do but I definitely have grown. I have grown my special bond with origami in the last decade. So this year will be my 10-year anniversary of being a small business, and I'm so excited.
LIZA: That’s incredible. I can definitely relate on that. The feeling that you’re not in the right place—Like, it's a great opportunity and it's stable, but you're meant to be doing something else. It's such an important feeling to like listen to yourself.
JADE: Yes absolutely.
@beckshotz
LIZA: At what point do you feel like you were able to shift that mindset between hobby and “I want to do this as a profession” —Was it when your business was doing well? Was it a certain project that you did? When did that mentality shift of like, “Okay, I want to leave my job. I want to do this 100%.”
JADE: I think it was when I was doing pastry at my job. And the interesting thing is that when I took over, I did a new dessert menu. I had food critics come in from the city - I got great reviews. I didn't have any reason to change and I think that's why it was unfamiliar for people to go like, “Why would you fix something that's not broken?” To them, it's not broken, but what I know is that this isn't where it ends for me. So I think it was when I was making, I can remember it, it was my orange panna cotta dessert. And I was making cardamom ice cream that day. I just remember feeling so empty inside.
But I loved what I was making, right? I loved that my desserts tasted well. They looked pretty. When I was able to face the reality, like, I feel empty inside—Why? And I was just like, oh, because I don't love this. I love origami. And as soon as I said those words to myself, I was like, all right. I just knew there was no going back and it's like how do we make this work? How do I move forward? how do I have a tactical plan to make my passion come into fruition financially? It wasn't just like an aha moment. There were milestones I think starting out with creating origami and getting some attention from it.
It was my first show at a brewery in Minnesota. I was fortunate that I have a strong footing in the food scene back home that we had some food critics and writers come to the art show because they knew what I was showing. And it gave us a lot of press. I was already growing my network, not only from the restaurant scene, but it was starting to overlap into my origami. And everyone that has seen me slowly grow as a pastry chef was starting to see me grow as an origami artist. There's something about having the community be there to witness that and support you from start to finish. There's something about the ecosystem of bringing each other up that I have in the art world that I feel like I don't have in pastry. And it's not like I don't have that support in pastry, but the dynamic is just different.
LIZA: Do you feel like pastry is a bit more competitive versus art?
JADE: My background is in fine dining. And the attitude and the work ethic is a little bit more gritty. A lot more women are in the industry now but back then when I started you definitely had to come in with like a suit of armor and be prepared because it was also making sure you were able to show them, like your comrades, and your colleagues, that you were able to take everything and work through it. It was like a very harmonious toxic environment. But it also made me realize this is totally not for me. And this is why origami was like therapy. It just depleted all of that stress and whatever I carried home from work.
LIZA: How did you connect with the festival and what did you showcase at Beyond Wonderland?
JADE: Wow, this is actually going to be a really cool story to tell you. I get chills every time I tell this story and think about it. So I would say before last year, so between 2021 and 2023, I took a break from art. I focused on getting my footing in the tech industry. But what got me back into art was that I just got invited to Art Basel in Miami, which is like one of the biggest art shows in the country. And that gave me inspiration that people still believed in me, right? And it sounds ridiculous to say out loud, but I feel like that's something that maybe a lot of artists don't talk about; sometimes we don't really know what we're doing and we'll have those moments. But that's how I felt for a bit. And then Miami happened. They gave me a good kick in the butt —
Jade at Art Basel in Miami - @svvan_origami
—In January, I saw online that Insomniac was having a virtual job fair. So I was like, okay, interesting. I'll just subscribe, get more information. They sent out information on the dates and the times of the virtual job fair. And I was like, shit, I work that night. So I sent a group text to my co-workers. And I was like, can anyone take my shift? I'm trying to do a virtual job fair. And I already know how that sounds, right? Like, what are the chances? And my coworker that I identify as my little brother, he's so sweet. He took my shift. And I was like, awesome. Thank you.
So the day comes for the virtual job fair. I sign in on this Insomniac website. There's like 500 fucking people in this goddamn chat room. And I'm like alright, what is the plan? How do I navigate this? So in that chat I was just like “Hey like art opportunities, where do I need to go?” Someone was able to direct me and I was like okay. It was like a scavenger hunt. I had a move maybe like five or six chat rooms and I finally made it to the right one.
Logged in there was the general manager and the art director in there and there was about 10 other people. I was surprised at some of the questions some of these people were asking because it wasn't art opportunity focused. It was more of them like, “Hey, I'm trying to be DJ. How do I get my name on like list?” So immediately I unmuted my mic and maybe this is me being outspoken and I shouldn't have, but like, I'm here to find an opportunity and to do good work— So I unmuted my mic and I was like, “Hi, my name's Jade. Is this where I need to be for art opportunities? I'm really interested.” The directors were like, “You're in the right place. Tell us about you, Jade.” I was like, “I'm an origami artist. Is there an email I can get to send some information and my resume and portfolio?” It was four minutes of that. And I coordinated with the project manager and the art director. And three weeks later, they messaged me for a meeting, and I could not fucking believe it.
We did an interview, and then they told me they wanted me to do the build for Beyond Wonderland, and I was dying. I was like, sure. Mind you, I've never been to a music festival. So that was my first time ever at a festival.
The build was massive. What I did for them was a 10 foot by 10 foot room. It was just under 400 cubic square feet of work. What I did was build an entire origami room. I literally lined it with styrofoam. I built a room within the room so that I could puncture the flowers with skewers in the centers into the wall, because I had to, I'm not an architect, but I had to figure out how to manifest this installation for Insomniac. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I signed up for a virtual job fair and I got hired. What are the fucking chances? It was crazy. And it took me six to eight weeks to finish making everything. I worked around the clock. I quit my job. It was crazy. I went through like a thousand dollars worth of spray paint. I spray painted every single piece—every single petal is hand folded, hand painted. Everything's all done by hand. It was like an exquisite installation. I'm just so happy that people got to go in and enjoy it.
What inspired me to build it was… because Beyond Wonderland is like Alice in Wonderland themed. I was going through clips of Alice and Wonderland. I think the Cheshire Cat was the coolest character because of how mysterious it was. So I kind of wanted to emulate that like spooky moment when Alice sees its face emerge out of the darkness. So the room that I built was inspired by colors of the Cheshire Cat. It's also inspired by the Pantone color of the year, which was Viva Magenta last year. I did like an ombre of like a Viva magenta to purple, but like black. And I made like a really tricky tie-dye cheshire cat face, super spooky to tie in with the rave theme. And I made sure I put curtain lights in there to add like a little bit more of that awe, I guess.
Beyond Wonderland Build - @svvan_origami
LIZA: Did you have a moment where you had to like pinch yourself or you couldn't believe that you were there?
JADE: Yeah, definitely had to pinch myself but I will tell you that I was so scared that I couldn't finish the build up until literally the opening night. Up until that day I was like oh my god! Can I do this? Then I was like oh finally opening day - I don't have to think about it anymore. It's here.
LIZA: How many flowers did you think you have to make for a project like that?
JADE: I didn't count but I could tell you how many pounds of paper I went through. I think 500. I had to use poster board to fold so it's not like folding paper. I'm folding like six-ply cardstock with a bone folder and everything because I knew it's going to be a bunch of ravers in the room and I had to make sure my build would at least stay up two days and look intact and well done. I had to make sure all the materials sourced were weatherproof worthy— rave proof essentially.
Beyond Wonderland Build - @svvan_origami
LIZA: What was it like transporting everything? Did you have to do in your car or did you have to get a truck or something?
JADE: Dude, that was a fucking nightmare. Oh, my God. Okay, first of all, it was in San Bernardino, and I drove from Woodland Hills to San Bernardino every day to do the build and drive back up. I had to rent a U-Haul, like a one-bedroom size U-haul, and it literally just-fit everything because I had also like a $1,000 worth of styrofoam panels, so maybe like fucking 50 panels of styrofoam. Then all these really voluminous flowers that I had to delicately wedge in this trunk. Like, please you know no one rip. No one break apart. We just need to get to the site.
LIZA: It's amazing dedication and it just kind of shows how much you love the craft and the things you're willing to go through to make this project happen.
JADE: For me, I think it's such a privilege to be able to make something that I don't think that has been made and be able to be that artist. I can tell you 10 years ago when I was just dinking around in my sister's basement folding origami again—I could not have pictured everything that's happened.
LIZA: That just shows how committed you've been the last few years and how you're willing to try things and step out of the box. I would have never thought about going to a job fair for art. Because usually it's like the corporate jobs that you go there for. But the fact that you went and you talked to them, you made that happen for yourself in many ways.
JADE: Thank you. I feel like there's something to be said about like speaking up for what you believe in because no one else is going to do it for you. No one's going to be like, oh, this is great. You should believe in yourself. You need to show people this is worth it. I believe in it. And then people will see eventually what you're trying to show to the world, hopefully.
LIZA: You’ve also taken many different steps to promote yourself— You were on the reality craft show, Craftopia. What made you apply to that show? What's the biggest takeaway that you had from that show?
JADE: What was so interesting was that I actually applied to Making It on NBC before the Craftopia auditions happened and then I didn't get accepted to Making It. I was pretty bummed you know? Rejection doesn't feel good on any level. Then about two weeks later, I had an agency scout me on Instagram and reach out. I was like, oh, yeah, you know, let me get some more information. I'm interested. I want to make sure you're not a bot. And push came to shove I did some auditions. And I kept making it through the next round and the next round. I was like, hey is this going anywhere? Is this the last one? Is this the last one? And then I think after two months of auditions, I did one big one.
I thought this was so cool. I got to be on the episode I wanted to be on, which was the Christmas episode, because Christmas is my favorite holiday. I was stoked. And it was with two other paper artists. So it was three contestants. And each of our styles are so unique. I was so excited to like work with paper artists.
I have a large network of artist friends back home. The actual acts of working together and creating together doesn't really happen often, so even though we were all on a show together competing against each other, we were so friendly. And we are all still friends. It was such like a tiring day, but a beautiful experience. One woman, Sherri she is the board queen and she is a more sustainable designer. She tries to upcycle cardboard and just recycles. I think her message with how to repurpose materials is important. Looking forward with climate change. And then Jeff is fantastic. He just did work for Cartier, but he's a paper sculptor.
LIZA: You usually work alone in your room. Is it different when you're on TV? There are cameras everywhere. Is that a bit more pressure and intimidating? Or were you able to keep calm and chill and in the zone?
JADE: It's kind of both. Half of my brain is in the zone—I'm like all right, I know what I need to do. Like my time management has to be precise because origami takes so fucking long that if I redo something, it might take a week, it might take a month. You know, depending on what it is. So I mapped out exactly what I needed to do. But I think I was just really nervous too—because you're like filming. You want to look decent. They would give me blotting sheets for my face because I was sweating—It was interesting because I don't think I really understood how much work went into capturing good footage. I quickly realized that it's not only the videographers, but it's also who they're capturing. We have to make sure that they are getting what they need from us.
LIZA: Oh my God. I can't imagine doing that. I get stressed even if I know how to do something. The moment anyone watches me do something— It's like when your manager stands like behind you when you're like typing something.
JADE: Yeah like if you were not there then you could nail it.
LIZA: I'm sure it was a great tool kind of to get your work out there and like you said connect more with like the paper world— have you been able to connect with that art community in LA?
JADE: So I do follow some LA art event accounts on Instagram and I just saw that they had a panel discussion of paper artists maybe a month or two ago. So I was thinking about reaching out to see if I could inquire how to be a part of the panel or whatever event, maybe. I'm just more interested in getting my foot in the door that way.
But I actually did my first art show in LA last summer. It was like my first -oh god this is cool. This was the first fancy art show that I’d ever done. They have the wristbands when you walk in. They check you in, the concierge opens the elevator for you, and there's champagne and wine. It was a group showing. There is maybe about 30 of us so it was a large show but I was able to meet so many awesome women. So many artists and my art network grew just a little bit more and it's so cool. I am honestly just eager to jump into the LA scene with open arms and just kind of soak up everything that I can.
LIZA: I feel like it's a great place because so many different art forms come together. It's just very inspiring sometimes to look at the different artists and their capabilities — it kind of improves your own work in a multitude of ways. I love going to art shows.
JADE: Everyone's story is just so beautiful and interesting, inspiring. And it's like, I feed off of that, you know, like, you feel love, like you give love.
Jade at Adobe Max - @svvan_origami
LIZA: Another big project that you did was the Adobe Max conference last year. You had a lead workshop. What is it like teaching origami now that you've gone from being a student to a master? What is it like teaching it to people who haven't really done it in the past? What are some tips that you would recommend to get into it and where to start?
JADE: Adobe Max was, I cannot tell you that —I think Beyond Wonderland was my moment, but Adobe was the real ‘aha’ moment. I remember when I got that email, it was six months prior, and I thought it was spam.
LIZA: Really?
JADE: Haha Yeah. You have to do your research because you're going to read some exciting stuff but it's when it feels too good to be true—you do your extensive research and everything said it was real and I was like okay let's just keep moving forward and just keep an eye on red flags. I just could not believe that I was contracted to teach three days from this accredited creative company, you know? I remember I would think some artists, people that I follow back in Minneapolis are doing so well and the kind of brands they're working with, like some of them are working with Lulu Lemon, some of them are working with Lancome. I know I shouldn't be like comparing myself but it's not really comparing myself. It's just more of how do I get those projects? How do I get there? Then I remember when I got Adobe I was just like why does this feel different? Why does it feel so good but it's a little bit more satisfying than if I did something for like Lulu Lemon let's say.
I thought about it a little bit more and I think it's because it's literally a creative company. This is the company that is like the top for anyone that does art to use their tools and they scouted me, and they wanted me to share my tactile art form to give their attendees a mental break from all of the lectures. All the tech stuff that they're coming out with. And at first, I was really nervous. I was like, oh my gosh, these are all professional artists in some way, and I'm going to teach them origami. 10,000 people for three days. I was the only artist that was there in my section for three days. And they had some vendors, but they would rotate out every day. It was a new vendor every day. So I felt lucky I got to be there for the entire experience.
My networking was awesome. And I got to meet so many people. And all of them really loved the projects that I did. So the way that I curated my workshop for Adobe was… I don't like to feed into like the stereotypical, oh, when people think of origami, they think of paper cranes. How do I repaint that image? How do I repaint everyone's idea of origami? So I made sure I did functional pieces that were fun. I did like a modular flower. Modular just means it takes more than one sheet of paper to finish. And it sounds a little intimidating, but it was so simple. And I walked, everyone through the steps. And every adult that finished an origami flower was so happy.
It made me feel so good because everyone is getting so much fulfillment and engagement. And I get to hear their stories. It was quite an experience folding that much origami with so many strangers but to be able to have it recharged me. That was exactly what I needed because I felt like I was having some self-doubt artistically and creatively. And after speaking to everyone, I was like, oh my God, this is what it feels like to be recharged around good creative energy.
LIZA: Well, like you mentioned, these are people who may sit in front of their computer all day. And I feel like origami is the type of practice where like you have to be present or you're going to mess something up or, you know, miss a step or like not do it properly.
JADE: So that is a thing too about what I also try to teach with my origami classes is that technically, yes, you want everything to be as perfect and as precise as possible, but what I realized is that if I literally folded like that for every project it would take 10 years to do anything and it was just more me telling the students it's okay if it's not perfect. You need to enjoy the motions of like creating this and then over time it will be perfect. Even if you made it perfectly — if you don't enjoy the motions of creating the flower- or whatever I was teaching— it's not going to satisfy you. Step one has to happen before step two. So, I try to teach them that not everything has to be perfect. But, I realize these are all artists and all they do is make perfect stuff. Yeah, kind of shot myself in the foot with that one.
LIZA: It’s more about expression than being perfect. So, is there any project that stands out to you amongst all of your work?
JADE: I feel like there is. I'm trying to think of which one is my favorite. I'm only thinking because there is one that is… it was my first, my only piece on surrealism, and I definitely want to do more work on surrealism. It's my piece called Reflection. So it's a little bit more spooky, but the colors that I used for it were a deep maroon and like a really nice metallic gold. And I think what I wanted to create became more than what I intended. I wanted to execute, let's say like a level five which I thought was like the max—but I instead executed at a level eight and I was like I fucking love this piece. It's so crazy because the way that I went about it was I've never made a surrealist piece before so started at doing wacky stuff. I did a bunch of weird makeup and took a bunch of really weird photos of myself. And I just played with the contrast. I played with it and tried to get inspiration. Like what does this make me feel? And then that reflection piece is literally my photo. But it's just distorted and touched up a little bit but I would probably say that would be my favorite piece. I never thought I could make origami artistic and dark and impactful, and I feel like I was able to check all those boxes with Reflection.
I think my second favorite one was Twilight— my two black panels with the dark with the deeper purples and the grays. I also tried to emulate darker feelings but with just florals. It's really funny because origami is my medium but flowers is my medium so it's almost like I have to make my medium before I use my medium which is interesting to think about.
LIZA: Are there any other ways that you get inspired, whether it's through something you see outside or music or film?
JADE: Honestly, I feel like I'm always kind of like a hamster on the wheel. I'm always like aware and looking for inspiration everywhere in life. A grocery store, at the mall, like a window display maybe, maybe like the colors, the scalloped freaking pattern they had. I feel like with technology, there are so many ways you can improve your space. You can use art in your life that if I can pay attention to every single detail, what I think will be coming up to trend, what colors I think will be happening. That is like my forecast. I have to pay attention to literally everything around me. And then I do my best to predict and forecast what I think will be trendy. And then how do I make that into my own, right? I don't want to just comply with whatever I think the color palette will be popular for 2024. But which colors resonate with me? Which ones do I think would really get the emotions through that I want people to feel? I hope that people look at this piece and feel exactly what I feel, you know? And it's tricky. It's so tricky because now I'm using paper that is just solid with no patterns. So I need to be very intentional with playing with dimension placement style of florals, even quantity, negative space. Every single thing matters and that's why I love my art so much. It is every single cell of my soul that I'm manifesting and I get to hold it and share it— it’s cool.
Jade in her studio - @svvan_origami
BECCA: You’ve found a way to cultivate your art in a way that works best for you to communicate yourself.
LIZA: So, what is the biggest takeaway that you want people to know about origami? How would you recommend for someone to get started? What would be that first step that somebody would have to take to get into it?
JADE: Honestly I think with so many resources now that people can just go on YouTube and find so many easy approachable ways to get started that I think would be comfortable. When people start learning something, they want to succeed. They don't want to suck at it. So the idea is that you start with the stuff that you can execute and then you work from there. So I think videos on YouTube were the easiest when I was learning and I still learn this way because it's how I've always done it is just through books and pictures and diagrams. If I can't figure it out just by looking at those diagrams, then I will go to the videos. I feel like I'm cheating if I go straight to the videos.
LIZA:: That's so funny that you draw to a paper source instead of a video.
JADE: And I guess the biggest takeaway I would like to voice is not about informing people, but more about origami in general. It changed my life. Being able to have the courage to listen to your heart when it's scary and to have the ability to continue trusting in yourself, to have that confidence, to build that love for yourself.
Origami means everything to me. I'm just so privileged to be able to have the opportunity to make this stuff and share it. Listening to my heart changed my life. Origami gave me the courage. It gave me my identity. It pushed me through really tough times. That's my longest love.
LIZA: You are exactly the reason why we started this publication. Your art brings so much joy and hope. It’s so beautiful to see you put yourself out there.
BECCA: I love this. Exactly what Liza said. Every artist at our center, we all have our own issues and way of dealing with things. Some people have yet to find their way and some are constantly exploring ways to share their voices. I think it’s cool to hear your story, not only do we hear you getting yourself out of something old and into something new, but you also then found ways to share it and find positivity and connection through community. It’s a creative fulfillment that pours back into itself.
LIZA: Life is so short, and the fact that you took it back into your own hands and left a job that was unfulfilling. The most important thing, and I think we forget in the modern world, is to listen to ourselves. I hope that people reading this piece get inspired by what you do and follow their dreams.
JADE: My work is to keep origami in my life is ongoing…I feel like if you want it, you'll make it happen. That's all.
Thank you Jade for taking the time to speak with us. It’s so inspiring to see you chase and exist in your dream! To keep up with all the latest work from Svvan Origami follow her Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/svvan_origami/
