Friday, May 30, 2014

What is the Sound of One Hand Folding?

Or, rather, two hands folding separately?



Thursday, May 29, 2014

Bunny Money




Joel's modification


One of my favorite performance pieces/party trick models is Robert Neale's Bunny Bill.  I learned it from Joel Bauer, who tweaked the spring mechanism to give it a bit more springiness.

Jeremy Shafer was challenged by his friend to come up with a 21st century reimagining of this 20th century classic:




The rabbit is of course more handsome here; and Shafer's pop-up mechanism is very cool; but I certainly won't ditch Neale's model, as it's quick and simple; and only requires one hand to give a delighted gasp of surprise from an unsuspecting audience.

Friday, May 23, 2014

Origami-like mini-greenhouse



When folded into its origami figure the Microgarden kit becomes a conical structure capable of growing tasty microgreens in only two weeks (Photo Merav Maroody)

 Grow your own micro-greens through origami mini-greenhouses:
 Once thought of as an urban hippy fad, the concept of growing produce in the inner-city has started to become more of an accepted idea. Not only does it give urban gardeners the chance to get in touch with their inner farmer, but it also helps supplement the vegetable portion of the daily diet. For Infarm, the idea of grow-your-own comes in the form of a small, origami-like greenhouse, specifically designed to grow tiny baby greens known as microgreens.

 Developed by Infarm out of Berlin and Tomorrow Machine of Stockholm, the Microgarden growing kit is not only a simple concept, but also aesthetically interesting. Made out of a translucent waterproof material, when folded flat the Microgarden greenhouse resembles a hexagonal star. But when folded into its origami shape using the provided instructions, it becomes a conical structure capable of growing tasty microgreens in only two weeks.

Made out of a translucent waterproof material, when folded flat the Microgarden greenhouse resembles a hexagonal star (Photo Merav Maroody)


The Microgarden greenhouse is reusable and comes with origami folding instructions (Photo Merav Maroody)


Hat tip:  Mark Kennedy via O-List




Surface to Structure Exhibition


Rabbits in Motion, Ronald Koh, Folded by Ng Boon Choon

HuffPo:


Now, decades after the original exhibition, origami is about to make a grand return to The Cooper Union. The revival show, titled "Surface to Structure: Folded Forms," will bring together over 80 artists from 5 continents, showing how the ancient art has evolved since "Plane Geometry." Origami masters and contemporary artists will come together from all corners of world, displaying the artistic potential embedded in every single sheet of paper. 
"We want to share our passion for this art form with the world and inspire others to take part in and contribute to the legacy of origami," explained exhibition curator Uyen Nguyen, currently a senior at The Cooper Union. Nguyen is currently raising funds for the exhibition, which will be free to the public, on IndieGogo. The money raised will go to the international shipping costs of the works as well as insurance and installation fees. Head to the IndieGogo page to learn more and donate.






To contribute, go here.



Uyen Nguyen (via O-List):

the geometry of paper folding in electronics



Professor Stavros Georgakopoulos holds an origami-infused foldable antenna prototype. Florida International University

When talking about the intersection of art and science, Stavros Georgakopoulos likes to quote Albert Einstein, who once said, "I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge."

"It's absolutely true. If we became engineers and we stuck always to the book, there wouldn't be new breakthroughs," said Georgakopoulos, an electromagnetics specialist and assistant professor in Florida International University's department of electrical and computer engineering.

"Where does imagination come from? Art. Artists don't have any laws, or limits," he added.
It's from this line of thinking that Georgakopoulos is helping transform the field of electrical engineering and electronics design using the mathematical properties of a paper crane. 

The art of origami, he says, is the key to unlocking whole new conceptual modes of thought for scientists.

While folding smartphones into your jacket pocket like the front page of a newspaper is still a futurist fantasy, electronics that compress and change shape are now possible if designed the right way. They're currently in development, aided by Japan's centuries-old paper-folding techniques, an art form that spread worldwide around the mid-1900s.

Read the rest.

Hat tip:  Chila Caldera

Lasting Legacy



What will your legacy for EHS be?

Hat tip:  Kathleen Sheridan.


When the seniors at Edina High School walked into their last day of classes, they got an encouraging message from an anonymous classmate.

Students found 3,000 hand-folded paper cranes – one on every desk in the school. Written across the wings of the cranes were messages like “You are loved” and “You are special,”
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Thursday, May 15, 2014

Origami Crane Godzilla






This was created by Jessica Langella and published 7 years ago:

Origami Crane Godzilla - Approximate height 5'6". Free-standing sculpture composed of over one thousand individual origami cranes, traditional symbols of peace, arranged around a chicken wire armature to form a Godzilla-type monster. This work evokes the symbolism of Godzilla as the first truly evil monster of the 20th century and its conception as the response of a culture that had experienced nuclear warfare. This sculpture calls attention to the need to examine traditional ideas of peace and what those ideas can be manipulated into, as in the paper cranes that are manipulated into this destructive monster.

In wake of the new Godzilla movie being released tomorrow, they were looking for an origami artist a couple of weeks back, willing to be on site at the premiere to fold Godzilla monsters; but were also looking into having 400 or so pre-folded to give out.  They were unaware of copyright issues and amount of time it may take to fold, depending upon the complexity of the model.



Sunday, May 11, 2014

Mother and Child



Happy Mother's Day!





Sunday Funnies



Well...if you were to illegally tamper with the cartoon, what phrase would you replace "living wills" with to make the cartoon origami-related?

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Hammock- "Breathturn"








Hat tip:  Mary Saunders

UBC researcher creates self-folding paper product

Hat tip to Joseph Wu:
Ata Sina, a master’s student in mechanical engineering, combines the art of making Japanese origami with science to make multi-dimensional figures using paper and heat — which he later hopes to turn into commercial ventures.
To make the items, he takes sheets of paper and uses a computer program to make small cuts and creases in them. He then attaches special thermoplastic polymers onto the paper and sticks it in an oven at 110 degrees C for 10 to 20 seconds.
“When the heat hits the polymers they start shrinking and the paper starts folding into a 3D structure we have designed,” he said.
“We use software to simulate the folding. Then we kind of calculate the angles we need.”
Within seconds, the paper transforms into 3D objects. It could change into a fun toy for your kid, ornaments for your Christmas tree or something that can be used to help package fragile objects in a box to replace those Styrofoam noodles.
Although Sina will begin by making a children’s book, with fun pages kids can tear out and heat up to make shapes, he hopes to one day make packaging for commercial use and insulation for construction companies.
The Vancouver Sun asked Sina to identify five practical future uses for his product.
Here’s what he came up with:
Read the rest


Oriland Panda Family

It's an origami panda world!  Who doesn't like panda bear models?







The Shumakovs have a new product out:


Origami Panda Family: Cute Designs to Fold and Play
by Katrin and Yuri Shumakov
http://www.amazon.com/dp/149934371X
ISBN: 978-1499343717
E-book edition at http://www.oriland.com/store/ebooks/o...

This is an origami panda world! Origami Panda Family will show you how to fold adorable paper pandas and the cute little environment for them! You will be able to make the origami Mama Panda and Baby Pandas, grow an origami Bamboo Forest and Cherry Blossom Trees, fold Simple Tulips and even Heart Balloons for pandas to play with. Just imagine the cute scenes of origami panda life you can create!

Friday, May 09, 2014

Origami sighting in a Japanese Twin Peaks Commercial


I was a big fan of Special Agent Dale Cooper and Twin Peaks.

This video has a series of 4 commercials that aired in Japan (where TP also enjoyed popularity and a cult following), filmed almost like today's webisodes, telling one story.  The 2nd and 3rd chapters feature an origami crane...



Monday, May 05, 2014

Marti's 1st Sunday for Four May




1st two attempts at Alexandr Pak's Kawasaki rose-in-a-pot


David and his Pteranodon
I had the honor of driving the two rock stars, Yami and Joe, to the meeting on Sunday.

Hisako's been on a picture frame kick so I linked her to a video tutorial I had done years ago, showing a one-piece version of V'ann Cornelius' picture frame.  She asked for some help and I had to refresh myself on how to do it.  There's nothing quite like yourself teaching yourself.


Photos here (Arranged old to new, so scroll down).


Ron holds up a green ribbon prize
Ron Fujioka made an appearance.  Marti showed him some of her puzzles:


Cold Play Target Commercial *UPDATED*









I think Alison Reisel got this gig.

Description:

Want to catch an origami star filled with lyrics to Coldplay's latest single "A Sky Full of Stars" and hand-signed by the band? Just post a picture of the night sky using #MoreColdplay on Instagram or Twitter to enter for your chance to win from Coldplay and Target. Visit tgt.biz/cp1t
for rules. And be sure to pickup your copy of the "Ghost Stories" deluxe edition, only at Target May 19th
*UPDATE* 5/8/2014

Here is an extended version (you can see Alison at around the 13 second mark):


Thursday, May 01, 2014

Alexandr Pak's Wood Turtle

I posted a photo last week of Alexandr Pak's rose moneyfold


Check out his other designs; including this wood turtle:





A crease pattern is here.  Also on his Flickr page, plus some of the collapse process.

 As far as I can deduce, Alexandr Pak lives in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

NOA #465 May Issue Review

Celebrating Children's Day and Mother's Day: