It is a commonly held belief that Goldfish have a short-lived memory:
I have no idea if this is true, but suspect it is complete bunk. Continue reading
Author: wonko
867: (317/365) Not Drowning, Waving?
This time of year is horrible. The plain truth of it is that, for a teacher, we have more marking than a reasonable person can do, and deadlines that seem impenetrable:
I guess it is why teachers in Australia are payed the big bucks, right? Continue reading
866: (316/365) Iris Butterfly
The online Origami community is rich and supportive. Last night Kade Chan shared his publicly diagrammed “Iris Butterfly” diagrams via Fakebook and knew I had to try it:
I used a fake US dollar bill, but it is actually designed for a Hong Kong dollar (which I think is a little less long and a little wider) – the proportions of the note would change the wing shape subtly. Continue reading
865: (315/365) 11/11/2017 Lest We Forget
The poppy has become a symbol of remembrance, reverence and honour:
A humble flower capable of thriving in the harshest of conditions, flourishing under duress with a beautiful, if short-lived ephemeral flower. Something existential to learn here for all of us. Continue reading
864: (314/365) 6-part Rhombicuboctahedron
…yes, I know, a day late but, meh! Always on the look out for fascinating geometry, I had put this 6-part Rhombicuboctahedron, designed by David Mitchell, in my “fold this when you get a moment” pile:
6 relatively simple modules interlock to make a fascinating ball-like structure but the devil is in the details. Continue reading
863: (313/365) Casa Blanca
I always find it remarkable that with relatively few folds, we can hint at a shape so familiar that our minds go nuts and full in the visual context:
This is Roman Diaz’s “Casa Illusione”, a faux 3D dwelling that nicely plays with light, angle, perspective and proportion.
I chose to fold it white (Casa Blanca) with a terracotta roof, and imagine it perched on some Tuscan hillside, awaiting my return after a hard day wining and dining at some cantina.
862: (312/365) The Night King
Now I am as much a fan of Game of Thrones as the next person, but I do like a good ice zombie as a baddie:
This is Nick Robinson’s “Hairy Man”, but I think it is much more demonstrative of an icy undead monster. Continue reading
861: (311/365) Tessellated Star Box
I saw a photo sequence of a tessellation that was fashioned into a box and knew I had to try it:
Well, I say tessellation, but really this is just one molecule, but it is none the less beautiful. Continue reading
860: (310/365) Pizza Slice
You know, I thought I understood Pizza, then I went to Naples, Italy, and realised I knew nothing about pizza at all:
There are moments in your life when things just make sense – that moment of clarity where the perfect combination of crushed tomato, basil and mozzarella on a thin crisp base spends 90 seconds in the wood fired oven and emerges perfect in every way. Continue reading
859: (309/365) Jumping Frog
The traditional world of Origami has many classic folds, it is constantly amazing to me how few of them I have actually folded:
This is a traditional jumping from – well, at least one version of it. The mechanism is simple and relies on paper thickness to provide a spring on the back legs. You gently press between the back legs and as the paper flips out from under your finger, the frog hops – ingenious. Continue reading
858: (308/365) Pollywog
Sometime a simple model has a charm of its own:
This tadpole is a relatively simple exercise in box pleating to isolate tail and back legs but the shaping is lovely. Continue reading
857: (307/365) Maekawa’s One Sheet Flower Stalk
Many origami designers have tried to pack lots of details into the one sheet. I have folded Brian Chan’s One sheet Rose many times but I like the simplicity of this flower, stem and leaves:
Using some interesting box pleating and colour management make a rather nice simple flower atop a divided stem and pair of leaves. Continue reading
856: (306/365) Brillex Cube
I am always on the lookout for interesting folded geometry:
A modular exploration, designed by David Brill is usually interesting and these Brillex cubes seem fascinating. Continue reading
855: (305/365) White Rabbits!
As is customary on the first day of a new month, we say “white rabbits!”:
This is an old design, and I am not sure i have the shaping quite right yet. Akira Yoshizawa is credited as founding modern Origami and this is one of his designs. Continue reading
854: (304/365) … you make One Fairy Cry …
Australia does not really have a tradition of Halloween, it seems to me a cultural import that encourages the worst sort of excesses – a point I tried to explain to a small halloweenie dressed as a fairy who came knocking on my door on this day a few years back:
It did not go as well as planned, needless to say I am now labelled “the grinch” of our street and little kids scuttle past our place in costume afraid of the bad man in that house. Continue reading