Stephen's Origami

Oriland Origami Magic Star

2012-01-29T22:56:00.000-08:00

It's been a very long time since I've taken the time to post anything - I've missed it. A lot has changed: we've moved states, I'm employed again (Yay!), and I'm still working on going to school online. I wish I had more time to do origami and post about it. Sadly, until I'm out of school (not going to happen soon enough) I'll just have to do it whenever possible.

The latest origami model that I've been folding (a little obsessively) is the Origami Magic Star that was created by the amazing creators of Oriland. A link to the YouTube video of their model in action is here. You can buy the e-book on how to fold the model here. The creators have a Flickr page with pictures of fan-folded models here.

The model can be folded in several different ways; from as many as 48 squares of paper to 12 strips of paper to 6 strips of paper all the way to the extremely impressive single sheet of paper (here is a picture of someone that tackled this daunting task). My favorite way to fold the model is the one that is the most modular: by using 48 squares of paper.

No matter what initial folding method is used to create the units, the final assembly method is pretty much the same. The model is essentially created through 6 rings that are interlocked (unless the single sheet of paper method is being used). For myself, the hands-down most difficult point is the assembling of the final ring to the first one. The creators show a technique that interlocks everything nicely, but I have yet to be able to assemble is without tearing the paper. Thankfully, the points where the paper tears aren't seen and don't seem to affect the model.

So, without further rambling here are the pictures and videos of the models that I have folded. Normally pictures are completely sufficient to show off origami, but the reason this model is so fantastic is that its an action model. I've got a picture of each of the models followed by a short video clip of them.

This is my first Oriland Magic Star. I already had almost all of the squares cut out that were left over from a different project. When I purchased the e-book and was looking through the various color patterns that were shown I instantly liked the checkerboard pattern and wanted to try it first.

The next pattern that I attempted was the basic 'ring' style. My wife picked out the colors and as a result they go very well together :-)

After seeing the first 2 models that I had made my Mom of course requested one. To make things easier on me she requested the basic rainbow colors. In the video you can see that several of the colors 'walk' around the model as it is rotated (the red is probably one of the easiest to see).

My oldest son's favorite colors are black and blue. After I made the first magic star he was begging for me to make one for him. So for the pattern here I used the Yin-Yang design that the authors describe. The blue and black colors seemed to chase each other as they rotate around. I will say that I was a little disappointed in the recommended pattern as it rotates one way and then back again instead of continuing to rotate in the same direction.

My next model was made for my oldest sister who happened to be visiting in the area for Christmas ( I usually only get to see her once or twice a year and so don't get much opportunity to share my folding with her). After making the Yin-Yang model I decided to change the pattern a little to see if I could get the desired effect I was hoping for. Here it is close; not exactly what I was hoping for, but much closer and gave me the direction I needed to continue to try.

And so the next one I made was for my Dad. He has an office job and displays a few of the origami things I've made for him. Of course when most people see something intriguing on someones' desk at work they have to pick it up to examine it. As a result I don't give anything to my Dad to take to work unless it is solid and durable - as these models are. Here I finally achieved the pattern I wanted. The red color simply 'walks' all the way around the model as it is rotated; endlessly :-)

Finally, this is the model that I made for my youngest son, who isn't quite 2 yet. My wife tells me that anytime someone has their magic star out he wants to put it on his head like a crown. So, she asked me to make one for him to walk around with. That made me wonder just how large I would be able to make it. The model on the left is my oldest son's and is about 6 or 7 inches in diameter. The other one is considerably larger :-)
Sadly, I don't have a video of it in action yet. But as soon as I do, I will post it.

This last video is for entertainment purposes. When the models are assembled, there is a certain spot in the rotation that can hold a particular amount of tension (likely due to the faults of my assembly). So, if you're not careful they can kind of jump out of your hands :-D

There have actually been a few other models that I have folded and am in the process of folding. I either need pictures/videos of them or I need to finish them. Either way, my school work is currently having to come before anything (dang school is always getting in the way of fun).

I totally recommend purchasing this e-book from Oriland. The instructions are fantastic and all in color. The directions are very clear and easy to understand. Be warned, though, that the final assembly does get a little tricky and may take a couple of attempts. But the end result is totally worth it!

Time to Fold Somewhere Else

2011-07-10T21:54:00.000-07:00

We're in the process of moving states in the very near future; hence the reason why I haven't posted anything new lately. Today was our last Sunday here. While here I team-taught the 11-year-old Sunday School class at my church. I loved it. The kids are amazing. Anytime that I could I would bring origami to give them. In the midst of packing everything my wife and I went through all of the origami that I've folded and accumulated while here (and even things we moved here). So, I decided that I would take everything that I was planning on getting rid of and take it to the kids in my class to see if they wanted any of it. Before church I decided to count everything and take a picture. Here's what I gave away:

The collection of origami that I gave to the kids in my Sunday School class.

I decided that I'd let them take turns at picking out what they wanted. In order to decide what order they got to pick things I took a large jar of origami stars that I had been collecting since I was about 18 and had them guess how many there were. I wasn't sure if they'd want all of what I brought. I had 122 separate things for them to pick from; I didn't come home with a single thing. I'm definitely sad to move away, but the opportunities will be good. I've been unemployed for over a year now and the move will allow for much better job opportunities. Until we find work and get more settled it may be a little difficult to post here. Until next time, Enjoy!

Tomoko Fuse Origami Quilts #2

2011-06-05T23:51:00.000-07:00

I love every chance I get to fold Tomoko Fuse's work. Recently my wife suggested that I fold an origami quilt for both of our mothers. Both of our moms are avid quilters (amazing ones too). Something fairly unique to their quilting style is that they are part of a dying breed that still hand quilts the final products (the more common option is to have a quilt machine quilted). I love that they hand quilt; it gives it a decidedly personal touch. I see origami as something similar - something hand-made and personally made. So, of course I jumped at the chance to do more of Tomoko's work and at the same time honor in a small way the incredible work that our mother's have done for us. Tomoko Fuse's book is Origami Quilts. Here are some of my recent origami quilts with the mothers' quilts last:

My little sister-in-law just graduated from high school (with honors). As a graduation present we help put together a freshman "survival" kit; we included this quilt made in her high school's colors (as a way to take a small part of her high school pride with her). This quilt is titled "Windmills + Joints of 180 degrees". I used regular origami paper.

With any model that I try the first time (most especially the ones that I will being giving away as gifts), I like to practice the model (so I can see the size, try a color pattern, and simply to practice the actual folding so that the final product will look better). In this case, I found that using colored copy paper made the final model larger than I wanted. Each of the lighter blue are individual pieces of paper, with each of the dark yellow windmills and dark blue windmills being individual pieces as well.

This quilt is titled "Star 3" (so as to differentiate it from Star 1 or Star 2 :-). I folded this as a thank you to one of the sets of grandparents of my wife's. They spend their winter months in the desert, so we figured these colors would work nicely (origami paper).

Here is the practice version of the quilt I folded for my mother-in-law. One of the other advantages to folding practice versions of models is to try out color combinations. I try to find combinations that I think will look fairly good (for the instances that the practice version is good enough to hold on to or give away), but don't always succeed. This combination is fine, but seems a little busy to the eye. This is probably the main reason that I enlist my wonderful wife's help in picking out colors; she has a great talent for it. Another point I learned with this model is that by using colored copy paper there are points in the model that become very thick and difficult assembly (specifically the final step of adding the orange units). The CD is there for a size reference; the final quilt is right at 12 inches square. Once again, the CD is from Oriland (Yuri and Katrin Shumakov) and is fantastic; I highly recommend their work.

This is the final quilt folded for my mother-in-law (prior to framing it); again with a CD for size reference. My wife chose the colors for this and succeeded where I think I fell short. The colors were chosen to coordinate with the quilt/craft room my mother-in-law has. By using origami paper instead of colored copy paper (my favorite choice) I was able to make it a size that was easier to frame; this is 9 inches square as opposed to the 12 inches squared in the last one. However, by going with smaller paper it did make some of the units fairly small and a little more difficult for my large hands to work with.

The final framed version of my mother-in-law's quilt. This design is titled "Double Crosses + Joints". Something that I've found that I love about these most recent quilts that I've folded is that they can be framed and hung either on the diagonal (as the quilt is pictured here) or on the horizontal (as in the previous picture). (If you look closely, you can see the reflection of me holding the camera as I take the picture :-)

This is the quilt that I folded for my mom. Its titled "Flower Crosses + Crosses". Again, my wife chose the colors (with the knowledge of my mom's favorite colors). Sadly, I don't have a picture of this quilt arranged on the diagonal; I think it looks even better that way personally. This was folded out of origami paper and is framed in a 12 inch x 12 inch frame.

Another shot of the quilt for size reference.

This is the "back" side of the quilt. One of the biggest problems that I have at times with folding origami quilts is that the reverse side often looks every bit as amazing as the front. In this case there is a pointedly designated front and back. Since origami paper was used all of the green and blue units have the same white back, so the coloring isn't nearly as impressive. However, if you look at the actual design of the unit there is a fantastic twisted pinwheel design that I love. I'll definitely need to fold this one again with colored copy paper with the intent of having this side be the predominant one.

Folding origami quilts is something particularly special to me. These were folded as gifts for Mother's Day (although they were belated in their reception). My mom is amazing. She has and continues to teach me more than I'll ever be able to express. She is the best mom that myself and 3 sisters could have ever had. She continues to be amazing as an awesome grandmother to my children (she knows just how to "spoil" them :-). My mother-in-law is also fantastic. She raised an amazing daughter to be an incredible wife (along with 4 other great children). She is a wonderful second mom to me and is also an awesome grandmother. Quilting is one of the largest (if not the largest) hobbies for these great women. Origami is mine. The ability to combine the two is a great treat for me. I look forward to continuing to fold all of the quilts I can. Until next time, Enjoy!

Origami Internet Gems, Tomoko Fuse Unit Origami & Origami Tessellation Display

2011-05-29T21:53:00.000-07:00

One of the things that I absolutely love about the Internet is the vast array of free origami diagrams. I am always willing and desirous to purchase good origami books; not only to have a wonderful library available, but also to support the incredible work of the great origami masters. However, some of my favorite models have come from free diagrams found online. Probably the best resource that I've used is Flickr; it allows for posting fantastic pictures of the models along with a place to share the instructions on how to fold them. One of the newest contacts that I've found goes by the name credo_vsegda, whose name is Maria Sinayskaya. She's designed a great variety of origami kusudama models and has diagrammed and shared several of them. The one that caught my eye to try the first is titled Lotus Crown. Here was my first attempt:

My first attempt at the Lotus Crown (24-unit assembly) designed my Maria Sinayskaya. I love the color combination here, but sadly since it was my first try it doesn't look quite as nice as it could. Some of the individual units are fairly loose and sloppy. Also, after several attempts of trying to get the color pattern correct (where no 2 units of the same color connect directly to one another), I finally gave in to "good enough" and decided I'd try again at a later date.

Another view of my first attempt at the Lotus Crown (24-unit assembly). From this angle it is a little easier to see how the the units aren't as crisp, clean, and neat as they could be (definitely not as good as the one folded by the designer). In particular the little flaps inside the center square wouldn't tuck back nicely like they're supposed to (due to my own additions in the folding process).

Here is my second attempt at the 24-unit assembly of the Lotus Crown designed by Maria Sinayskaya. I like the color combination of this one less than the first, but the final model is much tighter and looks much crisper and clean.

Another angle of the second attempt at the Lotus Crown (24-unit assembly). With this model, I not only held to the author's directions when it came to folding the individual units, but I was also able to assemble the model with the proper color pattern (none of the units of the same color connect to another unit of the same color). The assembly of this model was infinitely easier by using office binder clips to hold the units together until I was done. This was one of the main reasons the final model was so tight when done.

I think one of my all time favorite origami books (if not THE favorite) is Tomoko Fuse's Unit Origami. Personally I kind of consider it to be the "bible" of modular origami. It was the first modular book I purchased and has a vast diversity of models. I love it. Modular origami is great because it's like playing with building blocks, except you get to have the fun of making the blocks yourself. Recently there was one of the kids in the Sunday School class that I teach that had a birthday. Just about every week I fold things for the kids and give them to the kids that are particularly well-behaved. For their birthdays I wanted to do something a little different. So for the first birthday of the year I decided to fold something from Unit Origami. Here it is:

Here is the model that I folded for one of the students in the Sunday School class I teach at the church I attend. In the book it is titled 'Dual Triangles' and can be folded into 3-unit or 4-unit assemblies. Here is the 4-unit assembly, which creates an octahedron (8-sided). In this model there are 8 octahedrons connected together in a type of cube fashion.

Another angle of the 'Dual Triangle' model given as a birthday present. This particular assembled pattern is very sturdy and can be stood at several different points for display. There are a total of 64 individual pieces of paper folded and assembled here.

Another gem that I found through Flickr is that from Daniel Kwan and displaying origami tessellations. He had the brilliant idea of putting origami tesselltions between two sheets of acrylic panels and clipping them together; the picture is here. Here is a few pictures of my application of the idea:

Here is a display of some of my favorite origami tessellations that I've folded (all from the book by Eric Gjerde Origami Tessellations: Awe-Inspiring Geometric Designs). The picture isn't a particularly good one to show the tessellations themselves, but to instead show the idea behind displaying them.

There are several sizes that the acrylic panels can be purchased in. Here is a smaller size that can be used to display a single tessellation. This picture is a little better at showing the actual tessellation; a little difficult to fold, but looks fantastic when done. The tessellation is titled Chateau-Chinon.

Another view of the smaller panels to give a better show of the size. This is the front of the tessellation.

A final view of the smaller panels with a show of the back of the tessellation.

I've been unable to post for quite some time due to the demands of my school work. Hopefully, I'll be able to start posting a little more frequently! Until next time: Enjoy!

Origami Valentine Flowers

2011-01-23T00:11:00.000-08:00

In continuing with the Valentine's Day theme, now I'd like to show some of my favorite origami flowers. Without further adieu here are some of my favorite to fold and give:

This is a common origami flower, the Iris. Its a traditional model, so the diagrams can be found in many places. I first learned it in the excellent book The Magic of Origami. The model by itself is very fun to fold, nice and simple, but at the same time seems to lack a certain completeness that some origami flowers lack. I took this model a step further for my wedding reception.

Here is an incredible picture taken by my wife's uncle (who is a fantastic photographer) at our wedding reception. With the help of my wife and mother-in-law I was able to get the leaves looking good and have the whole centerpiece looking really good for the tables.

This is another favorite and common flower (also a traditional model). The tulip is the first flower that I learned how to fold. Having never had any experience with origami and thanks to the very basic instructions that I had, it took me a while to get this model down. I first picked up origami by purchasing a small kit with paper and hard to read instructions on a trip to Hawaii with my family. This was one of the models diagrammed in that kit. Here is a link to instructions very similar to the ones I first learned from here :) As with the origami Iris I've taken this model and attached it to a piece of wire with paper leaves and wrapped them in floral tape making it a little more realistic. Sadly, I can't find any pictures of these flowers fully assembled :(

This model is a really fun one for beginners to learn, the Tulip. The flower portion was designed by Makoto Yamaguchi with the leaf portion designed by Kunihiko Kasahara; found in the awesome beginners book The Magic of Origami. The Tulip itself is based on the water bomb model, with a simple twist.

This model was designed by one of the great authors of Oriland, Katrin Shumakov; the model is a Matthiolis Bicornis. If you've never had the opportunity to visit their website, its incredible. The site is http://www.oriland.com/. I love the diagrams that Katrin and Yuri Shumakov create, they are very detailed. I've got 3 of the cds that they sell at their website; I love everyone of them. This flower model is found the Origami Land cd. I highly recommend their work.

Here is another angle of the Matthiolis Bicornis by Katrin Shumakov. Its such an incredible model and its hard to appreciate it from just one angle. One difficulty with this model is that the center point of the paper has a lot of folds going through it and gets a lot of movement; its easy for the paper to get a hole worked in the middle of it. Thankfully, you can't see the hole that I worked in this flower from these pictures :)

This model is titled the Rose Brooch, designed by Toshie Takahama. The diagrams for the model are found in The New Origami by Steve and Megumi Biddle. Not a terribly difficult model to fold, but not completely basic; which makes it really fun to fold. When folded from origami paper the has colors radiating from the corners (such as here) it looks a lot better.

This incredible model was designed by Valerie Vann, titled the Magic Rose Cube. In this form, the model looks fairly plain. From the picture you can't see that the other 3 sides of the cube are green. The next picture shows how neat the model truly is.

Here is the model opened. I absolutely love this model for the angular look, but still looking so much like a rose. There is a video showing how to fold each of the 6 pieces and how to assemble them here. Side story: I work with one of the youth classes in my church team-teaching each week. I love working with the kids and especially enjoy bringing origami to them for them to pick through and enjoy. Last week I had one of these cubes in the mix and one of the girls picked it out thinking it was just a neat box. After I showed her what it did, her face lit up and she was all the more excited to have picked it :)

This last flower is easily the hardest to fold (of the flowers featured here), but I also think is the most rewarding once done. This is the Rose by the great Toshikazu Kawasaki; the diagram can be found in the book Origami for the Connoiseur by Kunihiko Kasahara and Toshie Takahama. The book is definitely one for the more advanced folder, as is this model especially. With some practice, and probably a couple of attempts, it is possible to fold it though; and extremely rewarding when done.

Here is another shot of the same model to give a better look at the side. I used an 8 inch sheet of colored copy paper to fold to get this size. Visually speaking, this is my favorite flower to fold because it looks so amazing when done. I love it.

Origami flowers are every even more popular and prevalent than origami hearts. They are fantastic to fold and give as a gift, especially for Valentine's Day, because unlike real flowers they don't wilt and die. (Granted a paper flower doesn't have the aroma of a real one :)

This was a glimpse into what I enjoy giving for Valentine's Day each year. I'll close with some further links to the books and diagrams that I mentioned. Until next time, Enjoy!

The Magic of Origami (the Iris and Tulip models)

Again the link to the origami Tulip here.

The link to Oriland and the page for the Origami Land cd.

The New Origami (the Rose Brooch model)

The video showing Valerie Vann's Magic Rose Cube here.

Origami for the Connoiseur (the Kawasaki Rose)

Origami Valentine Hearts

2011-01-16T23:27:00.000-08:00

With Valentine's Day about a month away I've been practicing some of the heart and flower models that I love to fold and give away. Here I'll show my favorite heart-shaped models. There are entire books on heart-shaped origami, so this is but a small sample of what's out there. But these are some of my favorites:

This first model is a letterfold. I love letterfolds; they're a fun way to pass a small note to someone. This one is particularly fun since its heart-shaped, making it a great way to give a love note to someone for Valentine's Day. (You could even put something a little more sappy on the front instead of "open me"; something to the effect that the giver of the note is opening their heart to the receiver :)

Here is the heart-shaped letterfold opened up. This model was designed by Alice Gray and Michael Shall. The diagram can be found in the book The Magic of Origami by Alice Gray and Kunihiko Kasahara (with cooperation of Lillian Oppenheimer and Origami Center of America).

This model is called 'Change of Heart'. When dining out and leaving a tip for the waiting help, I always enjoy folding the tip into something fun. This is a fantastic model because a US quarter fits into the center perfectly. I can't remember exactly where I got the PDF form of the diagram that I have, but this model is found in several different places on the Internet by searching "Change of Heart Origami".

This model is called 'Double Heart' and designed by Steve Biddle. It can be found in the book Essential Origami: How to Build Dozens of Models From Just 10 Easy Bases by Steve and Megumi Biddle. Its folded from a single sheet of square paper with no cutting required; one of the reasons I love this model so much. The folds are very basic and simple, making it a great model to start with and learn.

This model is designed by Francis Ow, who has an entire book on origami hearts; he has some incredible models. The model is called 'Double Hearts'. Again this is folded from a single sheet of paper with no cutting needed. The diagram can be found in the book by Steve and Megumi Biddle, The New Origami.

This model is also designed by the great Francis Ow and the diagram can also be found in The New Origami by Steve and Megumi Biddle. Its titled 'On The Wings of Love'. This model is probably the most difficult of the ones I've shown here, but still not terribly hard; the wings being the hardest part.

Here is a shot of the origami heart collection just shown to give a size comparison.

I love giving origami for any occasion, and Valentine's Day is a great opportunity to do just that. Enjoy :)

Here are some further links to find the books or diagrams to the models:

The 'Valentine Letterfold':

A video for the 'Change of Heart' can be found here.

'Double Heart' by Steve Biddle:

'Double Hearts' & 'On The Wings of Love' by Francis Ow:

Origami Christmas Decorations - Origami Wreath

2010-12-12T23:12:00.000-08:00

Origami Christmas Wreath using open frame II units from Tomoko Fuse's book, Unit Origami: Multidimensional Transformations.

One of the first origami Christmas decorations that I made (and one of the first things I had thought up on my own) was this Christmas wreath. The concept to chain the boxes together is one that I saw elsewhere, but I don't remember seeing the idea used to connect them together in a continuous ring.

The first unit/modular origami book that I got was by Tomoko Fuse titled Unit Origami: Multidimensional Transformations. I love this book. In my mind, I see this book as the "Bible" of unit origami or as the standard for unit and modular origami (probably because its my first and favorite of unit origami books). It has a few more complex models to fold and create, but the vast majority are so simple in the folding and even in the assembling of the models that its easy to pick up and learn.

A little closer look at the origami Christmas wreath.

One of the reasons that I love unit origami is that its a lot like playing with building blocks as a kid. All you have to do is learn how to fold the base units, practice a few models to learn how they interlock, maybe try a few variations and then the sky is the limit. I've found a lot of times that if you can think up the shape or structure in your mind, you can build it with unit origami. This book offers so many different type of models and the angles in which they connect that the options are huge. (I plan on posting a great deal of my older pictures that are models from this book.)

The first wreath that I folded with a Christmas theme was a little different, I simply alternated the green and red cubes all the way around. My next idea was to see if I could make one that looked more like a traditional Christmas wreath by using mostly green with a few red to make it look like the typical red bow. I think it worked out quite nicely. The above pictured wreath is actually the third wreath I've folded (including the very first I just mentioned).

These are the first two traditional wreaths that I folded. The one on the left is the first attempt and was too large. I used squares that were 4 inches which made for easy folding and assembly, but made the wreath too large and heavy for the strength of the paper. What's more is that I originally had 2 additional cubes in it which added to the problem. As a result, with so many cubes it made hanging the wreath difficult due to the fact that the wreath wouldn't hold a circular shape and the connections tended to pull apart. The one on the right is the one I folded for this season and both my wife and I like it a lot more; much more compact and easier to hang.

One of the main reasons for creating another wreath was due to the fact that the old one had seen a few Christmases and had been moved more than once, so it was a little worn out. Not to mention before we put it away last year I think one of my kids got a hold of it :) Having to make another one is always fine by me because I love the process as much if not more than the finished product. This last wreath took me about 5 hours to fold and assemble (I can't remember how long it took to cut the paper). It includes 144 sheets of 3 inch square paper (each cube has 12 sheets and there's 12 cubes). There is no glue or any adhesive holding it together, the unit lock together very nicely.

Once again, I love Tomoko's book. I highly recommend it, probably my favorite origami book to date. In the next little while I plan on showing some of the other origami Christmas decorations that we use around the house. Until then, enjoy!

Unit Origami: Multidimensional Transformations:

Origami Christmas Tree Tutorial

2010-12-06T01:20:00.000-08:00

In one of my previous posts about origami sonobe balls I posted a picture of how I had used some of the balls that I had folded as Christmas tree ornaments. The post is here. The tree is made from regular poster board that you can find at just about any store that sells any kind of office supplies (I've found it in grocery stores and pharmacies as well as the more conventional stores like Walmart). It had its own challenge in folding due to the fact that poster board does not fold nice and neat. I had to score all of the folds before trying to manipulate the poster board. Smaller trees made from colored copy paper are much easier to make and work with (but substitute poorly in replace of a traditional Christmas tree :) I recently had someone post that they would love to know how to fold this model (they also pointed out that there are conveniently 24 compartments & a star on top that would work great for an advent calendar leading up to Christmas). Since I've been thinking of posting a tutorial on how to fold something, this seemed like a great time to do it.

Please note: I did not design this model. Please do not give me credit for the design. Credit should be given to Rae Cooker (USA) and Makoto Yamaguchi (Japan), who apparently both developed this model independently of one another. The book that I learned it from is The Magic of Origami by Alice Gray and Kunihiko Kasahara with cooperation of Lillian Oppenheimer and Origami Center of America. This book is fantastic for beginners, it was one of the first books I got. It has a fairly decent range of very simple to a little more challenging models for those just learning. It has models just for show and aesthetics as well as functional models to play with and decorate with. An excellent book for learners. So, here goes my first attempt at an origami photo tutorial.

To begin, you will need 7 different sheets of paper. For the tutorial I'm using white for ease of photographing, this will be the trunk and so should be out of either brown or black (I've never found brown copy paper, so I use black). The remaining 6 sheets should be varying sizes. For the trees I make I start with an 8 inch piece of paper and go down 1 inch for each additional sheet; so here I have an 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, and 3 inch squares of paper. Also, the largest green square and the square used for the trunk (the white sheet here) are the same size - 8 inches. Note: any number of green sheets can be used, I am using 6 for the benefit of giving 24 compartments for an advent calendar.

We start with the largest green square. The dotted lines indicate a valley fold while the solid lines indicate mountain folds. A valley fold is created by folding the sheet of paper and then unfolding it. As it sits on the table the paper should slope up as it moves away from the fold; thus creating a "valley". The reverse is true with a mountain fold.

This next step is often called the preliminary base or bird base in origami books. The easiest way to describe it is that all 4 corners of the square come to the same point when folding along the pre-creased lines.

Here are 2 more pictures to try to help show what you should have.

The next step is to add a valley fold that goes between the center and the lower right edge. Also notice that a valley fold is turned to a mountain fold that extends from the center and goes to the right corner. The stars in this picture are to help illustrate the next step.

From the last picture, lift only the top layer of paper and move it to the right. The 2 stars should touch; using the fold lines that were just created take the bottom star and lay it on top of the star to the right. This should be the result. Notice that there is now a small triangular flap created; my fingers are touching it.

In this step the small triangle flap is then tucked down and away into a pocket. Notice the stars are no longer visible. This step is a little difficult to show in a picture. In the picture 2 steps up there was a valley fold that was changed into a mountain fold. The triangle flap will slide into a pocket by means of those folds. After completing this step, perform the same steps on the remaining 3 flaps to create and tuck away the small triangle flap (or in other words, repeat the last 2 steps again on each flap).

This is what the model looks like with 2 flaps tucked away.

This is what the model looks like with 3 flaps tucked away.

This should be the result once all 4 flaps are tucked away. This is the bottom of the model. Notice that there are now 2 pockets that are intersecting to form a cross.

This is model as shown from the top.

Now move on to the piece of paper for the trunk. The pre-crease folds are similar to the first piece, with fewer folds. Again the dotted lines are valley folds while the solid lines are mountain folds.

Once again bring the 4 corners to the same point to form the preliminary or bird base.

At this point, take the right flap and create a valley fold. This is done by taking the top edge of the flap and laying it along the center line. Repeat on the remaining 3 flaps. Notice that flap on the left has a mountain fold when looking at the model from this angle.

This should be the result after the valley fold on the right flap.

This is the result with all of the flaps folded into the center.

The next step adds a valley fold by taking only the bottom flap and folding it up along the edge of the previous step. Also, add a mountain fold that extends from the center vertical line to the lower right edge.

This picture shows the pocket that will be used in the next step. The mountain fold in the previous step will be used to create a flap that is tucked into this pocket.

Here is an intermediate picture of tucking the triangle flap into the pocket.

This is the end result with the flap tucked in. Repeat on the remaining 3 layers.

This is a picture of all 4 layers tucked in, looking at the bottom.

A picture of the top of the trunk piece.

Here is the bottom of the largest green piece and the top of the trunk piece. Notice that looking down on the top of the trunk piece it forms a cross or a plus symbol ("+"), and that looking at the bottom of the green piece it has a corresponding shaped pocket.

Here is a picture of how the trunk inserts into the bottom of the largest green piece. Insert is as far as needed for the desired look.

Here is what the trunk and first piece look like standing up.

After folding the remaining green pieces it is ready for final assembly.

Start with the next largest green piece and insert it on top of the tree that has already been put together.

This should be the result with all the pieces assembled.

This is the result of the tree standing. The height can be varied a great deal simply by pushing the pieces together or pulling them apart.

Here is another picture with a black trunk and a star on top. Note: The star pictured here is also found in the same book, The Magic of Origami it is folded from a pentagon of paper, not a square.

A few years ago I was asked to make center pieces for a church Christmas party and was glad to oblige. Here a couple of pictures from that. Several of the people asked if they could take them home and so I didn't come home with any of them. That was fine by me because I love sharing what I make.

Here are all of the individual pieces folded and arranged before assembly.

Here is a picture of the completed trees arranged to look like a little forest.

Well, I wish you luck with attempting this model, its a really fun one to fold. As this was my first attempt at a tutorial, I hope it was sufficiently clear and helpful. Please let me know if it is confusing or unclear at any point. If you have any questions or run into problems, feel free to leave a comment and I will help in any way that I can. If it turns out that this was a poor tutorial, maybe I will have to do a video showing how to do this; just let me know.

Once again, the book that I got this from is a great book to start learning. Even if you're fairly experienced, its still has some really fun models in it to try. Enjoy :)

Origami "Turkey" and other Birds

2010-11-14T22:39:00.000-08:00

When I tell people that I fold origami and show them what I fold (and usually it's something geometric or modular) they often reference having tried origami at some point earlier in their lives and usually they had tried the classic crane. Admittedly that was one of the first things that I learned, though it's a model that doesn't interest me a great deal (since it seems to be so common). Most of the time I prefer to fold something geometric, but there are a few animal models that I enjoy folding. There seems to be a very large variety of origami bird models. Here are a few of my favorites:

This model is titled 'Congratulations Crane'. I found it in Steve and Megumi Biddle's Essential Origami book. The model's author is unknown so it's considered a traditional model.

A collection of the Congratulations Cranes that I've folded recently.

I love this particular model folded from this brown and yellow corner radiation origami paper; by folding it this way I think it looks like a turkey :)

Also a traditional model and also found in Steve and Megumi Biddle's Essential Origami book this model is titled 'Sisters'. It's folded from one sheet of paper that is 2:1 ratio. Since you have to make one slight cut in the paper, it technically breaks one of the rules of "traditional" origami. In order to really appreciate this model it needs to be folded from paper that is a different color on each side.

This Bald Eagle model is from John Montroll's North American Animals in Origami book. One of my favorite bird models, though a little on the difficult side to fold the first few times (probably not something for a beginner). I was silly enough to purchase the book (after seeing the cover and loving this model) and trying to learn this model first. I was still barely learning origami and as a result the final model looked little like this :)

There are a couple of other birds that I love to fold, but sadly don't have any pictures of them at the present; a simpler eagle and a celebration crane. Since it is getting close to being Thanksgiving as the end of November approaches I think that the model that catches my eye the most is the brown and yellow Congratulations Crane; it would be a fun decoration to put on the table during Thanksgiving dinner. I'll have to do another post about some of the other animals that I enjoy folding and include the missing birds.

Here is the links to the books that I referenced :

Essential Origami by Steve and Megumi

North American Animals in Origami by John Montroll

Both goods books. Essential Origami is more for beginners and takes it very step-by-step in the instructions, whereas North American Animals in Origami goes with the assumption that you already know how to read origami diagrams and much more difficult as a whole (although it does have a page at the front of the book describing all of the symbols as almost all origami books do).

Try some of these out. Feel free to contact me with any comments or questions; I'm considering doing a tutorial post one of these days (any input on what to do is welcomed :) Enjoy!

One Last Heinz Strobl Snapology Project

2010-10-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

As much as I've enjoyed folding Snapology models by Heinz Strobl, I had planned to move onto something else to keep up a little variety. However, I had the idea of making the small Icosahedron models to give as a reward/incentive to a class of 11-year olds that I team-teach in church. We had a program in which all of the primary-aged children had speaking and singing parts. All of the children did a fantastic job, but I was particularly proud of my class. I had a blast making the models and loved the reaction from each of the kids when they got them. I had contacted each of their moms to find out their favorite color and used that as the main color for each of them. Something that I found especially amusing was that of the nine kids (there was five boys and four girls) eight of them said their favorite color was either blue or green (or a variation of one of those colors, like turquoise). I thought for sure one of the girls would have said purple. Despite that, I like the several color variations that were created. By the time I had finished all of them I only had time and light to take one group picture of them. I was very pleased with all of them, but my favorite color combination is the dark blue and yellow that is second from the left in the bottom corner.

The group picture of Heinz Strobl's Snapology Icosahedron models I made for my Primary class I lead at church.

The link to find the instructions on how to make this particular model are found here. Enjoy.

More Heinz Strobl Snapology Models

2010-10-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here are the rest of the Snapology models that I folded. In my last post about the largest model (the Truncated Icosidodecahedron) I stated that I didn't use any glue (which I didn't), however some of the smaller models required it. I used glue dots (which my wife so graciously offered to let me try and which I depleted rather quickly :) to hold the tabs down on some of the models for aesthetics sake. My favorite models are the larger ones that required no glue.

The whole collection.

Another shot of the entire collection smallest to largest.

The 3 smallest units. The yellow and blue model on the left is a Tetrahedron (4-sided), the yellow and red model on the right is a cube (6-sided), and the blue and yellow model in the middle is an octahedron (8-sided). I had to use glue on all of the sides of each of these models to hold them together.

A close-up shot of the Dodecahedron (12-sided) model; I had to use glue on some the sides of this model.

My second favorite model, the Icosahedron (20-sided) model.

The Truncated Cube model. This is one of the models that I had to use glue to hold together.

This is the Truncated Cuboctahedron model.

This is actually the first Snapology model I tried. I followed the instructions from the Web site which has you take a normal sheet of copier paper and make the strips; this produces a larger model than the rest of the ones I folded.

Another shot of the first Icosahedron. I love the size.

Here's a shot giving a comparison of the different models.

Last, but not least, is my favorite model, the Icosidodecahedron. Before making this model my favorite was the Icosahedron. I love the five-pointed stars that are created all the way around this model.

Once again, the link for learning Snapology is here. Enjoy :)

Heinz Strobl's Snapology Project

2010-10-16T14:43:00.000-07:00

Something I love about origami is being able to watch paper start at such a plain and basic form that we use everyday and become something so much more incredible and beautiful. I recently decided to try my hand at something that I'd found on the Internet a while ago, Snapology. I was surprised at how simple the technique is and how the results look. The models don't take much time to actually fold, so before I knew it I had tried nearly a dozen of them; each one of them a little larger than the one before. I decided to try a very large model and document each of the steps. Here they are:

It starts with plain copier paper that you can find at any store that carries office supplies.

The paper is then cut into strips of a predetermined width (these are 1/2 an inch).

The strips are then pleated together; they look like little springs. I remember when I was little my dad would bring home the discarded strips of paper from the old dot-matrix printers they used at work; the printers that feed the paper through them by means of holes along the sides. You could then tear off and discard the strips with holes. My dad would bring these home sometimes for my sisters and I to play with. I remember constantly making these same type of "springs" with that paper.

After taking the painstaking time to make sure that all of the strips are pleated accurately (it's very important to make sure they are kept as perpendicular to one another as possible), you turn around and take them apart. The strips now look like they've been sent through a paper crimper.

The strips of paper are then cut to specific lengths for the model that has been chosen. At this point there are about 180 of the small strips of blue paper.

And now for my favorite part of any modular or unit origami model: the assembly. I started with a decagon (10-sided) and attached squares and hexagons alternately to it.

From there I added 5 more decagons with the necessary squares and hexagons in between.

After that an additional 5 decagons are added for the next layer of assembly.

Finally the last (and 12th) decagon is added to complete the model.

Another shot of the final model to give a little perspective. It's roughly the size of a softball.

The model I used is known as a Truncated Icosidodecahedron for anyone as geeky as myself that wants to know. It's comprised of 12 decagons (10-sided), 20 hexagons (6-sided), and 30 squares. I didn't actually clock how long it took me to cut, fold and assemble, but I estimate it was a solid couple of days total. Obviously this is the one that took the longest because its the largest. Something to note here is that there is no glue holding it together. The only cutting that was done was to get the strips, after that it was just folding and assembling.

The link to where I found instructions are here. The site is in both English and Polish. The instructions aren't the most clear (it's obvious that English is not the author's first language) but still sufficiently detailed and has good pictures as a guide. The rest of the site is very impressive, with fantastic pictures of models that they've folded and lots of diagrams for other models.

Another site that has instructions about origami strip paper folding is here. I've done another model from here that I love, the Sphere 94. The original creator of Snapology is Heinz Strobl. If you get curious about some of the other things that he has created simply type his name into a search engine for images and you'll find some very impressive pictures. I absolutely love that origami can be found so plentifully on the Internet at no charge; this hobby can truly be an inexpensive one. Having said that I still absolutely love my small collection of origami books that have taught me so much. Enjoy the pictures. I will post again soon the rest of the Snapology models that I folded.

Origami Fail

2010-09-26T18:02:00.000-07:00

Inevitably when folding origami, its bound to happen when something you attempt doesn't turn out like it was intended. It's particularly true when trying something for the first time, or when you try something fairly difficult. My favorite type of origami is geometric and modular origami. As I've said in the past, my favorite author/designer is Tomoko Fuse. Another origamist that I've found that is a very close second is Daniel Kwan. He doesn't have any books published sadly (that I'm aware of), but he is incredible. He has made several of his models available for free by posting the diagrams on his Flickr account. He's also posted pictures of his models (the ones with diagrams & some without). His modular origami gallery is here. Much to my sadness I realized the other day as I was perusing his Flickr account that Daniel Kwan is no longer designing modular origami :( There are some of his models that I love that he has no diagrams for, and from the sounds of it he doesn't plan on making them. That being said, he has diagrams for some really awesome models. A side note here is that he gave up his modular designing to pursue designing origami tessellations; if he's going to give up modular origami, that's a good area to switch to. As it is to be expected from someone that has designed such great modular work, his tessellations are incredible as well. His origami tessellations gallery is here.

Back to my reference of failed origami attempts, here are a few pictures of my attempting some of Daniel Kwan's work. The first one of his models I tried was the Six Interlocking Pentagonal Prisms. I first saw a picture of this model while surfing the Internet for origami pictures about 6 or 7 years ago. I loved it because it reminded me of Tom Hull's Five Intersecting Tetrahedra, which I had folded a few times. I didn't see or find anything else on the model until more recently. I found that Daniel had posted the instructions for the model on Flickr and wanted to give it a whirl. The instructions are here, here, and here.

My first attempt was going fine until I started assembling the last Prism with the rest of the model. I had had to make a little change to the instructions. In his design he uses three pieces connected to form the long pieces of each prism; these pieces are the ones interlocked. I had decided to use one piece of paper so that the model would be stronger. To do that I assembled it as the instructions told and then simply measure how long it needed to be. Well, I think I measured a little short. As I was assembling the final prism together, it was too short and it became a real hassle to assemble. As a result, the paper was overworked and looked pretty sloppy in certain areas. Granted, it still went together and looks pretty good, but I tend to be a perfectionist and wanted to do a better one. Here's the first attempt:

You can see where the prisms weren't quite big enough on the red prism. Notice how the one edge is crumpled a little; also the purple prism on the bottom is crumpled.

Another angle of the first attempt. You can see where blue prism towards the upper right and green prism on the right are buckled in.

Now, I admit that I still like the model & it still looks pretty good. But I still wanted to try again. So, this time I decided I would just take those long pieces and make them a little longer. Once again, it was looking fine until I started adding the final prism. This time, sadly, I had made the units too long. As a result the model was very loose; while the first one was very tight and snug (too tight and snug). Here's the second attempt:

You can see how the green prism is way too tall. The result would be the same no matter what prism you used to stand on its end.

With this picture you can tell how much taller I made the second attempt; much too tall. Next time I'll attempt something in between.

Again, not a total failure, but also not what I wanted. I'll do another attempt, hopefully getting it right this time.

I attempted a second one of Daniel's models about a week ago. This one was the Four Interlocking Triangular Prisms. Its a difficult model to assemble due to the inability of getting your fingers inside the model. I still like the model. I was happy with the way it turned out, especially considering it was my first attempt. The diagrams are here: page 1, page 2, page 3, and page 4.

Here is my first attempt at Daniel Kwan's Four Interlocking Triangular Prisms. I was pleased with the way it turned out, although not perfect.

Another angle of my first attempt at the Four Triangular Prisms by Daniel Kwan.

Daniel has lots of models that I would love to fold and attempt, and look forward to trying them. Once I do, I'll post about it. Until then, enjoy these.

More Sonobe Balls

2010-09-13T19:39:00.000-07:00

After finishing the last post about sonobe balls, it got me wanting to fold some more of them and this time try doing a 30-unit ball. So I had my wife pick out some dual-sided origami paper and I went to town. I used the same size pieces of paper to fold, so that I could accurately compare the new, 30-unit ball with the others I posted pictures of. As I was looking through my origami paper, I came across all of the other 12-unit sonobe balls I had folded. It was a pleasant surprise, because I thought that most of them had been demolished by one of my kids; apparently just the ones folded out of foil paper. So, here are some pictures of the 30-unit ball I folded today next to the other balls to give a good comparison.

The 30-unit sonobe ball (on the left) designed by Steve Biddle next to a 12-unit ball and a US quarter. The 30-unit ball is roughly the size of a golf ball (or maybe a little smaller) when done.

The large 30-unit sonobe ball surrounded by all of the smaller 12-unit sonobe balls that I had folded in the past.

I was playing around with the camera and liked how this picture turned out.

Once again, an excellent book to find the instructions on how to fold this particular sonobe ball pattern is Essential Origami by Steve and Megumi Biddle. Enjoy.

Sonobe Balls and Tomoko Fuse

2010-09-12T23:13:00.000-07:00

The first time that I came across this modular ball, the book simply called it a multi-unit sphere. Since then I've run across in several places on the Internet where they are called sonobe balls; a much easier name to refer to them by. One of the first books that I bought to teach myself origami was by Steve and Megumi Biddle titled Essential Origami: How To Build Dozens of Models from Just 10 Easy Bases. An excellent book for beginners, it divides all of the models into 10 bases (hence the title; nothing gets past me) that are from the very easy to fairly difficult; some of the later ones I still haven't attempted. Steve Biddle created his variation of the basic unit that is required to create these balls.

Each of the balls in these pictures was created from 12 basic units, though another more impressive ball can be made if you use 30 units. If you saw the post about the Floral Origami Globes by Tomoko Fuse, each of the globes were of the 30-unit design. In her book, Unit Origami, Tomoko Fuse has a couple of different designs for the basic units; a bird pattern and a pinwheel pattern. For these balls, I think that Steve Biddle's design is my favorite; its a pinwheel pattern but its different from Tomko's. The best type of paper to fold these out of is origami paper, even better to fold it from dual-sided origami paper. This is because if they are folded from paper that is the same color on both sides, there's not much of pinwheel pattern to enjoy. Though if you are going to fold from paper that is the same color on both sides, its best to use two, three or four different colors to combine together.

One of my favorite things that I've done with these balls is fold them out of foil origami paper and attach hooks in them to make Christmas tree ornaments (pictured below). Once you get a hang of folding the basic units and assembling a couple, these balls are very easy to create over and over again. So, while they may not be terribly difficult or challenging, they are still very visually pleasing and fun to do. Something else that I love to do with these is to make several of them and put them in a container to display. The final model is about as around as a quarter. So, here are just a few pictures of the sonobe balls that I've folded.

Just a few of the 12-unit sonobe balls with Steve Biddle's design from Essential Origami. The blue and white ball in the back row is the look you get when using regular origami paper. The rest were folded from dual-sided origami paper.

Another picture of the same sonobe balls spread out. Again, they are about as round as quarter.

My wife holding the foil sonobe balls that we attached to hooks to use as Christmas tree ornaments. This gives a little better idea of how small they are.

Another picture of the foil sonobe balls spread out on the table.

When we were first married, my wife and I were both still in college, and so we were unable to buy a Christmas tree; so I made one out of poster board. The star on top is folded as are the little shiny stars scattered everywhere, and of course the sonobe ball ornaments.

When we bought our latest digital camera we decided to play with some of the features to get a feel for them. Here we are using the macro feature to zoom in extra close.

Another close up picture of a sonobe ball. I love how the picture is so close and clear that you can actually see where I tore (instead of cutting) the origami paper when I was dividing the sheet I used into 12 pieces of paper.

So, those are just a few pictures that I have. I actually used to have many more of the balls folded once upon a time, but before I took the time to take some pictures of them one of my children got a hold of them and wanted to see how they came apart. Oh well. Guess I'll just have to fold some more :) Also, I think in the near future I'll fold one of the 30-unit balls at this size to give some comparison of the two models.

Side note: the entire reason that I picked up, looked through, and eventually purchased Steve and Megumi Biddle's Essential Origami was because of the dragon on the front. I love dragons. The dragon model was actually the first thing that I taught myself to fold out of the book (looking back there were probably easier models to start out with). Sadly, I don't have any pictures of any of the dragons I've folded; guess I'll just have to break open that book again and fold some more. Also, not only are you able to look through several of the pages in this book with the link to the side, but some Amazon user has uploaded pictures of a couple of the models that they folded; those pictures can be viewed there also.

Eric Gjerde's Tessellations

2010-09-07T21:37:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been enjoying the challenge of folding origami tessellations. From what I can find on the topic, Eric Gjerde is one of the leading individuals. He has a great Web site where he has posted quite a bit on the topic. I first stumbled upon his site and work several years ago and the pictures he had blew my mind. I thought, "Wow, he's incredible. There's no way I'd ever be able to that." While, I still think that about some of his most impressive work, I decided a short while later to try and tackle some of the "easier" designs. That was easy to do since Eric posts instructions for folding several of his designs on his site. He allows for anyone to go and download the instructions (in PDF form) free of charge with the stipulation that you aren't doing it for monetary gain and that you give him credit for the design.

Eric now has a book published titled Origami Tessellations: Awe-Inspiring Geometric Designs. I haven't had the privilege of owning this book, yet, but look forward to it. The couple of designs that I have folded came from the Web site, and they are a fun challenge.

Once the tessellations are folded, they are visually very pleasing on the front; but if the reverse side is shown it too has very nice patterns. That would be enough of a reason for me to fold and enjoy these models. However if you then hold the completed tessellation up to a window, or put it on a light table, yet another wonderful pattern appears. And yet again a fourth pattern can be seen if the reverse side is seen while back-lit. All-in-all tessellations are a lot of fun. Here are some of the first patterns that I've folded.

A Double Pleat Hexagon Tessellation designed by Eric Gjerde. This design has two fairly distinct patterns that are created; the six-pointed stars made by the small triangle and the hexagons below them.

The reverse side of the Double Pleat Hexagon Tessellation above. It forms a fun honeycomb pattern.

The front side of the Double Pleat Hexagon Tessellation held up to a window to give the back-lit pattern. The small hexagons become all the more apparent; they can be seen in the first picture by looking at the center of the six-pointed stars.

The reverse side of the Double Pleat Hexagon Tessellation back-lit. While the actual pattern here isn't much different from the previous picture, it does soften the edges of the hexagons giving it a little bit of a variation.

This is the same piece of paper that's pictured above of the Double Pleat Hexagon Tessellation, its just in process of folding. I was half tempted to stop folding at this point with how much I liked the pattern that was created; but I got too curious as to what the final product would look like. I'll probably fold another with the intent to stop at this point.

Eric Gjerde titled this the Spread Hexagon Tessellation. This is actually the first model that I attempted a few years ago (not this particular piece of paper; my first one wasn't nearly this good). I enjoy how all of the overlapping hexagons spread out and twist away from the top-most hexagon.

The reverse side of the above Spread Hexagon Tessellation. A honeycomb pattern is formed here as in the model above; there are more hexagons and they are smaller here.

The Spread Hexagon Tessellation held to the window for back-lighting. By doing this, the twisting effect of each successive layer of hexagons is easier to see.

The reverse side of the Spread Hexagon Tessellation with back-lighting. I love that a totally different pattern is created on the reverse side than what you find on the front; although it is possible to see the same pattern if you look for it.

The Spread Hexagon Tessellation folded slightly differently. Here, instead of starting in the middle of the paper with the top-most hexagon, I decided to see what it would look like if I started in one corner. It reminds me more of scales on a fish or maybe a dragon. I didn't take a picture of the reverse side, because it looks identical to the reverse side of the previous Spread Hexagon Tessellation.

The back-lit purple Spread Hexagon Tessellation.

The reverse side of the purple Spread Hexagon Tessellation. As with the Double Pleat Hexagon Tessellation that was back-lit, the pattern is the same but the edges are softened.

A close up picture of the Spread Hexagon Tessellation (the white one above).

These next pictures are tessellation, though not from Eric Gjerde. The creator of this next model is Shuzo Fujimoto. The only instructions that I've been able to locate are in video form here. The folder is Sara Adams; she has a very nice Web site, as well as a YouTube channel. Something I particularly enjoy about Sara is that she gets permission from the origami artist that created a model before posting videos of how to perform the folding. Anyways, here is Shuzo Fujimoto's Hydrangea model.

Shuzo Fujimoto's Hydrangea. I folded this during church one week; it took me about an hour to do. There were two young girls sitting in front of us; unfortunately I think I may have had more of their attention as I was folding this than the speaker. This was folded from a sheet of origami paper about 6 inches square.

A variation of the Hydrangea. I saw a picture of this online once and decided to try it. There are some very impressive versions of multiple Hydrangeas folded from a single sheet of paper. This is only folded to the third layer.

The Hydrangea folded to the fifth layer. This is folded from about a 11 inch square sheet of paper. Its a little easier to see how this can be considered a tessellation with this many steps. Each step in the tessellation is a cross that is rotated 90 degrees from the step before and a little smaller.

The reverse side of the 5-layer Hydrangea. Here, again, the reverse side has its own pattern to offer.

The reverse side of the 5-layer Hydrangea held to a window for back-lighting. A wonderful pattern.

Probably my favorite model so far when back-lit. The front side of the 5-layer Hydrangea.

One of the beauties of tessellations is that you can almost take it to as many layer/steps as you can want; with the limitation of the fact that with too many layers the paper can start to wear out from being folded so many times or that your fingers are too big to manipulate the paper at certain levels. Now, having said that, there are some very impressive pictures of tessellations on the Internet of very detailed models.

Here is another link to Eric Gjerde's book Origami Tessellations: Awe-Inspiring Geometric Designs. You can look inside of the book and Eric has included some impressive gallery pictures of tessellations that he has folded as well as others. Enjoy.

Tomoko Fuse Floral Origami Globes

2010-09-05T19:14:00.000-07:00

One of the things that I'd like to do with this blog is feature the work of the many different artists that I enjoy. I'd like to put in as much variety as I can; I have quite a few books and have folded from several artists off the Internet as well. Now, having said that, I realized something as I was going through my collection of origami pictures that I have: over half of the pictures that I have are of Tomoko Fuse's models :) While I'm okay with that because, as I said in my last post, she is my favorite artist/author and I've folded more of her work than anything else, it doesn't exactly allow for much variety for different styles. So, as a result I'm posting more of Tomoko's work; which I think is fine because she is amazing.

These models come from her book Floral Origami Globes. My wife loves this book and has told me many times that she wants me to fold at least one of everything from it. I have yet to fulfill that, but I have had the opportunity to fold several. Something I love about Tomoko's style (and about unit origami in general) is that you can take the same basic units and by changing the folding slightly each time you get a wide variety of patterns. This is particularly true in this book. There are a few different assembly methods of the globes and each unit is changed just a little bit to accomplish an entire book of different looks.

A collection of some of the globes I've folded. Once assembled the globes are just a little smaller than a standard softball.

A green and blue globe titled Alternate Fixes with a Type III base unit (the blue units). There are three different base units each folded a little differently and thus each is assembled a little differently; giving one of the variables for achieving the many globes. The other major variable is the "face" units (the green pieces here) that are added to the "base" units.

A purple and blue globe titled Butterflies with a Type III base unit (the purple units). There is a five-pointed star that is formed on each side that I like.

Another Butterfly globe. I often use standard copier paper that is available at any store that has office supplies (mainly because it is cheap and you get quite a bit with every pack), but here I used some paper that my wife bought for scrap booking. I love to use scrapbook paper, but the vast majority of the time it is too thick for what I enjoy folding.

A purple and turquoise Chrysanthemum globe with Type II base unit (the purple ones).

A blue and yellow Narrow Sashes globe with Type II base units (the blue ones). I enjoy the pinwheel pattern that is created with the sashes (the yellow units).

A blue and pink Petals globe with Type II base units (the base units are only visible at the points; the white/light blue); the blue and pink is accomplished by using origami paper that is colored on both sides.

A turquoise and orange Rhombic Patches globe with Type III base units (the turquoise ones). I love the five-pointed star pattern that is formed with this model.

A yellow/white checkered and blue Section B globe with Type I base units (the yellow/white checkered units). For some reason this globe makes me think of picnics and picnic baskets. Again scrapbook paper was used for the base units.

A pink and green/white checkered Large Tucked Bows globe with Type III base units (the pink units). This one makes me think of watermelons. This time scrapbook paper was used for the face units.

A green and purple Curves globe with Type III base units (the green units). This model reminds me of roses. This is also one of my wife's favorite model for both the color combination and the pattern that's formed.

A black and red Curls 1 globe with Type III base units (the black units). This one also reminds me of roses in a way. It's also one of my wife's favorite models.

All of these globes are assembled with 30 modules, and each module is formed from two units/pieces of paper. Thus, each of these globes are 60 pieces of paper. The globes are assembled in much the same way that a traditional sonobe cube or ball, and as a result there are actually many different shapes that could be assembled. Some other options would be a cube with 6 modules (meaning 12 pieces of paper would be required), a smaller globe with 12 modules (meaning 24 pieces of paper would be required), and any other shape you can think of. In all, the book has more than 30 different globes, offering a wide variety of models to fold.

If you're interested in checking out Tomoko Fuse's book Floral Origami Globes click on the link.

Tomoko Fuse's Origami Quilts

2010-09-02T19:00:00.000-07:00

My favorite style of origami is the modular, geometric style. There are many, many incredible origamists available in this area. My absolute favorite is Tomoko Fuse. She has written a wide variety of books, many in English, but many in other languages as well. One of my favorites of her books (and one of the hardest for me to get a hold of) is Origami Quilts. Everything in the book is stunning. I particularly enjoy this book because my mom is an avid quilter and has been for longer than I've been around. Growing up she took me with her to countless quilt shops and fabric stores ("dragged" may be better description for some of those occasions :) Here are some pictures of one of my favorite models from that book; Blooming Flowers 1.

So far I've done 4 different color variations, but the model is the same for all of them. I love the different patterns that are available depending on how many colors are used and how they are arranged. The white background is a standard-sized post board; so the models are a pretty decent size.

The front

Close up of the front

The reverse side. Something I love about this model is that no matter what side you look at, its amazing. This side makes the pinwheel pattern stand out. Its visible on the front, but there are two different pinwheels happening at the same time (one is the orange and purple & the other is the blue and green).

A closer look at the reverse side.

Reverse side of the same model with a slight variation.

Another model with different colors from the front. The difference between this model and the one above is that here only one color was used for the intermediate, connecting pieces (the green blocks here). As a result, you can see the pinwheel pattern on the front more easily (the pattern formed by the orange and blue pieces in this picture).

The reverse side of the same model. The pinwheel pattern is all the more apparent on the reverse side.

Another color variation. The difference in this model is that only one color is used for the outside "spikes" (the purple), and two colors are used for the intermediate, connecting pieces (the green and blue pieces) giving the pinwheel pattern.

A close up of the front. There's no picture of the reverse side because it would just be one solid color; purple.

A final color variation. This is one of my wife's favorites. Again only one color is used for the outside "spikes" (the blue pieces). Something unique here is that, although two colors were used for the intermediate, connecting pieces (the purple and turquoise), I only used the turquoise pieces in two locations instead of four; giving a little different pinwheel pattern variation.
Another point to make about this model (and Tomoko's work in general) is that there is no glue used to connect the pieces. "Traditional" modular origami uses no glue to connect the pieces; although some I've seen and folded are more sturdy if glue is used at the end. These have none, another reason I love her work. Hope you enjoy these.

Note: This book is extremely hard to find. You can find it online, but usually only used. Most of the time when you do find it, the seller seems to know that the book is hard to find and as result is asking quite a bit for the book. Here is a link to the book on amazon.com for anyone that would like to go look at it; you can use the "click to Look Inside" feature and flip through a few of the pages to get a feel for it. Origami Quilts

Blogging

2010-09-02T10:04:00.000-07:00

So, my wife blogs. In fact she maintains two different blogs, one for our family and one for preschool activities that she does with our children. I love her blogs. I look forward to when she updates them & get excited to go visit them (even though I was present for whatever she happens to be blogging about the majority of the time or even in the pictures that she posts) and read the posts. After she started blogging on a regular basis, she set up this blog for me to share the origami that I fold with others. As you can probably see I have done absolutely nothing with it since it was created over 2 years ago :( Oops. Well, that's about to change. I'm at least going to begin by posting some pictures of old models that I have folded. I'm not going to claim that I'll post on a regular basis, or set any kind of schedule; but I will use the blog.

So, here I go. I hope anyone that visits enjoys what I share. I'll be posting some pictures soon.

2008-04-11T19:25:00.000-07:00