The most fragile and protected piece on the Chess board is the King:
I find it interesting that the king has almost the least maneuverability of any piece (bar pawn), yet is often put in the position of having to run for his life from more mobile pieces near end-game. Continue reading
My favourite on-screen monarch of all time is Miranda Richardson’s character “Queenie” from “The Black Adder II”:
She portrayed an incredible mix of insanity, toddler and antichrist which will always make me giggle. Continue reading
Continuing the exploration of court pieces, we move on from the Pawn to the Rook or Castle:
I like this series – there is a visual similarity with the bases on all of these pieces and the tops are fairly easy to recognise. this one has a simple geometric turret atop the pillar. Continue reading
We begin another Chess set, this time designed by Mark Kirschenbaum. This is his Pawn:
A lovely little figurative foot soldier, lovely circular base and an interesting fold. Continue reading
It was late, I was tired and I must admit to going to bed before folding yesterday. Full week, new levels of fatigue:
I found these diagrams on Pinterest – seems they are test diagrams (oops, sorry) but I love the shape and model structure. Continue reading
Sometimes work can be busy. When spares are sparse, classes all doing new/complex things and physical exertion hit their peak, sometimes you can feel like you are pushing shiz up hill:
This is a lovely little dung beetle, coveting it’s little ball of dung. It is a charming fold that I was unsure if I could complete with the size paper I started with.
Designed by Shinji Sasade, appearing in a Tanteidan I was leafing through, described entirely in Japanese so I hope I have fold it correctly. The dung-ball is a waterbomb, but the beetle actually locks into it – very cool. Continue reading
Continuing the exploration of Hiden Senbazuru Orikata, this is the “triple tsusu”:
Folded from a partly separated 2×2 grid of squares, with one set of adjacent sheets living inside each other to make an interconnected chain of 3 Tsuru. Continue reading
David Mitchell is a legendary origami designer, responsible for countless geometric wrangles:
This is an “Oyster Box” – a box that resembles a bivalve, that locks together rather satisfyingly and opens to reveal a spacious interior. Continue reading
Anyone who has seen any of the “Lord of the Rings/Hobbit” movies will recognise the profile of this hat:
Gandalf the Grey wore a wondrous felt hat like this, Mike Luo’s “Witches Hat”. Continue reading
Origami cats are hard – their soft elastic ways are difficult to depict artistically with a medium as stiff and uniform as paper:
This is Christophe Boudias’ “Sleepy Cat”, a lovely model that I think manages to capture the posture of a cat that is cuddling up ready to sleep, tucking it’s little pawsies under its chin. Continue reading
Australian politicians are a weird lot. Not “American” (shoot first then barbeque something) weird, just an odd lurch from crisis to crisis and stab your mate in the back for a shot at leadership kind of weird:
A recently deposed Prime Minister (Mr Tony Abott) is being a bit of an arse clown in the media, white-anting his own party and providing gifts for our hapless opposition in terms of instability and leaks. Continue reading
What’s that Flipper? Timmy has fallen out of his boat and is surrounded by sharks? You get the coastguard and I will get the anti-shark spray:
An irrational tale of a Dolphin and his stupid pet human. I do not know about you but I grew up on cheesy American telly – Flipper, Brady Bunch, I Dream of Jeanie, The Munsters… all those shows now on high rotation on the dozens of cable channels that you flip through looking for something that is actually watchable. Continue reading
Today’s fold suffers a little from scale, but is none the less a cute little mouse:
I must re-fold this model, there is huge potential for modelling, posing and character with this design, a clever little layer manipulation exercise. Continue reading
Sometimes a simple crease pattern leads to some interesting emergent geometry:
This is Charles Santee’s “Star Block”, a 2 part modular that I found when trolling among Origami USA’s “The Fold” issue #22. Continue reading
Le Papillon de Nuit translates, roughly as “The Night Butterfly” – a charming fold with a lovely detailed abdomen:
Unlike the other La Fosse butterflies, this one works and then re-works layers on the wings, making the finished model smaller but unique in shape. Continue reading
