367: Lang’s Tarantula

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Now that the 365 challenge is over, I am free to fold (or re-fold) whatever takes my fancy:

This lovely critter is Dr Robert Lang’s Tarantula. I had a go at it earlier, using copy paper, and disliked the result so was determined to make a better one. For this fold I chose a 60cm square of brown paper and, over the course of the day, amongst other things, folded the spider.

I am constantly amazed by brown paper – it is tough, takes folds well and is so lovely and thin – making the legs and those torturous accordion pleats are that much easier with the right materials.

No paper fatigue, I like this attempt much better – lovely legs, great abdomen and thorax and some shapely pedipalps and fang-like mouthparts.

Ephemera

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The 365 Project now over, I can concentrate on folding when the mood takes me.

It occurred to me that Origami creates ephemeral artefacts – short lived, made of materials not designed to last:

I am playing with a name change – the intention of this blog to document origami I have tried remains the same, but the one a day pressure is now gone and I can branch out and use more appropriate materials than plain copy paper.

366: A Brand New Day

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Established habits take time to break – even positive ones that have just run their course:

I woke early this morning (partly because of the second howling of the “wolf alarm” next door) and partly because a nagging, insistent NEW voice in my head (yes, count them, there are now 13 – a bakers’ dozen) told me to get up and get on with my fold for the day.

Without thinking, I cut a square and … sat and looked at it … for ages.

A blank square, like a person, is surrounded in boundless potential. I can see the 8 legs and ribbed thorax, imagine the swivels necessary to raise a sail, lament the accordion pleating necessary to shape a hoof, anticipate the stress that a common vertex will experience and know when to nurse the brittle paper through that difficult last bend before the collapse, ready my still bruised finger tips for the tough folds through many layers to reveal ….

… something other than a plain, flat, square.

Today’s fold is no fold at all – there is a Zen beauty in that – if a tree falls on a mime in the forest will anyone care … sort of thing.

Do not panic, I will not abandon you, my fold following fans – it has been a fun ride, great to have had you along but I am a little saddle sore right now so might just take a breather … if I can get that 13th voice to speak a little quieter that is, because at the moment she is screaming hysterically at me, but she will eventually calm down, I am sure.

POSTSCRIPT:

Lindy, a friend, suggested the page is calling for some words, she offered a poem she wrote, it is lovely, here it is:
…perfect, thanks Lindy.

December, Done and Dusted

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December done and WOW, what a huge month this has been. Because this month corresponded with my holidays, I sunk some extra time into some amazing (and a little dizzying if I am honest) models.

This table full of bent paper represents a quantum leap in my skill set – most of these models I could NOT have done at the beginning of the challenge.

I have learnt a lot about myself over the past 12 months, and spent inordinate amounts of time enthusiastically bending paper – even when there were many things much more important to do.

Some of these models will soon have new homes, some not – you get that. I thank most sincerely those that have encouraged me along the way – sometimes that was the difference between giving up and keeping going.

I am proud to say that I did not miss a day, had a total of only 9 model fails (in 365, that is an amazing hit rate) and now have an arsenal of paper bending skills that I can use moving forward … to whatever – yeah, cannot imagine what yet but I am sure something will turn up.

I hope you have enjoyed the ride. It will not end here – I will keep folding, but do not expect one a day, or necessarily one a week – I will just let it happen and we shall see. This blog will remain, I will keep adding to it, but might change the name – suggestions that encapsulate paper ephemerata would be appreciated.

365: Turn a New Leaf

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Our lives are a lot like a blank sheet of paper – WE decide when to put creases, who adds folds, how permanent they are and we are constantly given a fresh sheet to start over:

This is my interpretation of Eric Joisel’s “Self-Made Man”, a little origami man that is folding himself and I am stoked that this worked, given how little information I had to go on and the scale of the materials.

I started with a 78x130cm rectangle (3:5 for those trying to do the maths) and then transferred a crease pattern (the only clue I had as to how to actually achieve this model) on to the sheet.

The “collapse” was an exercise in self control really as the paper was really brittle and there were some complicated accordion pleats that seemed to turn in on themselves. The aim was to leave a square of paper (26x26cm) unfolded and build the little man (arms, legs, head) to seemingly appear from behind this sheet.

In the end, the layers were thick, it weighs a ton but more importantly he has loads of personality and is a fitting end to my 365 Origami Challenge.

In retrospect, this is an amazing fold and with some careful planning, patience and ample cups of tea I am so very proud to have folded it. Hope you like him too.

This little fellow has a special purpose, so will not be auctioned, sorry.

364: SNOWY!

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When I was a kid, my parents gave me Tintin Annuals to read – the adventures of a young ginger and his dog Snowy:

I must admit I have fond memories for the adventures of Tintin, and had clear ideas in my mind of what Captain Haddock, Thompson and Thompson and Professor Cuthbert Calculus were like. I have just seen the film and I was delighted to say the least. What a cracking tale, told so wonderfully. You realise why they chose of do it as computer animation – most Tintin adventures would be un-filmable in live action given the pace, locations and lunatic athleticism.

At breakneck speed I was transported back to the Secret of the Unicorn, Red Rackham’s Treasure and other adventures I had – I remember 6, but wikipedia says there were 24 in total, so i only saw a small collection of Hergé stories really.

Although I have never really liked dogs, I was always taken with Snowy, Tintin’s faithful dog – I loved that he could talk to the dog and the dog actually understood – as an adult that makes no sense but as a kid there was no problem. Mind you, I accepted Lassie, Me Ed and all so my brain was already soft 😛

This is a “billfold” – that is it was originally designed to be folded out of an american dollar bill. I do not have any so I used the interweb to find the dimensions, doubled them and cut a rectangle to size. The instructions were very poor, actually, and at many junctures I merely “improvised” as I knew where we were going but could not follow how I was being told to get there.  In the end we have a plucky rendition of Snowy, and the second last model in the 365 challenge. Hope you like him.

363: Tree of Wisdom

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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.

362: Young Buck

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Amongst the plethora of models I still have not yet tried, there are some beauties:

This is Roman Diaz’s Deer and it is a lovely specimen indeed. 10 points on his antlers, proud stance and a spring in his step.

This model, though lovely, was a cow to fold – hand drawn instructions that were not to scale, step 41 I missed altogether, which caused no end of peril and a re-fold (so sue me).

In the end this is fantastic – you get a real sense of the animal, the proportions and stance feel quite natural, the ingenious mangling to get enough points for the antlers amazing and the wrangling to get the majority of the paper tucked away to reveal the body nothing short of breathtaking.

Diaz has a unique style, this model features closed sinks in abundance (quite difficult to do well) and so provided me with some valuable practice.

361: Cicada

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For me the sounds of summer always include the trill of cicadas:

This is Robert Lang’s “Periodical Cicada” which is similar to the adult form we hear but rarely see. They spend most of their lives underground, emerge as wierd wingless mutants, clumb up something and moult, leaving the most beautiful exoskeletons behind.

Many a summer day was spent as a kid collecting these and terrifying my sister with them … well, kids are kids I suppose.

There is much to admire about this fold – the layer management, proportions of body to wing and ensuring there was enough for some lovely legs is one amazing design. Folded from an ebook on my iPad (why have I not been doing this before???), it was a nice way to spend an afternoon whilst an afternoon storm rolled in. I folded it big (60cm square) and cannot imagine folding it much smaller without extraordinary paper.

It is a relief to have achieve this, as I had a model fail before it (a hand-drawn set of spanish instrucitons started out a bit iffy and after 2 hours went nowhere – you get that sometimes).

360: Masu

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It is Boxing Day, and I thought it appropriate to try a box I have had in my “must try” pile – David Brill’s Masu:

A Masu is a traditional Japanese timber box that used to be used to measure rice or beans, these days it is used for sipping sake out of.

This ingenious construction is fully 3d – outer and inner edges kept apart via a nifty corner trick (must remember that sort of pleat) and the bases are sprung using a brilliant twist.

An exercise in fifths, the pre-creasing makes all the points necessary for a wonderful collapse – this is a keeper, as it’s proportions and technique have other applications – particularly like the corner collapse that I thought was initially impossible.

Folded from an A3 rectangle, I then tried an A4 (just to prove to myself it was not just a fluke) and it is even cuter – nice.

359: Santa Claus is Coming to Town

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You better watch out. You better not cry
Better not pout, I’m telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town.
He’s making a list. And checking it twice;
Gonna find out Who’s naughty and nice
Santa Claus is coming to town

This is a David Brill tableau, scaled down to teeny weeny because … well, because … because I could? I have a packet of shiny small origami paper so used that for the micro-reindeer – they sort of determined the scale for the remainder of the figures.

There is much to like about this festive scene – The sleigh is full of water bombs (the perfect summer gift), Santa sits, the reindeer seem animated and Rudolph has a lovely red nose, courtesy of a suggestion from “she who must be obeyed” to use a glass headed pin – good call.

I hope this post finds you enjoying family, fun and festive cheer. Our Christmas Origami display is as you see it here – most of these models are available for you in the auction house for a limited time only.

358: Pandora’s Box

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Come this time of year, we ALL engage in a sort of origami, with varying success and neatness – wrapping presents:

This is Yami Yamauchi’s “Pandora’s Box” – a devilishly clever fold that makes a beautiful cube that once folded is near impossible to un-fold.

The instructions suggest fold it part way, put something precious inside and close it up, only to watch the faces of the receiver as they try to open the gift without tearing the paper – lol.

An ingenious box folded from fifths – originally I was going to fold this in white, then remembered some rather splendid stripey wrapping paper and that solved 2 problems with the one roll really as I used the stripes to work out the proportions – 5×3 stripes = fitfhs of a decent size, hooray. There are many geometric constructions for making fifths but they often leave creases in the paper as you make them and I wanted it to be as blemish free as flimsy wrapping paper would allow.

In retrospect, it ended up being almost exactly the size of my Rubics Cube, lovely thing.

357: Get Folked

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‘Tis the season when thoughts of old hippies (and new-age trendies) shift to prepping for the Woodford Folk Festival:

I am old enough (and formally a resident) to remember when this gathering was held at Maleny, and how the locals hated this time of year because of the huge influx of afore-mentioned hippy-hopefuls.

Folk guitar is one of my pet hates – I fantasise about “tuning” a folk guitarist’s acoustic guitar with an AXE. I am not ashamed of this viewpoint. Lord knows it was difficult enough to cope with whilst stoned and off your tits on ‘shrooms. Whining, newage plucking and tie-die are the bane of a modern existence – there, I said it!.

This is Robert Lang’s “strumming guitarist” folded from his brilliant “Origami in Action” book. There is much to like about this ingenious model, including a body AND guitar from one square, uncut.

It is an ACTION model – in that it is specially designed to MOVE – you grab the legs, and jiggle the head in and out and he strums the guitar entusiastically – very neat.

I would like to say the instructions were flawless – I am convinced there are 3 errors, having unfolded, re-folded and swore a lot at a couple of junctures. Still, in the end I improvised and it worked fine.

356: Great Egret

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Well, when I say great .. it is  … ok :

For the size of paper I am amazed how small this bird ended up, so much paper is folded into the body and legs to reveal the essential egret shape.

A lovely sold body, slender (although I would have liked to have made them thinner, alas the media would not let me), nifty serpentine neck and simple head – all you would want in an egret I would say.

I am not sure whose model this is – anyone like to help me identify it? This is 356 meaning there are a total of 10 more models left – getting exciting it is.

Like this? Want it? BID for it now.

355: Robin Star

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I was trolling fakebook and came across a lovely video posted by noted origamist Jo Nakashima:

Designed by Maria Sinayskaya, this simple but beautiful wreath modular is a keeper – make it out of coloured wrapping paper, small, and it is a lovely tree decoration.

I like this a lot – a good solution to a “what the flooping heck am I going to fold today” situation. Folded in 8 parts, you should have a go at this.

Nearing the end – 10 more to go until this challenge ends – wooo!

Want this? BID for it NOW.