I was gifted some beautiful but fragile rice paper (paper made with rice plant fibre) that is flecked with gold leaf:
Soft, fabric like I realised it was fairly useless as a folding medium so, armed with some freshly prepared MC, I plastered it to a window in the hope that the addition of sizing to the paper would make it useable. Continue reading
plant
428: Hibiscus Flower
My wife and I spent some time in a rainforest cabin – whilst there I folded this week’s WTF#3:
On a tropical theme, I left the model for the cabin owner as a thank you for a lovely time away.
A simple, slightly asymmetric fold that teases an odd number of petals, stamen and stem, cleverly managing the layers so the flower face and stamen would be one colour, stem another if I used duo paper.
I was looking for a simple fold and amongst my Tanteidan magazines I spied this figure, designed by Yamaguchi Makoto – must try it with colourful paper.
No one was able to discern it was even a flower – very disappointing people!
409: Wedding Blossoms
A little over a year ago, my daughter as part of the very early planning stages for her wedding asked (in only the way a daughter can) if we could do something different with the flowers:
After much looking around, experimentation and reject schemes we came up with a 5-sheet rose (4 2×1 rectangles for the petals and 1 square for the calyx) secured by wire to make pose-able stems. We have folded for a year, making hundreds of blooms, to be deployed in each of the floral components of the ceremony and reception.
Bouquets
The original idea was to create enough flowers so the bouquet was a little wider than a hemisphere – each containing 3½-4 dozen roses based on 2 colour schemes: the bride wanted dark blue with occasional white blooms, the bridesmaids were predominantly white with occasional sky-blue blooms.
After the roses were stemmed and calyxed, the were wrangled into bunches, stems bent equidistant from the bud to later help in the whole ball effect.
We then bound the wire in white gaffer tape to form a preliminary handle and the tweaked the flowers to be evenly distributed and ball-shaped. On the evening before the wedding we added baby’s breath (gypsophylla) and a sheath of spathyphyllum and bound them with florists green tape (a goopy, stretchy stuff that sticks on contact).
The morning of the wedding I then frapped (macramé term) the handles with white ribbon, trimmed the tail and they were done
– every bit as lovely as I had imagined them, perfect foil to the lovely bridal party.
Buttonholes
Grooms-men, parents and siblings needed a buttonhole – single bloom, amidst baby’s breath, atop a sprig of asparagus fern from the garden.
The scheme was simple – powder blue for the grooms-men to match the bridesmaids bouquets, white for parents and siblings.
We wrapped them with florists tape to store-bought brooch pins, presto, done
– quite smart I think and a nice tie in to the rest of the floral theme.
Table Decorations
To tie in the floral accents, we decided to do something with flowers on the tables, containing all the colours we used (3 shades of blue and white).
Originally it was going to be just a sheath or arrangement, but the bride to be found candle holders so I found wicker rings that encircled those, then we made circular wreaths of randomly scattered blooms.
The day before the reception, we added baby’s breath and twigs off our needed to be pruned miniature camellia from the garden, creating lush and beautiful garlands which, when the candles were lit were really magical. I was a little concerned that the waterproofing spray (a plasticiser I thought might be necessary to stop moisture making the petals droop) would increase the flammability but all was safe in the end.
Guest Gifts
We wanted each guest to leave with a little of the floral loveliness, and also tie in who was at what table, where.
We hatched a plan to make a bloom for everyone, attached an embossed leaf to each (bone-folder to impress “veins”) and hand-written names for all invited guests.
Those that could not make it will receive their blooms via some other means – nice memento of what was a lovely wedding.
407: Chan’s One-Sheet Rose
Browsing Origami Tanteidan 12th Convention, I noticed a seemingly impossible fold:
Brian Chan is an amazing designer (Attack of the Kraken is one of his) and this flower is an ingenious, if intense, use fo a coloured square of paper.
If the paper was coloured green one side, red the other, then the way this design turns out the green bits of the flower and the red petals sort themselves out appropriately – amazing.
I only had some glossy red (a cheapo pack of coloured origami paper that loses colour all over your fingers) but persevered with it, despite the mess and the tiny size.
I still have to master the flower shaping, it sort of looks correct (and I have no doubt if i wet-folded or used methyl cellulose I could mould it more naturally , but I am happy I have got the hang of the fold.
I used a 25cm red/white square and that is hard work – some of the accordion pleats are tiny, but it worked out ok. My second fold was a 45cm brown kraft fold that was easier to complete.
Interestingly, the box-pleating technique to raise the leaf is similar to the “dollar flower” I have been folding from the cut-offs from A3 squares, so found that part of the model really easy. The technique of raising the colour-changed petals for the rosebud is ingenius.
396: Cutting Out The Deadwood
It is rare that an idea comes to me so fully formed as this, but I was doodling with a sheet of copy paper and started thinking about forming an organic shape, initially by crumpling (which is sort of cheating) and later via pleats:
Nature is odd, working in 3’s and 5’s looks much more natural so I decided on a pentagon, decided against a regular one and plopped that in the centre-ish of a sheet. The challenge was to collapse to that pentagon, the theory was that pentagon would form the rootstock and the rest of the paper would be the trunk. Continue reading
395: Showing Off
Our local council library has a large glass display case that usually has things on show for a month. I cautiously asked one of the librarians if she thought some origami would interest patrons and she was very enthusiastic:
There are around 200 models now on show at Holland Park Library for June and I am quite chuffed about that.
Dragging 3 large tidy-tubs of models, most of which I had left over from the 365 Origami Auction, they fill the case rather completely.
You can see models designed by me amongst designs by such luminaries as Kade Chan, Robert Lang, Eric Joisel and many others.
In addition, I was asked to run a workshop in the first week of my school holidays for interested folders (10 years old and up) – see the Holland Park Library website for details and bookings if you are interested.
The only question that begs answer is what the floop I do with these lovelies AFTER the month on show? Suggestions welcome … dear reader?
389: Kusudama Dafina
I saw Tadashi Mori demonstrating a Kawasaki Rose-based modular and thought I would give it a whirl:
Having failed miserably every other attempt to fold a Kawasaki Rose, I was chuffed to succeed this time.
I want to say I will fold this again – it took an age and although I was impressed with the rose, the modular attachments (tabs and pockets) did not positively hold it together (I cheated in the end and stapled them together).
Each rose is a masterpiece of box pleating prep work followed by a beautiful spiral collapse. Happy to be finished it tho.
378: Be My Valentine
So today is Valentines Day, and rather than buy into that commercial thing, I thought a more personal touch was required:
Using 4 2×1 rectangles, some tight pleating and curling, and some florist’s wire to keep them together we have some rather lovely roses.
I happened to have some lustrous red metallic paper from a “going out of business” craft store sale and it does look rather pretty. I also fashioned some calyxes out of a dark green stock paper to complete the look (and hide the wire twist).
Fiddly but shapely, and a little cheaty (the wire and a dob of tarzan’s grip to keep the calyx up) but all is fair in love and paper folding, right? I must investigate some foliage to fill out the arrangement. She liked them, that was the main thing <3
363: Tree of Wisdom
You know that feeling when you plan (and see quite clearly in your head) something and then it turns out exactly like you envisaged it? This is one of those moments:
I had a model fail on a large sheet of lithography paper and considered binning the resultant crumpled mess, but remembered an origami technique pioneered by Paul Jackson in 1972 called “crumpling”. You take a piece of paper (I carefully unfolded the model fail) and systematically crumple it, unfold it, re-crumple in a different place and direction, unfold and repeat. The result is a deliciously textured and malleable sheet that can then be formed, when dampened slightly, into lovely organic shapes.
I had this idea of a gnarled tree (modelled on a bonsai I have had since before my 23yo son was born) and so set about fashioning one, twisted and poorly pruned though it is. I then wet it, and bound it with a little twine while it dried.
Atop this lovely tree is the most lovely owl by Hideo Komatsu – I have held off folding this because he is designed to be perched (as in he does not stand on flat surface but rather sits astride some horizontal thing. 1+1=a million. I love this, it is still making me smile and I know the perfect thing for him – sorry, NO auction for this one.
It is so rare that an idea so perfectly matches the expression of that idea but this is one such occasion. I have learnt so much about myself and paper over the course of this year that this model seems fitting as the project winds up.
329: Xmas Trees
Synchronicity happens – i was asked by my lovely wife if I could make an origami xmas tree – I said I would have a look, and did – there were lots to choose from but then came a posting on the British Origami Society mailing list with possibly the best design of them all:
Designed by Francesco Guarnieri, demoed by Sara Adams here, this beautiful modular is a very clever design. Sure, it is a little labour intensive but wow!
Held in shape by paper tension, lovely pendulous layers interlock and sit atop a snarly trunk, each tree probably takes about an hour and a half but it is a thing of beauty.
I made 4 – naturally. One for the lady in the print room (one of my paper dealers), one for the library (then the TL asked where the angel was – she did not realise I was obsessive compulsive so I folded 4 small gold Brill angels) and 2 for the counter of my wife’s office.
Very happy with these, they look wonderful from all angles and are suitably festive as we creep ever so closer to holidays.
326: Rough End First
All too often we feel like we are dealt the “rough end” of the pineapple:
It is a curious expression that, I think at least, has something to do with inserting said pineapple in a pineapple-unfriendly place (makes my eyes water just thinking about it).
This is a pleated structure designed by David Petty and it contains techniques I will use elsewhere.
You can see the pineapple-like structure (squint, close one eye, through a mirror) … yeah, there it is and this design is meant to be folded with duo coloured paper, as the top would then be a different colour to the bottom – neat.
I have seen much larger paper sculptures using this “stretched pleated rib” technique and now I know how they were made, which is a good thing.
Paper and folding is taking up waaaay too much of my life right now – have other things I HAVE to do but will somehow muddle through,
288: Happy Birthday Gemma
A friend turns 40 tonight, and quite likes roses, so I thought a paper construction might compliment the rose bush we were taking as a suitable milestone:
Made from 40 pieces of paper, this is a variation of Maria Sinayskaya’s “Little Roses” kusudama (rose ball), a curious construction that features triplets of lightly bent petals that interlock in threes, making pentagonal vertices – the maths here does my head in.
Was lovely to catch up, Happy Birthday Gemma, and happy house-warming Mark, Gem, Jake and Kit.
277: Azalea
I realise I have not folded many flowers – in my opinion not a lot of them look like flowers:
This azalea is pretty good – yes my first fold is a little wonky but I can see how if I were to fold it again I could improve it.
A nice design using Rhodes double-bird base, I can see applications for this flower and may try it again when I am less busy.
238: Daffodil Day
In Australia, August 26 this year is nominated as “Daffodil Day”:
We celebrate the lives of those brave people who have fought cancer in all it’s forms – to do so we use a flower, the fragile symbol of hope and beauty:
I made a white one, then folded 4 in colour and scattered then strategically around my school. I remembered, if few others did initially. I do this in memory of some dear friends that lost the fight and suffer no more.
A complex and time-consuming fold, the flower head is dense and made, unusually from a hexagon cut from an A3 sheet, it collapses down to a life-size bloom via some interesting sinking, swivels and squash folds. An interesting (and cathartic) fold designed by Paul Jackson, taken from a book loaned to me by Amanda (thanks @ackygirl)
I hope you remembered Daffodil Day, or at the very least people you know who have been touched by Cancer.
198: Walkies (aka tree watering time)
We live in a fairly quiet suburb and we like (not often enough sadly) to go for walks – as do dog owners who do it as much to get some exercise as to “empty their pet”:
I saw this exercise in box pleating and thought it had promise – starting with a grid of 24ths, you collapse and form a dog with leg cocked.
The tree (as per the instructions) was merely a fan – I thought that a bit boring so added some extra pleating to make a couple of branches and proceeded to add a fork in the trunk and some semi-crumpled foliage. With a little more crumpling the shapes would be nice and soft and gum-tree foliage like which is what I was aiming for.
I left it angular, as homage to the original design and to make it explicit what I had done to modify it – love it or hate it, I am pretty chuffed it worked given how fiddly the dog was. The little wee doggy has nice ears, an open mouth, four nicely formed legs (one lifted against the tree) and a floppy tail – nice.