ORIGAMI WEAVING: PART 2

The origami weaving model has progressed since the last posting.

Now I have the first intermediate strands locked into place. They look good.

I am not entirely sure about the method of connecting the second set of intermediate strands. I have one in place. (See the back view). I may have to redesign the lock if it remains able to slide down its connecting channel a little.













I have discovered that the model is easier to assemble if I leave the lock squares on the main strands unfolded until they are assembled with cross piece. The blue strip poking out the top is longer than its neighbour purely because the visible pre-creased squares have not yet folded up.

The smaller end sections are lock folded in place so that I don't lose the pieces. They unfold relatively easily with a little gentle care. Forcing them can mangle, crumple or tear the paper.

ORIGAMI WEAVING

While fighting the latest influenza epidemic I have been experimenting with origami "weaving". The problem of how to do this has helped to pass the time when I have been unable to sleep because of the effects of this very nasty virus.

The idea was to develop a method where I could add units to the length and breadth of the model while keeping it firm and stable. I needed to be able to lock two strips together at their ends and then lock this joint at right angles under the middle of a third strip.

My early attempts all proved unsuitable for one reason of another, mostly because the result was not sufficiently firm or stable. I finally settled on a modified square twist which is three sheets thick.

The photograph shows how this is coming along. I am developing a grid with the twist square locks at the intersections. I've used several different colors of paper so that the transitions between one piece and another are more obvious. Take a look at the orange and mauve strips. There is a different color projecting from either side of the middle of these strips.

Because this is a prototype folding I have been using cheap 20lb bond/50lb text copy paper in legal and ledger sizes. The color offerings are rather limited and I do not like them. The 'flu is making me feel sick enough without having to stare at a photograph of the model in its original colors of blue, green, pale yellow and goldenrod. I admit to the cyber crime of color changing the results to that which you see here.

I have plans for filling in the gaps with thinner woven strips. I think the result will be quite interesting. I plan on connecting these intermediate strips together using the discarded methods that I developed during the early phases of this project. Because the frame work is relatively rigid these methods should be suitable this time.

Although folding the strips is relatively easy putting them together is a little tricky. I am improving as I practice. The initial folding methods have been improved and modified. I have stopped tearing paper or getting hopelessly muddled with ridges which aren't where I thought I wanted them. I can now get the pieces together without tears in under a minute - well, mostly. At this stage, however, I would rate this piece as "advanced".

OCTAHEDRON BOX

I find the mathematical naming system for polyhedra to be somewhat cumbersome, especially when the full and precisely accurate term is used. According to the text book definition this box is officially a form of sunken rhombicuboctahedron. A slightly less complicated version identifies it as a cantellated cube or cantellated octahedron. I prefer to refer to the model simply by its general class name: an octahedron.

It has eight faces around its sagital plane and eight faces around its coronal plane.


But now we are getting complicated again. The neurological terms are just as confusing to the average Jill or Joe as the formal mathematical terms.




The original version of the box divides the rim of the lid in half so that the model appears to be in two equal halves when closed.


A fan prefers to make the box without turning the rim over. (See the red box which she folded.) It makes for a less bulky lid which is useful when the box is made from thicker paper.



For text weight paper use two squares, one about half an inch smaller than the square which will be used for the lid. I use one 8-1/2 inch square and one 8 inch square. It works rather well in Stardream paper which is 81 lb text weight.

The model works in other weights as well. The white and gold box was made from light weight pearlized text paper on the bottom (about 60lb text) and even thinner velum for the top. I generally try to avoid using velum as it is somewhat brittle and has a nasty tendency to crack, especially in areas where it is stressed or the crease is folded and unfolded regularly.





Izumi, the woman who made the red full rimmed version, is Japanese. She married a Mexican friend of mine and now speaks fluent Mexican Spanish.

She teaches the Japanese language to Mexican locals. In her teaching area she displays a vase of paper flowers which I folded from traditional patterns when I stayed in that house a couple of years ago.

The irony is that, although Japanese, Izumi could not show her students how to fold these models because she was almost entirely ignorant of her native art. She begged me to teach her while I was there this time.





Believe me, it felt very strange teaching a native born Japanese how to fold origami models.

She turned out to be a very good student. When I woke the morning after I taught her to fold the octahedron box I was amazed to discover the table littered with increasingly sophisticated models. Unfortunately most of my photos of her models were blurry or they would have been displayed proudly on this blog.


Fortunately her face was in focus, and here she is displaying two of her newly learned and folded models.

Way to go, Izumi! Buen trabajo!











Here is the crease pattern. The green shaded areas are hidden when the model is finished.

Annual L.A. Japanese Gardens Event

In the summer months of the U.S. year there is an annual origami teaching event on the southern outskirts of Los Angeles. To be precise, it is held in the Japanese Gardens in the grounds of the California State University at Long Beach. Origami enthusiasts from the region set up tables in the gardens and teach young and old how to make a selection of models. There is a small entrance fee to cover costs and there is an equally small "donation" paid to the teachers. I have traveled to L.A. to join the enthusiastic teachers for the past couple of years. It has been a tiring but satisfying experience.

The event is well-photographed by one of the group's enthusiastic origami photographers. This can present risks to some contributors. This year I was playfully photographed in possession of SCISSORS. I have not seen the results of this snapping and presume that it will be used as blackmail material at a later stage.

There were other less damning photographs taken. The one on this page shows me before my hair went gray. (In other words, the dye grew out again.) The student is one of the other contributors. Before the hoards arrive there is sometimes time to try out someone else's creations. I just wish there were more time to do this.

FOUR WAY PAPER CONNECTION

I have been studying Spanish in Mexico for a while so this blog has been neglected. Origami, however, was not neglected. In fact, I developed several new models in between wrestling with those wretched Spanish verbs. They will appear on this site as I put the finishing touches on them.


Today's offering is a just completed set of instructions for connecting four pieces of paper firmly and decoratively at the corners while remaining in a flat plane. That is, they are the elements of a quilt or of a large sheet of decorative paper which can then be shaped into a 3D box, vase, bowl or whatever.


Here are screen shots of the PDF file. Enjoy! I'd love to hear from anyone who tries them out.

POCKET BOX CREASE PATTERNS

Here are the crease patterns for the Pocket Box with Floor and Lid.


The model uses two sheets of American Letter sized copy paper. One sheet is cut in half and half of this sheet has one quarter inch removed from its height.

The box body is made from the full sheet. The floor insert and the lid take a half sheet each. The floor sheet is a little shorter so that it will not buckle when it is inserted into the body of the box.

The pattern works best with 70 to 80 lb text paper. Thinner paper will work but the lid is harder to lock. Thick paper will work but may tear or feather around the diamond. It is also more difficult to pack flat.

Most of the model will work with sheets of A4 (Silver Rectangle) dimensions. The middle sections, however, are narrower. This means that the floor section needs to be modified because the tuck-under triangles overlap in the center. I am working on an alternative pattern for this. Meanwhile, use sheets which are as wide, or wider than the American Letter ratio.

If you need a floor for the A4 model then cut a piece of thin card so that it is slightly smaller than the floor of your model. Place this piece between the wall layer and the floor layer when you pack up the box. For models which use thick paper or thin card this type of loose floor is preferred anyway.

Emergence from Down Under

It's been quite a while since I posted anything here. As previously mentioned, I have been extremely busy assisting an Australian friend deal with a professional lynching team. Unfortunately the abuse continues, but there has been as long enough lull to have an "orgami break".

I have developed quite a number of new models and continue to work on old ones. The modular vase is up to the Mark 10 version now, and I am still not entirely happy with it. I have had to solve quite a few problems along the way. There will be more about this in future posts

Here are some preview photos of things I have been working on.


There is a large series of vases. Here are examples.

The blue one has a weak bottom. The pink and grey one has a lid which is flimsy compared to the base. The tall yellow pot, made from legal sized paper, works very well.















The final tall vase version. The lid is a little crumpled in the photo because it is the prototype.














There is another modular vase under development. It bears some resemblance to the tesselated blue vase above but the shape is different and the bottom does not fall out :-) It joins pieces of paper both horizontally and vertically: 12 Silver Rectangles in total. More later.



Here is a squash bowl. Pack it flat and assemble it when needed.














Here is the final version of the Pocket Box with firmly fitting lid. Pack it flat, put it in your pocket and take it out and assemble it when needed.

























This box and lid are made from the new Orange Coated card weight paper. The lid is pitched like a roof. This is another relatively easy box to fold.












I experimented with flowers again. I call this one a Quad Lily because it has four petals and looks approximately like a lily. It does not resemble any flower that I know actually grows somewhere, but it looks nice. The lilies will eventually be connected to form a kusadama and/or a 3D quilt. The current connector template is made from a piece of recycled printed paper and is not fit to be photographed. You will just have to wait patiently until I get around to working on this model again.













I am still fascinated with hexagons so there are various hex bowls with lids.


Series One. The base is a year old. The lids are new. Note the upside down yellow lid which also doubles as another bowl.
























Series Two













I am still experimenting with ways to connect pieces of paper to form large models.


These designs connect four pieces of paper firmly and decoratively. They are relatively easy to fold and should make quite a difference to what can now be achieved with origami quilts.