Naturally, I blame Canada, as any good Southparkian would:
This is Inayoshi Hidehisa’s Maple Leaf chopstick holder but I rather think it works (at this scale at least) much better as a bookmark. Continue reading
20min
537: Quad Tsuru two ways
Taking a square and (nearly) cleaving it into 4 separate sheets leads to an interesting design dilemma:
When the join is in the centre of the sheet, you can join wings, tails or I suppose beaks together.
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
Live Long and Prosper
This morning I was greeted with the sad news that actor Leonard Nimoy had passed away. Our universe is a little dimmer, missing a bright and shining star. “It’s life, Jim, but not as we know it”:
A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP
— Leonard Nimoy (@TheRealNimoy) February 23, 2015
Leonard Nimoy did for television and movie what few others have achieved: he demonstrated through his “Spock” character portrayal that a loyal, honest, ethical, objective, calm, logical, thoughtful, respected male alien could be an invaluable colleague and life-long friend. We can all learn from this – he challenges all males to do better.
I have been, and always will be a fan of that “green-blooded devil” and all that he stood for.
You too can fold a tribute – go here
466: Hedwig the Wet-Fold Owl
Exploring my new VOG2 book, there are many lovely things to try but this model uses a method I have not been brave enough to try until now – wet folding.
The idea is to take heavy paper, too thick to fold conventionally (it would crack, split and otherwise be finger-bruisingly impossible to sculpt) and apply WATER to it before coaxing it into shape.
I used watercolour cartridge (27cm square) – a thick board-like paper that snaps when bent dry. Using a damp rag, I applied water to front and back and immediately the sheet transformed into this malleable leather-like slab. Continue reading
311: Air Mail
“Once upon a time, boys and girls, people used to use hand-held ink dispensing rods to make marks on flat sheets of manufactured plant fibre, fold them, place them inside an envelope of the same material, write a distant geospatial reference on one side, their own geospatial reference on the other. They would then pay for a coloured sticky icon and then hand this package over to a corporation that used to exist solely for the carrying and dispensing of such message envelopes” the old story teller said. The assembled children gasped in amusement, then vlogged about the experience collaboratively via the ether.
Snail mail, you remember that – I like the idea of air mail – this sort of letter has a Terry Pratchett, Discworld sort of feel to it.
Designed by Hojyo Takahashi, this delightful model is just what it says on the label.
Happy with this as a first fold.
274: White Rabbits!
The beginning of another month, and I am finding it difficult to find rabbits to fold:
This is Stephen O’Hanlon’s rabbit – a simple figurative fold that is suitably rabbitty for the “pinch and punch first day of the month”.
I cannot believe this heralds the last quarter of this project (10th month starting).
257: Yoshizawa’s Snail
Exploring the wealth of designs Akira Yoshizawa left us with, I sumbled across this delightful snail:
Simple yet the very essence of the critter – much modelling potential also, as the shell could be coiled, the foot textured etc.
Sometimes simple is necessary – busy day, lots of other folding going on, you get that.
256: Don’t Taze Me Bro
Akira Yoshizawa continues to surprise and delight – his folds are simple, elegant and have much modelling potential:
This is one of a series of person studies, and is a novel use of the frog base.
Busy day, lots to do, much being put off, you get that.
251: Infinity
Now in my quest to fold 365 models, one a day for a whole year, it seems like I have been doing this forever already. Not having an infinite amount of time, I thought I wold fold an INFINITY in paper:
this is a rather ingenious pair of interlocking rings, the whole of which (hole … a ring joke there, lol) was folded from a single square, no cuts, no glue.
This ingenious fold is from Jeremy Shafers book “Origami to Astonish and Amuse” and is the first step towards achieving a snarly fold that features EIGHT rings (again, from ONE piece of paper)
A lovely accordion fold and some tidy end pleating and presto, an infinity symbol which I think is splendid. Even the wife did not believe it was only one sheet until I unfolded it and proved it was.
241: Un Papillion de Joisel
Eric Joisel was a treasure in the paper folding community – this is a butterfly designed by Michael LaFosse in memory of him:
A simple fold with much potential for modelling, the body ends up being thick and the wings delicate
Happy with this as a first fold, hope you like it.
240: The Stork Brings Babies
That’s right children, when the mummy and the daddy love each other very much, the stork visits them and brings them a baby:
Such a strange lie so often promulgated in years gone by to obviate an awkward conversation about the details of how birds and bees … well, you know … actually, that is even more confusing than the facts when you think about it – and what have birds and bees got to do with the process anyway?
This is a simple and cute origami model to celebrate the many recent births (Dianne, Amanda, Brendan) – now the adventure really begins for these parents.
This is an old-school origami model that would probably be labelled “Kirigami” (a model that involves a cut sheet of paper) from Neal Elias – essentially it is 2 bird-bases grafted together via s split, allowing the 2 parts of the model to be folded carefully with each other.
Taken from Robert Harbin’s “Secrets of Origami”, a book in much need of repair nowadays as it’s binding is failing. Today’s folders would look to see if they could achieve this model from one sheet, with some clever box pleating to boot i suspect – interestingly no one has tried as of yet (well, that I can find at least).
New parentage – I remember those years with great fondness – that exhilarating (and daunting) moment when you realise that pink, wrinkled alien is relying on you totally for love and attention. Cherish the time you have with your kids – they grow up all too fast.
234: Goat
A simple model for today:
A nice little goat – poseable, with some lovely horns, this goaty model is free standing and an interesting use of a waterbomb at one end of a 2×1 rectangle.
Staff meeting, late home, felt a little like livestock being led to slaughter, you get that. Top that off with falling asleep in front of the telly. 
216: I’m A Little Teapot
I’m a little teapot, short and stout. Here is my handle, here is my spout. When I get all steamed up then I shout, “tip me over pour me out”:
It is a well known fact that I am seriously into TEA, so it is natural to make a teapot, when I saw this model I knew I had to make it.
A clever, simple use of a bird-base, the shape is variable (many judgement calls effect the final shape) and the handle is a little free-form but I like it – hope you do too.
206: Celtic Cross
This week is Catholic Education Week – now I am not a Catholic, nor ever religious but I know that at my place of work there are a number of important ecumenical symbols – one of which is a Celtic Cross:
This model takes a preliminary base and distorts it in interesting ways – designed by Tadashi Mori it is an interesting geometric form that has its roots in ancient UK cultures.
Our school has one in it’s quadrangle, and our school crest has one as well – appropriate symbology I thought.
201: Winged Heart
Apparently, according to JJJ at least, it is LOVE WEEK – awwwww
So I folded Frances Ow’s winged Heart (partly because it is late, I am tired and sometimes a simple fold is ok – ok?
An effective fold, in duo paper the heart is one colour and the wings are another – nice.