You're not tripping, you're in Oriland.
You can find Oriland at www.oriland.com, and it is intended to introduce children to the Japanese art of origami, or making figures out of paper. Oriland has been nominated as one of 11 finalists in the Original Work category of Cable & Wireless' 2002 Childnet Awards, to be held in Paris in April.
"With the help of Oriland.com, we tried to tell children and grown-ups about the wonderful world of origami and cheer them up a little, as well as help in developing the artistic abilities that everyone has," Russian site designer Yekaterina Shumakova says.
Shumakova and her husband, Yury, are professional origami artists and members of the OrigamiUSA society, according to the site. They have written several origami books and their models have been displayed throughout the world. Their zeal for the ancient art is apparent online.
The main page is graced with an origami castle and a bizarre, pink, bespectacled beast. At the top of the page, the site is divided into nine sections, each shaded in a different pastel color.
Begin your Oriland tour at the Learning Center, which has origami instructions. Lesson 1 teaches you step-by-step how to make a paper house, and by lesson 10, you've graduated to making a parrot. The Origami Studio section has instructions on making more complicated figures, while the Oriland Store allows you to buy special origami paper online.
The Origami Studio is a small online museum of figures, while the Origami Cafe keeps visitors up to date on any "hot origami news," including poetry contests for origami lovers.
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