Fish – a good idea on paper

During a visit to the Suma Aqualife Park in Japan a few months ago, I came across a captivating display of little origami sea creatures arrayed across an entire wall. The lighting was not right for photos at the time but I’ve since found a great collection of these online, most notably — and surely in a class by themselves — the astonishing origami works by the master Won Park, made from US dollar bills, including the one above (admittedly a freshwater fish but give me a little poetic license here). So if you are far from the ocean but still pine for its hypnotic roar, a few highlights of salty origami from around the web, beginning with one of my favorites (click on the photos for links to the source):

Here’s one’s for you Helen:

The winner for minimalist elegance:

Happy feet (note how the precisely folded dollar makes an eye of the swirl and a white beak):

To the reef:

Let’s not forget the elasmobranchs:

. . . nor neglect our spineless friends:

OK, I changed my mind. This is my new favorite (via Julia Whitty’s origami ocean):

Probably best not to try this one at home kids:

So far this is the only origami gelatinous zooplankter I’ve run across:

And last, but far from least, the elusive mermaid — complete with bikini, or at least that part of a bikini that a modest mermaid might wear: