Sunday Funnies

Dashboard Origami

Kawasaki Rose on Leaf Stand (6" single squares)

How many of you decorate your vehicle dashboards with origami?  I've seen others hang modulars from the rear view mirror.

The Kawasaki rose in this photo is one that I might have folded in 2005.  It's poster-taped to the dash, salvaged from the Mikemobile IV (currently residing in the Mikemobile V).  The color is so faded from the sun, it might end up turning into a white rose in another year or two.

The Mikemobile III was a Chevy Lumina minivan (I loved that car with the cool aerodynamic windshield).  I used to have a series of Montrol horses with their hind legs velcroed to the dashboard.  So anytime I made a sharp turn, depending on the horse and how sharp the turn was, certain horses would rear up on the hind legs.

Yes....I like to entertain myself every moment I can.  And it's small things like this that add up and make each day fun.

How much for the bottle of wine?

By someone called "craigfoldsfive":

Looks to be inspired by Jo Nakashima's origami bottle (although quite possible to be completely independent).



Craigfoldsfive's deviantART gallery here.

Tea Set

Joshu asked a monk who appeared for the first time in the hall, "Have I ever seen you here before?"

The monk answered, "No sir, you have not."

"Then have a cup of tea," said Joshu.

He turned to another monk. "Have I ever seen you here before?" he said.

"Yes sir, of course you have," said the second monk.

"Then have a cup of tea," said Joshu.

Later, the managing monk of the monastery asked Joshu, "How is it that you make the same offer of tea whatever the reply to your question?"

At this Joshu shouted, "Manager, are you still here?"

"Of course, master!" the manager answered. "Then have a cup of tea," said Joshu.

Tea Pot and Tea Cups

Created by Sy Chen

Folded by Michael Sanders

Diagrams:  2003 OUSA Convention Book

I folded these last night for Allison Redfoot, assistant director and education coordinator at the Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden, in preparations for the annual Origami Festival next month.  

I folded one of these for her years ago and something happened to it.  I've been meaning to fold her a replacement set for several years, now.

Finally done. 

Last year's festival:

OUSA Weekend!

Another year that I've missed!

Hope everyone is having fun without me!

They must be.  Not a peep on the O-List (too busy folding and recovering what little sleep they can between folding sessions) so I guess we'll have to wait for the after-action reports.  

Dr. Robert Lang has put up some photos.

More to come.

*UPDATE*  20:25 

I missed this yesterday:  The first ever live webcast teaching session at OUSA, from Nick Robinson across the great ocean:

Sunday Funnies

Men's Parallel Paper Bars

Gymnast with Apparatus

Created by Luigi Leonardi

Folded by Francois Ziegler

Diagrams in OUSA '95 and 

possibly BOS 161

When Paper Walks...

Acrobat

Created and Folded by

Charles Santee

Single square

As a former gymnast and coach, my critique on the realistic capture:


Love that lower back, archy-pike, legs swimming apart, and head sticking out- realistically sloppy.

What's impressive is that it looks to be balanced in mid-motion on one arm.

$pinning Top$

I finally got around to following Jeremy Shafer's tutorial on his dollar spinning top.  He has been very generous and prolific in his video uploads, sharing many of his models on his YouTube channel.

A few years ago, Wensdy Whitehead shared her dollar top design with me.  Both models begin with the same base.



Jeremy's tutorial:

One day a student asked a famous origami master, "What is the most difficult part of folding?" 

The origami master answered, "The part of the paper where nothing is folded is the most difficult."
-Modified from a zen saying

Aspiring to Fold too Close to the Sun

“Love gives you wings. Icarus and the Challenger both had wings, and so did my first love letter, after I folded it up and flung it at my crush.
” 

― Jarod Kintz, This is the best book I've ever written, and it still sucks 

Icarus

Created by Takashi HOJYO

Folded by Michael Sanders

January 27, 2003
Photo by Erica Knopper

A decade ago I was in love with this model.  I remember Peter Farina and I both joined JOAS just to acquire the special diagrams.  I've been an ongoing member ever since.

Although still a favorite, I folded it no more than 3 times; nor have I folded it in a decade; it remains a special favorite to me.

“I’ve never been certain whether the moral of the Icarus story should only be, as is generally accepted, ‘don’t try to fly too high,’ or whether it might also be thought of as ‘forget the wax and feathers, and do a better job on the wings.” 

― Stanley Kubrick

One day, I'll get around to folding it again.

...And do a better job on the wing.

Hangin' with Joe

Joe Hamamoto insists that he's retired (from doing origami events).  Even short trips can tire him out.  Yet he remains a prolific folder.  A one-man factory at producing giveaway models- many of which include models that take 3 hours + to fold.  And he is always giving away his work.

Deciphering the Delecat Dollar $hirt and Tie

Happy Father's Day!

In 2002, I was pretty new to the internet and had only gotten into origami (beyond traditional models, which I had done on-and-off since I was 8 years old) around the beginning of that year (or maybe it was 2001?!).  I think my first WCOG meeting was that February.  I never owned a computer before that year and somehow "figured things out".  Soon I had joined the O-List and was using email communications.

On Christmas Day, surfing origami sites on the web, I came across this photo.  I popped off an email to John Andrisan.   In my mail, I mentioned that I had emailed Stefan Delecat about possible diagrams for the model:

Life is Beautiful When You Know Yami

Yukie and Helen hold up a picture of their dream boyfriend

Practice for folding the flower portion of Herman Lau's $flower-in-a-pot

February 4, 2004

For anyone having trouble with folding the flower portion of Herman Lau's $flower-in-a-pot, a good way to practice is to isolate just the flower portion and fold out of regular, square kami:






Hat tip for video:  Hisako TANJI

When Origami Goes Nuts!

Created and Folded by Beth Johnson:

Two sheets of EH paper. Top is hexagon, and uses the spread hex tessellation pattern. Bottom is a circle, and was designed using Jun Mitani's ORI-REVO software. No cuts or glue.

 It looks like the model could easily double as a container with lid.

 

What did the acorn say when it grew up?

Jo Nakashima's Money Cat

I wanted to use foreign currency, but misplaced my stash.  So lucky quarters:

6-13-2013

Also blogging:
Origami Kids

Variation of Origami Boulder

Hat tip:  Rebecca Gieseking

I can't believe that Origami Boulder is still "in business".

Here's a crease pattern to make a much more elaborate derivative of "crumpled ball" and "origami boulder".

Personally, I think that's the hardest cp ever.

Artur Biernacki CP
Collapse and detail help

Hungry for Paper?

I believe these were all folded in 2003....

 Breakfast:

Paper Divisions

How to fold 5ths by Anna Kastlunger

 Video by Jo Nakashima (Hat tip:  Dianne Stephens):



 Dividing a circle into fifths.

 Method of dividing into 5ths, 7ths, etc. shared by Norberto Kawakami.


Video by Tadashi MORI (Hat tip: Gregory Miyata):





Further:
Origami Resource Center
Template for thirds
Template for fifths

Music + Paperfolding = Singing Storigami!

Joel Stern writing in to the O-List:

Hi all,

As coordinator of Pacific Ocean Paperfolders (POP), I often meet people from different backgrounds and professions who find new ways to use origami. One of our regular attendees, Anne Kelly-Saxenmeyer, who runs a music and art program for toddlers called PLAY, became involved with POP because her son Jack was into origami. She not only caught the folding bug herself, but found a wonderful way to combine origami and music to engage the 1-5 year-olds in her program. Using just one or two creases, she's able to weave story-songs that stimulate the imagination in a sweet and wondrous way.

Here are two links, performed by PLAY faculty member Angie Engelbart Solomon:

Road Trip
 
Camping Paper Story:

It's nice to be reminded that you don't have to go complex to find pleasure in a piece of paper.
Enjoy!

Videos are embedded below:

Won Park Napkin Folding Method (Demo/instructional)

February 20, 2009 in Los Angeles

Most people only know Won Park for his complex dollar folds.  Here he is folding a napkin rose in a manner I haven't seen previous to this (From OUSA in 2007):

*UPDATE* 6/10/2013 10:27

I'm on Top of the World...Spinning...Down on Creation....

11-27-2009

Manpei Arai's spinning top is my favorite origami giveaway model!

I've been doing origami at festivals and events to entertain folk for over a decade now.  Strongly influenced by Joe Hamamoto's example of prefolding models to hand out to the masses, I always come well-stocked on spinning tops.  It's one of those things that is easier to give than to teach in a festival setting where you are trying to bring the joy of origami to as many people as possible- which usually means teaching models that are simple and quick, rather than time-consumingly and frustratingly complex for raw beginners to get through.


To expedite my time, I start out with a stack of 3-5 sheets and fold up to the base before separating the layers.  You can see an example of this here.  (If you can't get the video to play, go to the YouTube version).


True story:  I once folded about 12 of these with my eyes shut, while having my teeth worked on at the dentist's.

June NOA #454

Model contents:
Frog-shaped toothpick's holder and Frog by Ms. Yuko FUJIMOTO
Snail (Traditional)
Kappa by Mr. Takuma KUROIWA
Japanese umbrella (Traditional)
Japanese Hydrangea by Mr. Manabu ICHIKAWA
Rose receptacle by Ms. Masako FUTAWATARI
Wristwatch by Mr. Ryo AOKI
Balloon by Ms. Akiko YAMANASHI
Club, Diamond, Spade, and Heart by Ms. Minako ISHIBASHI
Envelope with a tie by Ms. Taiko NIWA
Ninjya box by Ms. Akiko YAMANASHI
Tidy box by Ms. Ayako KAWATE

WCOG June Meeting

Bennett Arnstein made his first WCOG meeting since his accident.

Yami sporting a gorgeous book of photographs by Kazuyoshi ITO

More photos here.

Folding the Handle of Manpei Arai's Spinning Top

I've noticed that a number of folders seem to have difficulty with folding the handle of Manpei Arai's spinning top correctly.

For those who have trouble with it, hope this helps illuminate:




Incidentally, Sara Adams has revised her old spinning top video with a new one (different variation-closure of the model!)  Hat tip:  Deb Pun!

Also, Charli Blog links to diagrams.

Unknown Flip Book

So I've been going through my archives....



My OUSA roommate acquired this neat little flip book- a business advertisement.  It's not exactly a book and I had filmed it because I had planned to try and duplicate the process.  Does anyone know if there is a specific name for this sort of thing?  Any tutorial for it?





*UPDATE*


Hmmm....well, I Googled "How to make a flip card", and ended up finding this- a swing card.  Not what I'm looking for, but cool nonetheless and looks fun to make:


Her blogpost is here, for additional information.


These look fun, too:

How to make a pulley card
Peek-a-boo card 
Marvelous Magical Marquee Card Tutorial 
Sliding Pop Up Card tutorial 
How To Make A Twist Turn Card 
Secret Door Technique Card

Model Identification?

This is a passerby up in the Gold Mine at OUSA in 2007.  Can anyone identify the model he is holding and possible diagram source:

My 1st First Thursday!

Happy D-....er.....B-Day Beverly!

Every first Thursday of the month, there is origami in Torrance, hosted by Beverly Baudino.  I finally made my first meeting.

Celebrating Beverly's birthday...apparently there were too many candles on the cake. 

Beverly taught us this nice box in a box, designed by Akiko YAMANASHI:

Heather's video instruction here.

I tried really, really hard to distract Joe:






My thanks to Pam Miike for filming and figuring out how to toggle the button on my Casio high speed Exilim Ex-Fc150 for the slow-motion recording.

A disciplined folder....

More photos here.

All for one and one for all!

Eric Joisel's models of dogs

Source

The above photo was taken by Dee Lynch from a Zaragosa origami exhibit in Spain, featuring the works of Vincent Floderer and the late great Eric Joisel.

Joisel is quite renown for his masks and human figures.  I don't think his canine models get quite enough of the attention that they deserve...

Source?

 I believe I "stole" the following photos years over a decade ago from the late great Sebastien Curvers:

Two Videos of Joe Hamamoto Restored

My longtime, primary YouTube account had been disabled several years ago due to copyright infringement 3 strikes issue (Arrrgh!).  I think it had to do with use of music.

I uploaded and restored into two old posts, videos of Joe Hamamoto.  One of the original vids was actually uploaded to Google video, since at the time, YouTube had a 10 minute rule on all their videos.  Google video has since gone the way of the dinosaur.

Anyway, the two posts with videos if you haven't seen them before are:
Joe Hamamoto:  Retired, but working harder than ever

Joe Demonstrates 3 Kasahara Models

Joe doesn't do many festivals these days; nor does he travel very far from home.  It takes too much out of him.  So he doesn't make many origami meetings and I only see him when I go visit him at his home. 

I will see him and Yami this Thursday though, as another WCOG member also hosts meetings every 1st Thursday of the month at her home.




If any of you are clicking through the archives and come across videos that don't work anymore and you are interested in them, just drop me a note in the post and I'll try to track the video down in my files and re-upload.

Thanks.

Origami and Puzzles for Fun!

More photos here.

Last Sunday I finally made my first 1st Sunday of the month to Marti's house in Garden Grove (Origami for Fun).

I taught Herman Lau's $flower-in-a-pot.  

I've long heard about Marti's amazing puzzles.  I got a personalized grand tour of her house and a perusal of just a fraction of puzzles that inhabit her home:




After that tour, now I'm finding myself looking online at all sorts of cool stuff.

Thank you so much, Marti!

Puzzle gifts from Marti

A note about Herman Lau's $ Flower-in-a-Pot

 Note that the flap to one wall of the pot does not touch the inner side of the wall, but covers and closes off the top of the pot, like soil:

The hardest part to get people to understand, in my experience, is how the stem is crimped and is pulled down to give the illusion of arising from the center of the pot, rather than from the corner.

The other trouble that people seem to have is in getting the proportions of the pot to be more in keeping to Herman Lau's specificity.

I finally made my first Sunday at Marti Reis' house (I will blog on her amazing house and puzzle fascination as soon as I can!) where I taught this model at Pam Miike's request.



One of the best folders of this model that I've seen is John McKeever.