THE HOOKED VASE

Since I have been working with pentagons it was inevitable that I would come up with a serendipitous design.






This model combines some of the features of my Coaster Bowl and its lids, some of the features Pentamontanas Flower and some of the features of one of Francis Ow's bowl. The hooked points are a novel feature that arose by accident and looked sufficiently interesting to preserve.







The model can be varied by folding the points and the top triangles hard against the base or by lifting them away from the walls.

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.

Modular Vase: Part 3

The middle section of the modular vase has been folded. It has been connected in a circle but not connected to the base yet. There are some logistical problems with doing this.

I have decided to fold the top section pieces first. Then I will undo the base and middle groupings and re-connect the three pieces vertically before trying to connectthem all horizontally.

This may work better. OTOH, this will make construction of the floor difficult as it is slotted together from the top, not from the bottom. I may not be able to reach inside to put the last section together.

I think I am in for a frustrating time until I figure this puzzle out.

The Modular Vase: Part 2

After a labor intensive foray into non-origami-related areas, I am returning to the Obsession.

This morning I completed the Crease Pattern for the eight unit base section of the Modular Vase. Here it is.


Each section is 3n wide x 2n high and most usefully divided into 12 columns by 8 columns. A parsimonious folding sequence does not, however, require that all these columns be creased. First fold all the binary-based creases. Next use my Division Helper to make a vertical crease at two-thirds of the width. All the other third-based creases can be found from this one in combination with foldings using the binary-based creases.

The thin lighter-shaded lines are those which are required to find other lines or are used in the creasing or folding process. The alternating red-and-blue lines change direction during the process.

Yesterday I spent all day making Step Foldings for this base. There are 30 of them, which will give you an idea of the work I will need to put into converting these into standard format diagrams. Hint: LOTS. Needless to say, you won' t be seeing these tomorrow.

Today I intend to spend some time working on the eight unit middle section.

Modular Vase: Part 1

The past couple of weeks have been spent doing a lot of things other than origami. Life needs variety. Sometimes, however, I wish that the variety could be a little less stressful :-)

In between my other tasks I have continued to develop a large scale modular vase. It has lots of box pleats which I can use to shape the final product. I have got as far as putting together the bottom of the three major sections. Like the other sections, it is made up of eight other sections, if you don't count the "plug" to cover the central hole. The result, with a little modification of the parts which will later be used to connect the middle section, is a large dish.

There will be no edges showing in the final product. All the seams are hidden in the box pleats which are locked by the square foldings at the intersections. Although they look like square twists, these ones are not actually twisted. Once you know the secret of producing them they are not as impossible or as slow to collapse as you might think. Mind you, it took me a lot of trial and error and lateral thinking before I found a relatively easy way to make them. I shall eventually reveal all, so keep your bookmark or your feed subscription current.

This is a photo of the prototype base section. The central plug had not been added at this point.

This prototype has been folded from graph paper. There are a number of advantage to using graph paper in the early stages. Folding is faster when you do not have to find all crease lines in relation to previous folds and landmarks. Changes are easier to track. Transferring the creases to a master pattern is facilitated.

I am working on a conventional folding plan so that the model can be folded without the need for a printed guide. This is important because the top sections of a full sized jar use paper which is too large to be put through a normal printer. Besides, the need to print out CPs restricts the type of paper which can be used.

It is too early to provide diagrams or CPs. First, this is just the base section. Second, the model may go through several more changes before I am satisfied with its shape, locking mechanisms and ease of folding. I will post updates as I fold them.

I expect to be tied up with other rather time-consuming matters for several more weeks so postings will be a little more spaced out than the hectic activity in recent weeks. If you want to follow the vase through its development then consider subscribing to the RS feed. There is too much of interest on the Net to waste your time coming back here each day just in case you miss the next exciting installment.

CPs for the Water Lily Kusudama Series

Here are crease patterns for the Water Lily Kusudama and its derivatives and attachments. Unfortunately the CPs do not tell the whole story. There are some twists and tricks in putting these things together which are not at all obvious from the CPs. If you are a novice to middle level folder you may have to wait until I complete the diagrams before enlightenment is possible.

Begin by making a hexagon from a rectangle. The pattern is scaled for American Letter paper but the same concept applies equally well to an A4 sheet.

These are "rough and dirty" instructions which avoid me posting a full set of careful diagrams. If they leave you confused try Googling for better ones until I post some myself.

Divide the paper into four equal parts lengthwise. Mountain fold the bottom corners up to the quarter crease marks. This will give you sharp corner angles and two sides of the hexagon. Make the valley creases by appropriately lining up the edges. Complete the hexagon by mountain folding the paper along the appropriate edges. If you consider how the creased section will reflect when folded you can figure out which edges to line up. Try it out with a piece of scrap paper first.




The following CP is a stage along the way to making the Water Lily Kusudama units. It will provide you with the hex star and legged dish. I suggest that you fold the overlapping sections half way around and then unfold them and start at a different point. The final moves are a lot less confusing when the paper has already been primed to fold in the right direction.




The additional creases shown here will provide you with the water lily unit. Although they are shown on the back side of the paper they are made from the front. If you end up with the unit by following these CPs in the absence of step by step diagrams I will be quite impressed. Send me a photo to prove it. You will need eight water lily units for the kusudama and/or outer skin of the chopstick holder or vase.

The units are put together with the aid of strips made from the cut offs from the starter rectangle. They are four hex grid triangles long by one hex grid triangle wide. You need three of them per flower. Double the ends over and insert them into the matching shape that you will find by gently lifting the internal petal of a hex section and carefully pulling up the two flaps. Push the internal petal back down to lock them in place. Bend the strip on the central crease and insert the angled other end into a corresponding side of another flower. Continue until you run out of flowers to connect.

The next CPs are for the upgraded version of the central tube/vase. In order to get one that exactly fits the dimensions of the square left by the edges of the connected flowers, take a starter rectangle of the same size used to make the starter hexagons and crease it at the three-fifths point. Use my division helper to do this easily. (See earlier post.)

Next divide the three-fifths section into four equal parts and relect two of these on to the remaining paper. Cut off the left over section. Fold the rest according to the CP.


Roll up from the right hand side. Loosen the central section a little and twist the left hand rolling under the right hand rolling at the central point or thereabouts. I am afraid this a hard to describe in words. If you have made Kenneth Kawamura's twist box you will understand the procedure. If you can't figure it out then omit the odd configuration on the right hand side base section, roll the thing up starting from the right hand end and simply tuck the last flap under. The only difference is that the internal floor does not look quite so neat. If you are going to fill the tube up with something and don't intend to peer into its depths very often then this is probably quite adequate aesthetically and quite strong enough as well.

Unlike the model in the earlier photographs, this one has a triangular slash on just one of the external walls and a matching one on an internal wall. As well as being decorative, the slashes prevent noticeable sagging on the long side walls.

The result is pretty strong and sturdy but not, alas, waterproof. Don't fill it with fluid and use it for real flowers. If you are going to fill it with heavy things then you can strengthen it further (at the expense of shortening it) by turning over a narrow strip at the top. You can avoid unwanted crumpling by making 45 degree creases in the corners of each section before folding the material over to top. You can then ease it over a section at a time. Of course, pictures or detailed diagrams would help. Unfortunately preparing these takes more time than I am prepared to spend at the moment. Manana. (Where's the tilda when you need it?)



Filling in the square holes begins with a procedure similar to the internal tube. Take a piece of paper the same size as that used for the hexagon starter for the kusudama flower. Make a crease at the three fifths mark. Fold two squares from this section and discard the remainder. Fold each square to match the CP. You will need four squares (that is, two sheets of paper.)

In order to make the side tabs match the hexagonal angles into which they will slot make a template angle from a piece of the scrap, line its base up with the base line of each tab and fold the right side of each tab around the template. Lift up tabs in the pockets of the remaining hex sections of the water lilies and slip the tabs into them. Adjust. These square sections are not held together as firmly as the water lily pieces are to each other but they are not especially fragile either.

Enjoy!

Water Lily Kusudama Vase Update

The Water Lily Kusudama now has inserts for the square holes and a new inner tube. I am working on CPs and diagrams. More on these later.

It's a nice sunny day and I and my family need to make use of it.

Water Lily Chopstick Holder or Vase

The waterlily kusudama has been given a central column which has morphed it into a vase or a chopstick holder.

Tall Vases

Here is another venture into the realm of vases. These ones are based on a rectangle.

These are vases for paper flowers or other objects which do not need to be regularly infused with di-hydrogen-monoxide. Because of the side steam, these models would not hold water, even if the folding material were waterproof.

Of course, this limitation could be overcome if the seam was welded, glued or stuck up with tape but we will leave that to non-purists who are do not concern themselves with following the traditional rules: no cuts, no glue, no tape, no staples. Perhaps you are thinking of those beautiful kusadamas that would behave like falling rain drops were it not for the presence of sticky stuff at the joints.

The models are relatively easy to fold although the final floor moves are a little tricky. Crease patterns will be supplied later. Just enjoy the photos for now.

The Bulb-Stem-Flower Vase

The last two days have been spent developing an earlier hexagonal base proto-folding into a flower vase. I have called it the Bulb-Stem-Flower Vase because that is what it looks like. The base of the vase has indentations which look like bulbs. The mid section has slits which look like stems. The top section has projections which look like petals. And the interior has foldings which look like the internal structure of a flower.

I developed a colored paper pattern which emphasizes these elements and also assists with folding. This is fortunate, because the model is based on multiples of five which can be difficult to fold accurately, even with a division template.

The most difficult part of the model may well be the process of printing the design on an inkjet printer so that the front and back are in the same orientation and the setting has been adjusted so that the ink dries between coatings and does not smudge. The shinier the paper, the longer this takes. It is also necessary to allow the paper to dry completely before folding the model or you will add to the smudges.

Here is how this model began its life. Apart from the coloring, there is actually not much that is different between this model and its development.

The three models shown here were printed on different papers: flat white 80#text copy paper, Wausau 70#text Royal Metallics White Gold paper (white with a pale yellow glint) and Gruppo Cordenons 80#text Stardream Opal metallic paper (very pale yellow with a white sheen).

The plain copy paper (front right) worked fairly well. It had the clearest brightest colors and folded well. This example lacks the maroon internal flower coloring which was added to the later models.

The Wausau paper (front left) was the least successful. The ink ran and smudged badly, something which may have been avoided by allowing the printing on the front of the sheet to dry before printing the pattern on the back. One of the edges tore slightly while being folded. The paper is thinner than the 80#text but still holds its shape well. Its main advantage is that it has a slight sheen which shines through the printed colors.

The Stardream paper (center back) was the most successful. It also smudged, but not nearly as badly. It was good to fold, did not tear and was a perfect weight. The mica coating on the paper makes it water resistant but I think the inkjet colors remain water soluble even when dry. While the printed colors on this paper are the most muted of the three, the sheen which shows through them is wonderful. I would like to think that the mica coating on the paper makes it water resistant but I think the inkjet colors on top of it will prove to be water soluble.

Here are the paper patterns for the front and the back of the vase.

The front pattern is 8 inches wide by a little over 9 inches tall so it will print on either American Letter or A4 paper. Make sure your printer centers the images on the paper. Do a test run to make sure that you put your paper back in the tray in the correct orientation for correct back-to-back printing.

The pattern for the back of the paper has been extended around the edges to allow for sloppy printer alignment. It is about 8.2 inches wide so it should still print on an A4 sheet. Be sure to print the images out in their actual size. Do not let our printer adjust them to fit the page or they may not line up, even with the in-built fudge factor.

Here are the crease patterns. Please note that the crease patterns are shown on the "colored" side of the paper and not the "white" (back) side as per usual. This model is easiest to make if you work from the front.



Start by making the preliminary grid creasings. It should be relatively easy to find landmarks for these on the colored pattern. Next add the mountain creases outlining the three axes.

Begin the third diagram by firming up the creases in that picture which you have already made. Now add the valley fold spokes. These are made by bringing two mountain fold spokes in to meet on the line which connects the center points of the edges. Be careful not to fold these lines all the way to the apex as this will make it difficult to form the "bulb" at the base.

The creases around the edge are formed by halving the tips of the overlapping material which ends up on the inside of the vase. Turn the results over the top to form the petals. Shape them as you wish. Your model is complete. Send me a photo.

This has been a somewhat frustrating model to develop. Wrestling with color printers is not my idea of fun, especially when they ruin perfectly good pieces of special paper. I managed to contribute to this process by making more "fool folds" than usual. The camera angles are designed to hide them. A "fool fold" is a fold you make in the wrong place or in the wrong direction through a deficiency of brain juice which is at least temporary in nature.

The fact that the color printer is housed in a dark corner of my husband's relatively impenetrable study did not help my humor. Navigating Peter's study needs mountaineering gear, a compass and a good health insurance plan. First he insists on littering it with all the packing boxes which his computer equipment came in. He insists that this is absolutely necessary "so I can move them safely elsewhere". Then he uses the floor as essential "flat space" to store just about everything so that it "can be easily seen". This does not work too well as he is constantly loosing things under the many layers which accumulate on and around the box collection. He would make an excellent member of Monty Python's Society for Putting Things on Top of Other Things. It is hard for me not to add to the layers by falling on top of them, which would probably make me an honorary Member.

In spite of the frustrations, the model has been completed. I think the results are worth it. Do you?

It turns out that bulb-like sinkings in vases are not unique inventions of mine. Christine Edison provides details of a Septimus Vase inspired by Phillip Chapmen Bell which also has these items surrounding the basal section.

http://flickr.com/photos/christine42/1250344172/

I had not seen either Edison's or Chapmen Bell's models before I came up with mine. As is often the case, the inventions were independently made in a roughly similar time period.