Dodecahedron, continued!

Still waiting on the wildflower to start my journal.  It should be soon! I hope...

In the meantime, the modular origami using Sonobe units continues. Remember when I mentioned the 90 unit dodecahedron? It is taking months to finish. I put it aside to work on the journals, and am only now picking it back up. Here is what it looks like right now.

This is the bottom section, assembled. Imagine another *big* section like it, inverted over the top. That's kind of how it will look when it is finished. Once I get to this point in the assembly, it is exciting to see how it's coming together. I think the half-finished model is pretty in its own way, too.

You can see a bone folder on the side, on top of the pile of gift wrap squares, and some individual Sonobe units piled up. The bone folder takes some time to get used to, but it really will help you get the creases sharp. The finished model will be prettier.

Anyhow, I don't think I've shown how Sonobe units can form a cube, too. Here's a picture of how six of them can fit together to form a cube.

This cube only lasted long enough to take a picture... those six units are needed for the 90-unit dodecahedron!

I also made a rhombidodecahedron using Thomas Hull's bouncy units. He has instructions on his YouTube channel that show how to make this. It required 24 bouncy units.

Notice the shape of the interior holes. This model came out squishy and bouncy, just as he said. We were surprised at how much fun it is to hold. Again, I made this from gift wrap. It might be a little sturdier made from different paper, but I enjoyed how he designed the bounce into the units, and it worked well enough with gift wrap.


Enough origami for now... Happy Fourth of July!

Clear Modular Origami

One last origami post, for now! I would only suggest attempting this if you are curious, or stubborn, or both. 


This is another Toshie's jewel folded from three Sonobe units. It is made from clear giftwrap, the kind you would use to wrap baskets.



 

 

I found that to make this model, it's easiest to use a bone folder to get sharp creases. Also, use a grid underneath, so you can see through the wrap and fold along the lines.



Origami Envelope book

This was a fun book to make, and it's from my series of Louisiana Impressions books. I thought it would be fun to make something that might capture a child's eye, and light a creative fire. I suppose I am reaching out to kids who might be creative like I was, and give them some ideas and encouragement.

I got the idea for an origami envelope book from Alisa Golden's book, Making Handmade Books. The paper I used is painted with acrylic paints, and the book is tied together with linen thread.

The book is called Louisiana Backyard, and has removable creatures in each pocket. Inside is a crawfish, a dragonfly, a lizard, and a June bug, all of which I found in my backyard one warm summer day in Louisiana.

Origami Model

This is a Five Intersecting Tetrahedra model that I made from directions in Thomas Hull's book, Project Origami: Activities for Exploring Mathematics. The book is wonderful for those of us who think in three dimensions. Making this model took patience, but it was a lot of fun. I am still not sure if I got the last tetrahedron woven in properly, but I think I did!

I am looking forward to making more models from this book. Kudos to the author for writing a math text that is fun!

Origami folder

I'm working on a Cosmos Ball origami project, from Meenakshi Mukerji's book, Marvelous Modular Origami. This project requires folding thirty small units of paper to make a beautiful ball. I have previously made the Poinsettia Ball from this book, and enjoy seeing it on top of my bookshelf. It is beautiful.

I needed a way to corral all those little pieces of paper, so I decided to make a folder. I found a heavy decorative paper in my stash, collaged on some end-piece offcuts of wrapping paper that I am using for the origami, and used washi tape as a way to decoratively secure it all. After that, I added a bit of cheerful calligraphy. Here is what I came up with!

You can see that I just folded the paper in half, and then folded the sides in a bit. Then I folded up a pocket on the bottom. The sides were then secured with the tape.

I really like this folder! I can use it to bring my origami with me if I have to go somewhere I know I will have to wait.  Thirty pieces of paper is a lot to fold. I can't do it all in one sitting. And I really want to try the 90 unit dodecahedron she has in the book... that's quite a lot of folding! Folding is relaxing for me, and I like to take my time and enjoy it.

The little offcuts are from a wrapping paper that I found the other day. It's a roll of Hallmark paper, and the back is printed in a 1" grid. Many of the models I have been making use rectangles instead of squares. This is a big time saver.

I hope to post a few more projects in the coming days. Hope this week is a beautiful one for you!

Works on Paper and High Humidity

As we near the end of summer, I am astonished at how differently paper acts in a humid climate. Previously crisp folds go limp, and books change shape. After living in lower relative humidity for so long, it is tough to know how to respond. Fall air should be drier, but winter will bring humidity again, and so the cycle will repeat itself.

I recently noticed the same issues are starting to show up in the origami pieces on display at my home, even with air conditioning.

I am hoping that another book or paper artist will chime in and comment with some tips or ideas!

In the meantime, I am weighing whether encasing future works in a layer of acrylic medium would help, by sealing the papers.