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No, They Do Not All Workout As Planned.

| wonko

I _want_ to pretend that every bit of paper I touch turns into a magnificent model that everyone gasps at, but that is FAR from the truth. This is my FOURTH attempt at Shuki Kato’s “Western Dragon”. It joins a LARGE collection of landfill (discarded unsuccessful models) and was responsible for many BAD WORDS but I have just about calmed down and will lick my wounds before re-engaging with the demon paper.

This is a western dragon because, apparently, people in the west need “wings” to make a flying dinosaur make sense. In the East, wings are not necessary because they just fly – humans do not need to wonder how.

This is the furthest I have gotten with this model, and managed to wrangle all parts of the model (first attempt 2 years ago) but I did not achieve the head – it is supposed to be a glorious 12-horned snarling grimace (as opposed to the crumpled mess I made). Continue reading →

549: Fluffy the Cerberus

| wonko

Fans of Harry Potter will recognised “Fluffy” the 3-headed dog, Hagrid’s pet (oops, just outed myself as a Potter nerd).549cerberus

This is Satoshi Kamiya’s “Cerberus”, a rendition of a mythical beast that is an amazing design that in the end is really really fiddly.

Continue reading →

548: Making Your Dollar Go Further

| wonko

My son and his partner (Hi Matt and Alix!) came back from a recent trip to Canada and the US and had some greenbacks left over in their wallet.548moneyturtle

They are paper, you can fold them, there is a whole branch of Origami that does this intensively, led by artists like Won Park.

Continue reading →

543: Flock

| wonko

I try to mark the passing of Hiroshima Day August 6 with respect and effort.543FlockSml

Having folded the traditional 1000 cranes twice in my life (oddly, the second time my cranes were “borrowed” by a then campaigning year 11 for a community project where he received the credit and was subsequently elected School Captain … but I digress) so thought it time to try something new. Continue reading →

542: ‘Chu

| wonko

Pika, Pika, PIKA! Pika, Pik Pik Pikachu, pikachu? Pikachu. Pika? Pikachu. Such is the scripting necessary for a Pokemon standard character’s dialogue. Yeah, but…?542Pikachu

So I have started to fold again, I need to bend paper and finding models I am interested enough to fold seems to be an issue for me at the moment. In the interim, I figure I should continue to tap into pop-culture and fold some more Pokemon.542PikachuView

I know little about this universe but know of the passion people who have brand loyalty have, so that they are going out, meeting people, catching them all. Continue reading →

541: Charizard – GO!

| wonko

Now I am not of the generation that grew up with Pokemon, but seem surrounded by adults that were. Fandom/enthusiasm takes many forms and the latest augmented reality game “Pokemon GO!” is so hot right now I felt I had to fold a poke-thing because…reasons541CharizardCaught

I had seen a video tutorial from Tadashi Mori on a complex model called “Charizard” so thought I would give it a go. Squaring up a large sheet of crumpled VOG paper (I used red, the critter should be orange – not sure if it matters) and began folding.541Charizard

Turns out the tutorial was in 3 parts, and the model was really challenging, but I think I managed a reasonable rendition of the critter. Continue reading →

The Gardener

| wonko

People with “green thumbs” are a treasure to behold.Gardiner

As someone with a not-quite-green, more of a dirty yellow thumb I am in awe of people who delight in growing things.

Our College gardener/groundsman John has retired, while I am as jealous as anything, I know he will have a fabulous time. Ever friendly, it has been a pleasure to share a workplace with him. The College will miss his charming style, happy greetings and zeal for gardens.

He retired on the sly, which is the right way to escape our asylum – the exit rituals can be exhausting so I understand he went on term break and retired earlier than first advertised – good on him, I will probably try to do the same.

I made this figurine for him, as a way of saying thanks. I hope i get a chance to give it to him. Enjoy retirement John, may your gardens bloom and be ever greener on the other side of working life.

540: Parliament

| wonko

Voting is something democratic societies hold as an important right. Some counties have compulsory voting, most allow citizens to choose whether they want to vote – all too often the result is the same – groups of opinionated, empty-headed people are elected to represent the views of the common people.540Parliament4

Anyone who knows me, realises I take the political piss whenever I can – voting only encouraged politicians to think they are more important than the rest of us, but they are just us, right, paid to argue (usually paid a LOT more that those of us who enjoy a good argument). 540Parliament

We organise candidates into “parties”, “alliances” and “coalitions”, pick “leaders” and rally behind them like their personalities are what really matters. All too often, in the end, we end up with the government we deserve. Continue reading →

539: Triple Tsuru

| wonko

Continuing my exploration of Hiden Senbazuru Orikata (The Secret of One Thousand Cranes Origami), published in 1797 I managed to wrangle a triple Tsuru:539TriTsuru

The original schematic suggests that you use 2 small squares attached to the wings of the larger square, and I cannot fathom whether the dotted lines mean “remove” the unused paper or “hide” it. I chose to hide it.triTsuru

We end up with parent and 2 kids, joined at the wings. The actual folding is fairly fiddly and the paper hiding makes the head/tail of the parent very thick (or was it the paper I chose?) Continue reading →

538: Sock and Buskin

| wonko

After some fiddling, and diagramming (hopefully for the Sydney Folders Convention book) I am happy with the component parts of this original model:SockAndBuskin

The sock and buskin are two ancient symbols of comedy and tragedy. In Greek theatre, actors in tragic roles wore a boot called a buskin (Latin cothurnus) that elevated them above the other actors. The actors with comedic roles only wore a thin soled shoe called a sock (Latin soccus).

Melpomene, the muse of tragedy, is often depicted holding the tragic mask and wearing buskins. Thalia, the muse of comedy, is similarly associated with the mask of comedy and comic’s socks. Some people refer to the masks themselves as “Sock and Buskin”.

Inspired by face work on Eric Joisel’s Dwarf series, a single piece of paper becomes BOTH comedy and Tragedy – happy with the result.

Have a try with my diagrams: http://www.wonko.info/365origami/wp-content/uploads/SockAndBuskin-PeterWhitehouse_2.pdf

537: Quad Tsuru two ways

| wonko

Taking a square and (nearly) cleaving it into 4 separate sheets leads to an interesting design dilemma:537QuadTsuru2

When the join is in the centre of the sheet, you can join wings, tails or I suppose beaks together.S10-2

When the joins are at the edges of the sheet, you could join wings, beaks or tails but I went for the symmetry of wings in this fold. Continue reading →

The Teacher

| wonko

Luds is taking some leave, we all wish him well. I was approached to see if I could come up with some bent paper as an ooroo gift – this is what I ended up with:teacher

In this shadowbox, we see our favourite “bad santa” clutching a Chemistry book, in front of his beloved Electronic White Board, pen in hand.

This little chap, a Joisel-inspired Dwarf took a while to emerge from the page, but I am happy with this little diorama and I hope it beings a smile to Lud’s face – take care mate.

536: Double Tsuru (2)

| wonko

Joined at the wing, this pair of Tsuru (traditional Cranes) was folded from a single sheet split nearly in half:536DoubleTsuru

Taken from “Hiden Senbazuru Orikata (The Secret of One Thousand Cranes Origami)” published in 1797. It is part of a series I hope to tackle…535DoubleTsuruInspiration

The trick is to not tear it as you fold it – the paper tension at the split is tenuous, so requires a gently, deft touch. Continue reading →

535: Double Tsuru (1)

| wonko

Browsing the internet, as you do, I came upon a chance find of an amazing archive of pages from what is thought to be the oldest Origami book published – “Hiden Senbazuru Orikata (The Secret of One Thousand Cranes Origami)”, first published in 1797:535DoubleTsuru

Looks like i have a new project, making Tsuru (traditional Cranes) in multiples on a single (cut) sheet – looks like it is going to be a fascinating ride.535DoubleTsuruInspiration

Continue reading →

Comedy – Tragedy

| wonko

Doodling with a single uncut A3 sheet, I managed to fold something approaching both masks of the Drama “Comedy and Tragedy” thingimage

Using a Joisel-like face thing twice, I think this model has potential as it uses one piece of paper to realise the whole enchilada. Continue reading →