About

Linda Tomoko Mihara has been folding origami since the age of five. She is the Granddaughter of Tokinobu Mihara, author and publisher of Origami- Japanese Art Of Paper Folding, volumes 1 and 2, two of the first origami books written in English in the 1950's.

For over 20 years, Linda has been known for her work with Sembazuru, or the art of one thousand origami cranes. She has been called an origami magician as she creates framed artwork for weddings using the cranes as her palette. Her custom designs include traditional family crests, modern kimonos, fans and waves.

Linda specializes in the art of CONNECTED CRANES where a sheet of paper is carefully cut then folded, forming multiple cranes that are still attached to each other. In 1994, her exploration into this form of origami led to the creation of a three-dimensional sphere of 18 cranes called the Peace Sphere. Following this, Linda created the Crane Cube, a three-dimensional cube of 54 cranes which was premiered at the 2005 Masters of Origami exhibit in Salzburg, Austria. The Crane Pyramid followed and was premiered in Houston, Texas at Tansu's 2006 Origami Festival.

Linda's many on air appearances include KRON-TV News Weekend (S.F.), Evening Magazine (S.F.), and the Carol Duvall Show (HGTV). She has been featured in the Cherry Blossom Festival edition of Dennis the Menace comics as well in numerous local news publications and magazines. Her clients include Bank of America, the Wall Street Journal, Industrial Light and Magic, VISA, Chanel, Hiroko Koshino parfumes and Saks Fifth Avenue. Commercial credits include Mitsubishi Motors and Febreze.

Active in the San Francisco Cherry Blossom Festival since 1968, Linda continues to teach origami there to festival attendees from around the world. She has also taught at San Francisco's Asian Art Museum and the Academy Of Sciences.

Linda is married and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area where she is currently working on her first origami book.