Have you struggled with finding face masks amid the coronavirus? Here is the solution: Jiangmei Wu, a professor at Indiana University of The Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design, has taught the general public how to fold a face mask using origami.
With Professor Wu’s extensive research on origami in her career, she implies that her idea of ‘Fold-a-Face Mask’is based on “a response to a crisis”. “My brother in Hong Kong called me in January that there was a shortage of surgical masks in Hong Kong. And I couldn’t find any here either,”she shared in her recent interview with You May magazine. In view of this and within a couple of hours, Wu came up with the design of the face mask using origami, the technique of her expertise. “This paper-based face mask decomposes better thus it is more environmentally friendly,”she emphasized. And as one can see in the video, it is very simple to make.
Born and raised in China, Professor Wu was a graduate of Urban Planning and Design at Tongji University in Shanghai in 1989. She then came to the US to further her studies in interior design at Indiana University. After that, she landed on her feet and did various jobs in different industries in the country. However, her passion in design did not stop her from pursuing another Masters degree in the 2000s. She is currently an interdisciplinary scholar teaching at Indiana University and artist making designs and installations involving mathematics, science and engineering. She even holds a few US patents for her innovative design techniques.
When talking about her road to success in America, Professor Wu encourages You May readers to be part of the American community and to reach out to people in the community. ‘Don’t just identify yourself as a Chinese woman in American but identity yourself as part of America.’
For more information about Professor Wu’s face mask making, please visit:
https://research.impact.iu.edu/coronavirus/origami-face-mask-pattern.html