Janey Swanson looks at the paper creations bringing joy to young hospital patients
Alex Ray’s paper creations bring joy to young hospital patients. Janey Swanson finds out more.
ALEX RAY can work magic with a sheet of paper. By making a series of creases and folds, he can turn it into an ancient Chinese dragon, a king cobra, an owl, a frog or a scaly anteater!
“I’ve loved origami since I was eight years old,” Alex reveals. “My dad taught me how to fold paper into a Samurai warrior’s hat and I progressed to making paper water bombs – a skill I shared with my friends!”
Alex’s interest in origami continued through school and university, and when he became a primary teacher, he often taught pupils how to make basic origami models.
“Origami takes you into a different world,” he says. “It’s therapeutic and has helped me through the tough times.
“When my dad suffered a stroke a few years ago, making intricate origami models took my mind off everything that was going on.”
As a result of his dad’s illness, Alex changed careers and became Activity Centre Co-ordinator at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children.
“I play guitar and sing with children who are undergoing treatment.
“I also do craft work, including origami, with them,” Alex explains.
“Creating origami models is a good distraction for these young patients – it’s almost like a magic show.
“I also teach some of the children, too, as they love making origami models. Once they’ve grasped the basics, they often teach their parents.
“One eight-year-old patient enjoyed it so much, he started his own origami ‘school’ and taught the other kids!
“One day, just before I went on holiday, I showed a fifteen-year-old patient how to fold an origami crane.
“When I returned from holiday, she’d made a thousand!
“Cranes are a sign of good luck. She gave most of her models to the hospital, so these elegant paper birds could share their good fortune with the other children undergoing treatment.”
When lockdown began last year, Alex decided to create the complicated origami models he’d never had the time to do.
“Making origami models helped me get through lockdown, especially those never-ending weekends.” Alex laughs. “My passion for origami went a bit crazy!”
During lockdown, Alex made over 200 intricate origami models, including a highly complex ancient Chinese dragon.
“For years, I’d wanted to fold this dragon, and it was just as tricky as I expected – but very rewarding,” he says.
Yoda, one of the iconic Star Wars characters, was another of the origami models Alex made, and he also folded a 10-foot sheet of paper into a king cobra, which involved a week of creasing and concentration.
“I also created several dinosaur skeletons,” he adds. “Each one was made from up to sixty pieces of paper, so this was very time consuming.
“My favourite lockdown creation was my pangolin, or spiny anteater, which was folded from a one-metre sheet of paper and took two weeks.
“I felt an enormous sense of achievement when I completed the pangolin, which is now in pride of place in my lounge.”
Alex made so many origami models that he ran out of places to display them.
“I gave many of them to the children at the hospital,” Alex says.
He has recently started making his own paper.
“I really enjoy the whole process,” he says. “From making paper to spending hours folding a sheet into a model.
“Origami requires patience, perseverance and persistence. There are times when I have to put a model to one side as it’s just not working, but after a few weeks I’ll return to an abandoned model and, usually, everything clicks into place.
“I think my dad, who passed away last year, would be delighted to know the hobby he introduced me to all those years ago has given me, and the children at the hospital, so much pleasure.” ■