One of the interesting things about being associated with “Pinterest” is that their algorithms continually look for stuff it thinks will interest you. Given I only browse Origami, I get some interesting leads. I saw a triangle-based tessellation/corrugation and did a little digging:
Seems Ron Resch, in the early 1970’s, was heavily into paper-based corrugation and this design emerged around then. The basis of this fold is 2 triangle grids, one at twice the scale of the other, offset at 30 degrees to the other. It took me a couple of failed attempts to get the crease layout to work but in retrospect is is much simpler than it seems.
Over the last few years I have played with origami tessellations – the theory of a repeatable pattern that interacts with other repeats (molecules) is fascinating and a real testament to the accuracy of the pre-folding. As part of another project, I have been exploring triangle grids, and a devilishly tricky to collapse hex-cell tessellation by Robert Lang he calls “Honeycomb”.
Robert Lang’s Honeycomb Tessellation
After folding this a number of times, and then schematicizing the molecule, I noticed that “cells” were deep and, due to the nature of the collapsed layers inside I did not think they were very tidy nor kept their shape nicely. All to often, in origami design, paper thickness is disregarded in the theoretical collapse – in this case hiding away most of the paper in canyons between cells deforms them in ugly ways.
Original Lang molecule (right) and my shallow modified one (left) – same size paper
I started playing with the corner mechanism, and discovered I could halve the height of the cell wall, making the tuck much less bulky and doubling the size of the resultant folded field on the same bit of paper. Additionally it held itself together nicely with edges that are easy to stabilise. With a little practice (I am sure my work colleagues thought me obsessed, given the number of times I folded this tessellated field) I was ready to scale up … well, down in truth as I folded a “tiny” triangle grid on my target mustard leather-grain paper and then set the corner widgets before collapse only to then realise that folding this small was a real challenge with my nerve damaged, fat clumsy fingers.
CP of molecule (red=Mountain, blue=Valley) Thick lines are visible edges, thin are hiddenContinue reading →
I hate throwing things out – having cut the biggest 2×1 rectangle possible from an A2 sheet, I was left with a lovely thin strip of scrap:
I was playing with a corrugation, with the view to design a millipede, but stumbled across a molecule that I then tessellated along the length. Continue reading →
The international origami community recently learned of the death of Frances Ow:
Francis was an active and beloved member of the Singapore Origami group, and sadly I never had the privilege of meeting him in the real world. But, via the magic that is the Internet I have been personally encouraged and supported by him over both of my recent 365 challenges. You can try this Tsuru Wreath for yourself – one of many designs he shared freely. Continue reading →
On the way home from the Doctor, I chanced upon a sign outside a re-purposed Scout den just up from the road from me. I googled it, as you do “Wellers Hill Arts Hub” and discovered, to my delight, that one of the member groups was Queensland Papermakers and Artists.I contacted the president, via email, and was invited to the first meeting this year. How wonderful – a room full of talented artists, all passionate paper makers and me, someone who wants to learn how to make paper and fold the handmade sheets – huge potential. Continue reading →
When I first saw this modular, it broke my brain, but knew I wanted to fold it. I looked and looked for instructions and finally reached out to Leong Chen Chit, through connections to Sydney Origami Group on fakebook:
Units for this model are folded from an ‘almost’ half a4 sheet, through an ingenious geometric construction you get a fan fold that can then be mutated into the basic unit. Continue reading →
As I relax from the 365 challenge, I am finally getting the need to fold again:
Fractal folding is relaxing and yet challenging, Shuzo Fujimoto’s Hydrangea fractal seems to be able to be tessellated also.
In these 2 folds I experimented with different densities of repeat, discovering that accuracy matters – a fraction of a millimeter initially magnifies as the folding progresses. Continue reading →
It is a little known fact that mice used to originally be triangular – the closer to a right angle triangle, the more genetically successful apparently*:
This charming model is designed by Makoto Yamaguchi, a quirky fold that I found when browsing Tanteidan 106. Continue reading →
Interestingly, paper folding developed independently in most countries that made paper. In China, traditional folding included objects like this:
This is a modern interpretation of a Zhen Xian Bao – a traditional thread case. Even cursory research on teh interwebs reveals astonishing combinations of these little compartments, nested in other compartments.
This fold was designed by Paula Versnick, and has 7 separate compartments of varying size, that all lock together into a charming little book. Continue reading →
I have a long and terrifying “fold me” list of models I will one day get around to – this was on it:
An excruciating fractal tessellation that eats paper like few other folds, based on spiral collapses of a dodecagon that then gets turned inside out to make the next level to collapse.
The unfold and re-collapse stages (I did 3, but theoretically could keep going getting smaller and smaller) looks like it is going to hell in a handbasket, then it sort of just sorts itself out in a magic sort of way. Continue reading →
Christmas is many things to many people. For me it is another chance to get together with family and catch up over a shared feast:
I hope that wherever you find yourself, you stay safe and look after each other, share some joy, love, hugs and laughter. Merry Christmas, ho ho ho and all that humbug. Continue reading →
When looking for a simple fold, one’s attention naturally falls on a torturous corrugation-based model that takes an age to fold (not):
This is Maarten Van Gelder Caterpillar – an exhaustive corrugation executed on an 8×1 rectangle (although I think it would be more effective on even longer paper). Continue reading →
Continuing the modular bent, I had bookmarked this fold in my collection of Tanteidan magazines as a “must try”:
This is Jun Maekawa’s “Spikey Cube” – a 6 part modular that only holds itself together when the last part is slotted in place. The locking mechanism is difficult to master initially, and seemingly different each corner. Continue reading →
