Blue River Arts Council presents a solo exhibit “Origami Illustrations” by paper artist Linda Stephen in May and June 2025. The exhibit at the Crete Public Library features intricate origami collages that celebrate the beauty in the parks and people around us. See also close up origami art featured in the award-winning picture book The Day We Went to the Park. The exhibit is open during library hours:
9 a.m. -5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Friday; 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday & Thursday; 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Closed holidays.
Meet the artist, learn about Japanese paper arts, and join a special workshop “Color Our World with Origami” on Saturday June 7 in the crafts room at the library to try your own hand at folding and inventing with paper.
Linda Stephen’s origami landscapes are part of collections around the world, from the Mayor’s Office in Omihachiman, Japan to the J.W. Marriott in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She exhibits nationally and presents programs on origami, Japanese paper arts, invention, and writing to schools, libraries, museums, senior centers, parks, and arts centers nationwide.
Her picture book The Day We Went to the Park won a Nebraska Book Award for illustration is part of library collections across Nebraska and the U.S. Fluent in Japanese, Linda lived and worked in Japan for six years.