791: (241/365) Flower Tessellation

Browsing a MiniNeo eZine that I follow, I noticed a rather interesting looking hexagonal flower and thought it worth a try:

You triangle grid a hexagon into 16ths, then put a hex twist in the middle, then add the swing-back on petals and tidy up the tessellation to make a swirl. Continue reading

790: (240/365) Monica’s Bunch

Asked by a colleague whether I still do rose folding commissions, I lied and said “sure”, realising this was the opportunity to learn something new:

Working my way through Naomiki Sato’s book “Rose”, I had never tried his “Simple Rose” until this point. Continue reading

789: (239/365) Trojan Helmet

While scanning Deviantart for an entirely different reason (replying to comments on some of my works there) it’s algorithm decided I needed to see some of Cahoona’s folds and this delightful helmet was among them:

Although it does not appear that way, this CP is deceptively simple.

An offset waterbomb base and a colour change for the plume and you are nearly there. Continue reading

788: (238/365) Sea Turtle

Exploring Facebook, as one does, a delightful little sea turtle was posted in a group I am a member of by Migue Crm:

A simple 16×16 grid, some lovely waterbomb collapses for shell scales and some lovely flippers make this a fantastic model all round. Continue reading

787: (237/365) Daffy Down Dilly

Today (August 25) is Daffodil Day, daffodils being the icon associated with cancer awareness and fundraising for an eventual cure. You can get involved, donate or buy badges and sponsored bunches of flowers to show your support:

This seems to be a traditional model (sorry, I have yet to identify the designer) but is related to folds I have been exploring for a week or so based on non-squares. Continue reading

786: (236/365) Beth Johnson’s Hex Owl

I cannot believe I have not tried this before:

A lovely hexagonal tessellation in one corner of a hexagon becomes the fluffy tummy, collapsing the body makes for lovely eyes and a pair of crenellated wings. Continue reading

785: (235/365) Pentagonal Masu

A Masu (or box) was traditionally square and used to measure rice in Japanese kitchens. These days, masu are typically used to sip Sake out of:

Having mastered David Brill’s Square Masu, I thought it time to try the pentagonal one. Apparently the pentagonal masu exists only in Origami circles – this makes sense as the woodworking skill necessary to make this in timber breaks my brain.

Page division into 6ths (to allow overlap/join) then gentle faceting and a magic corner hinge joint results in a lovely 3d shape that feels like it has volume.

I used thickish paper and found some of the internal collapses tough work to make them behave and sit tidily but overall it is a fin fold because you really have to think through how it works before trying the collapse.

784: (234/365) Fold-me Elmo

Flipping through Tanteidan convention books I have I came across a delightful little figure that was screaming to be folded in orange:

This is Riki Saito’s “Mr Puppet Man”, but I reckon he looks a lot like “Elmo” so I am calling it so. (On second thoughts, isn’t Elmo Red? Oh well, never mind) Continue reading

783: (233/365) Simple Money Box

I quite like the apparent simplicity of this design:

Folded from a square split on the 1/3 line, larger piece making the base, smaller for the lid, this ingenious design neatly makes a moneybox, coin slot and all. Continue reading

782: (232/365) Wedge Flex

Topologically convoluted geometric modulars confuse the brain – shapes that morph into different shapes in stable but seemingly unpredictable ways are fascinating:

This is a wedge-flex – a modular hinged construction of a series of triangular prisms (wedges) that fold, bend, twist and re-align in interesting configurations. Continue reading

781: (231/365) Naomiki Sato’s First Pentagonal Rose

I am seriously attempting to perfect the “rose” form in Origami. In my mind, there is no better master of this flower than Naomiki Sato:

I bought his book (and DVD) entitled “Rose” and am determined to work though the various forms presented therein.

This is called his “first pentagonal rose” and I can see ancestor forms in the one that are also in the one I fold freehand currently. This is essentially a bud, but has a unique spiral centre and a nicely controlled twirl terminating in some lovely little petals. the base is also fully closed. Continue reading

780: (230/365) Bernie Peyton’s Woman In A Burqa

Elected members of the senate have a responsibility to represent their constituents:

When an elected member plans and then executes a stunt designed to trivialise, demonise and poke fun at an Islamic traditional garment some women choose to wear, I find deeply it offensive. Continue reading

779: (229/365) Karma Chameleon

I went looking for something reptilian to fold today (not sure why) and found this little charmer designed by Marc Vigo:

Using a series of rabbit ears on a 2×1 rectangle, you isolate legs, head and tail rather cleverly. Continue reading

778: (228/365) Ferris Wheel

In the Brisbane CBD today is a public holiday for the RNA Show:

I stopped going to the show when our kids asked whether we had to go again this year – it is huge, full of people, end of winter and full of flu.

 

I also had a go at capturing it in 3d, using Fyuse, to give you a sense of the movement. Continue reading

777: (227/365) Icosahedral Prism

So I was messing with a low-grade triangle grid and what to do with it (I often fold grids to keep my eye in) and came across a rather neat geodesic hemisphere that used a section of it:

So I cut 2 the same size and proceeded to collapse – one fits inside the other and makes a rather lovely icosahedral prism box. Continue reading