With his innovative designs, internationally known author John Montroll has substantially expanded the origami repertoire. The American origami master, best known as the creator of the single-square, no-cuts, no-glue method, provides precisely constructed folding sequences that result in superior models with fewer steps.5 Questions with John Montroll: An Exclusive Dover InterviewWe sat down with Montroll to explore his influences, the impact of math on origami, and his vision for the future of the artform. What drew you to origami in the first place, and who or what influenced you? I had several Japanese-style books when I was six years old. Where do you get your ideas for your unique models?

I had to build them up since I wanted to make origami where each model could be folded from a single uncut square. Creating has always come naturally to me since I was a child. I'd make up whatever I wanted to fold. My models weren't really impressive, but I had fun exploring and discovered that there was no end in sight.

My work changed throughout time as I learned new techniques and philosophies in the art of origami. I can now state that coming up with new, theme-related ideas and authoring books inspires me. Do you believe that origami and mathematics have a significant connection? There is a lot of math involved: geometry, algebra, trigonometry, and so on.

in the folding structure that can be used to build and control folding methods and designs In my Dover books Origami and Math and Classic Polyhedra Origami, math is employed extensively. Even yet, arithmetic isn't required, and there are many aspects of origami that don't require it. Even though math was used in the model's design, the folder does not need to grasp it.

Do you use origami into your lesson planning as a teacher? Maybe we have days where we do origami, such as before holidays. But, I must confess that I do not employ origami in my math classes! There are more people involved, more ideas have been explored, and more styles and approaches have been used.

More people will be able to investigate and find their unique passion as the future unfolds. One more question!