Sunday, December 09, 2018

Just in time for Halloween 2019!

Rodney Kageyama

I heard that Rodney passed away this morning.  He was a mainstay as an MC at cultural events like The Autumn Festival at the Aquarium of the Pacific and the Monterey Park Cherry Blossom Festival.  He and I always exchanged greetings and he'd sometimes promote my origami booth when MCing.  He was also on a television show with another friend of mine ("Quantum Leap"?).


Sunday Funnies

Source

Friday, November 23, 2018

My Mother



Masae Sanders (on the right) engaged in the traditional Japanese art of folding cranes



My dad brought photo albums from their Colorado home to their home in Penn Valley so that I could go through and scan them into digital form (I drove up here for Thanksgiving).

I found this one of my mom (on the right) doing origami! We don't know the year, location, or why she was doing it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But there she goes.

My first introduction to origami was when I was 8 years old, vacationing in Japan, as I occasionally did during the summertime.  My cousins started me off with simple sonobe cube box, masu box (I was really into folding nesting boxes- about 50 packed into one!), cranes, and other traditional models.

I folded those on-and-off all through my life into adulthood.  I only discovered modern origami around 1999/2000.



Thursday, November 22, 2018

Stefan Delecat's Crane Box



Crane Box
Designed by Stefan Delecat
Folded by Michael Sanders 
Lid and bottom container each folded from 19.5” x 19.5” square of Chiyogami or Washi paper bonded to foil paper (the lid got really thick on the lip portion).

Source: Tanteidan convention book volume 10







Happy Thanksgiving!





Holiday Roast
Created by Michael Assis
Folded by Michael Sanders
6” x 6” square of Japanese foil paper bonded onto...I don’t know what kind of paper
Tray designed by Mr. Satoshi TAKAGI
4” square of kami
Source: NOA Kessakusen2

Saturday, November 17, 2018

Disaster Relief Ad Counsel commercial featuring dollar origami

Joel Stern recently inquired to the Origami-L about an ad that's been recycled in wake of the California wildfires.

While using the search function for any previous discussions about it on the O-List, I came across an email sent to me by a friend in December of 2012, linking to this upload.  I had replied that it had been a topic of discussion, and sent her this link.  But I don't know where I had previously seen the ad referenced and what the final resolution was. 

Digging further, via Google search, I think I finally solved the mystery of who worked on the ad


Following the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, Friesen worked with Ad Council on an advertisement that featured dollar bills folded into different origami shapes.

More recently, Friesen combined efforts with the Brooklyn studio to fold about 3,000 origami roses in three weeks. The roses were used in an ad campaign for LAIKA animation studios and Focus Features’ stop motion animation film, “Kubo and the Two Strings,” which will be in theaters August 19.
For Friesen, each project is different and an opportunity to learn something new.
“I feel fortunate,” Friesen said, “to have a job that I’m excited about every day.”

Here is Ben Friesen's website.


Saturday Morning Cartoon

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Breaking Standard Laws of Origami


National Geographic:
A group of researchers led by Andres Arrieta, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue University, recently published a paper in Science about how earwigs’ wings work. When the team tried to model the unfolding mechanism using a traditional understanding of origami-like folding, it did not compute. The wings simply do not fold like typical well-known materials (think paper) at a single crease.
Instead, Arrieta’s team found that the wings work by possessing spring-like folds, which have two stable configurations. He likens them to slap bracelets, which can stably switch between two different orientations.
Julia Deiters, a researcher at Germany’s University of Duisburg-Essen who recently co-authored a study on the topic, says the wings are also stabilized by folds that are bended, as opposed to straight. These arrange mechanical forces in a way that enables the wings to “lock,” either when they are completely open or folded up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Arrieta and others hope to use their insights into the wings’ mechanisms to create mimics in the future. “The wing gave us the recipe to make similar manmade materials,” he says. Such materials could be an invaluable tool with potential applications for making things like quick-assembly tents, portable solar panels, and compact electronics.





Thursday, November 08, 2018

14 years of service!

Today marks the 14th year anniversary of this blog, down to the minute.  I think it's one of the first origami blogs that opened for business; certainly one of the longest lasting ones.   A conservative talk radio host, Hugh Hewitt, was the one who got me into the idea of blogging, in 2004.  Back then, there weren't a great deal of origami content on the internet.  Not like it is today.  Back then, it was easy to go visit known websites, blogs, and photo galleries and not be overwhelmed.  Today, there is so much content out there, there is simply no way I could look at everything.  It's the same with books and folding models- just too much out there and not enough hours in the day, let alone energy and enthusiasm to make it happen.

I've gone through phases where this blog wasn't a priority; although the Sunday Funnies are automatically scheduled to publish and is lined up all the way into 2023, at the moment.  Very few repeat cartoons, too.

I know the look and platform this blog operates on is dated; but it's free; and it'd be a big headache to try and move almost 1400 blogposts in the archives over to a newer platform.  I'm grateful to Blogspot.com for having remained in business for so long.

I think I have the most extensive sidebar link of blogs, websites, photo albums, and services than any other origami-related site.  There are a number of blogs linked that are no longer functioning.  I haven't removed them because they're a way for me to remember that they once existed.  I wish people wouldn't delete their old blogs but leave them up as archived history.  Amidst all the junk, and internet clutter there's also been some great content out there.

Check out my first blog post.

Wednesday, November 07, 2018

Favorite Tweezers




Some people think you must be cheating if you're using a tool.  Certainly, there's something to be said to have the skill to work small folds with only your anatomical tools; but tweezers are no different than how folding on a table is a tool.  And being able to use tools can be an art in itself.

There are a number of tweezers I like to use; but the two pictured are my top 2 favorites.  Especially the top one:  La Cross by Sally Hansen Precise Tweez over glasses Tweezers Angled Tip 71950.

On Amazon, they're being advertised for $45.99.  Cheapest I found was through eBay for $19.99.








Tuesday, November 06, 2018

Traditional Models

Some of these models I've never folded before.  I got a call requesting 5-10 traditional models for some fashion ad last Thursday, originally to be due Friday; but they ended up being picked up on Saturday.





Monday, November 05, 2018

Petty Samurai



Samurai
Designed by Dave Petty
Folded by Michael Sanders 
6” x 1.5” rectangle (1:4)
Source: BOS Convention 2000
Thank you, Andrew Hans.






Friday, November 02, 2018

Giveaways!

Folded by Joe Hamamoto



The swan-shaped receptacles were folded by me years ago- found in the 2002 May issue #321 of NOA.  Designed by Mr. Kazukuni ENDO. 


Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Shiba by Takashi Toyomura

The details on the head are amazing!

Photo by Hiroaki Kobayashi
23th Origami Tanteidan Convention. Exhibition of Takashi Toyomura


 Even has a sniff hole:

Source

And the tail is impressive, too!

Monday, October 29, 2018

Penguin that can stand on its head

Kinda like the tarumpty tum tum/tumbler:


Isamu Sasagawa's Biting Skull (puppet)



I folded this a month or so ago:


Fun little puppet.  I used some leftover elephant hide to fold this (don't remember what size paper).  Because of the natural stiffness of the paper, no tape needed to stick to the fingers and keep the mouth open (as suggested by Sasagawa in his video, and due to the paper he folded with). 



If you enjoy this model, check out Isamu Sasagawa's channel for more fun and original action models.


Sunday, October 28, 2018

October POP meeting


Jared in charge!




I arrived an hour into this month's POP meetup.  Joel Stern was out so Jared Needle was charged with running the meeting.   He was just finishing up with teaching Hideo Komatsu's jack-o-lantern.






Larry taught a bat that I believe (from Larry's description) is from a Tadashi Mori bat video.  Ours don't quite look like the bat in the video, as Larry had to jog his memory and reverse engineer his sample, in teaching.  But I browsed the video and am pretty sure this is the one.




Luca taught a pyramid.  (David Donahue's model?).



And Brad taught an Arnold Tubis triangle box from a hexagon- 1 of 15 models that will appear in Arnold's next book.

Also a bit of promotion for Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles' monozukuri festival showcasing their most recent exhibit, The Roots of Monozukuri: Creative Spirit in Japanese Automaking.

Jared, Joel, and Brad are participating by representing origami with large scale models. It should run for a few days beginning the first weekend in November.







Sunday Funnies

Source

Saturday, October 27, 2018

Accordionist

Turned my first folded Joisel dwarf/gnome into an accordionist:






Accordion
Created by Hare (ru)
Elephant hide

Matthew Green's Rhombus with a Twist






Just concluded a live feed online origami class with Matthew Green teaching his Rhombase with a twist model. This is a 4-piece version that spins!

Excellent, enjoyable interactive teaching in Spanish and in English!

For future classes, like the page, Origamex.

For Rhombus twist class, tutorial is still available, post-live feed.




Friday, October 26, 2018

Pteranodon

Pteranodon
Created by Fumiaki KAWAHATA
Folded by Michael Sanders 
Square sheet of elephant hide (folded about 8 or more years ago, I don’t remember the size of the paper)
Source: New Origami by Steve and Megumi Biddle

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Sea Turtle





Designed by Nguyen Ngoc Vu
Folded by Michael Sanders
15" square of elephant hide

I'm not completely satisfied with the shell; but don't think I'll be folding this again anytime soon.  Moving on....

Yoshizawa Turtle

Turtle
Created by Akira YOSHIZAWA
Folded by Michael Sanders
6” x 6” square of Daiso store kami

Katsuhisa Yamada's turtles



Creator:  Katsuhisa Yamada
Folded by: Michael Sanders
6” x 6” square of kraft kami with printing (Daiso store)
October 22, 2018

This is such a cute design.  My thanks to Margaret Wong. 

I also discovered another turtle design by Yamada:


Turtle
Created by Katsuhisa YAMADA
Folded by Michael Sanders
6” x 6” square of Daiso kami
Source: NOA magazine issue #324 (Aug 2002)



Sea Turtle by Stephen Weiss



Sea turtle
Creator: Stephen Weiss
Folder:
Michael Sanders
Source: "Origami Zoo" by Robert Lang and Stephen Weiss
From 6” kami.
Can't remember when I folded this; but it was quite a while ago.  I've been on a turtle kick, lately. 



Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Neige A. Baby Sea Turtle









Baby Sea Turtle
Designed by Neige A.
Folded by Michael Sanders
10" x 10" square of elephant hide


Enjoyable fold; pretty straight forward.  I love the pleats on the shell.  This and the other one I folded yesterday are kind of a compromise to not spending hours folding a good-looking turtle; yet have a hint of the more complex designs with the scales.

I guessing I'm warming myself up for finally tackling Kamiya's loggerhead sea turtle.  I've started on it; then lost patience and had to take a break (this was a couple months back).  When my head's right, I will sit down and pick up where I left off.

Unknown Sea Turtle


Sea Turtle
Creator: unknown
Folded by Michael Sanders
8” x 8” square of elephant hide
Source: Crease Pattern by Migue Crm 

I was taking time visiting through my blogroll last week to see what's been going on elsewhere; and while catching up on Peter Whitehouse's blog, I stumbled upon this gem.  Apparently, Migue Crm is not the creator; he found it on some Mexican site, I think; and created a CP?  If anyone can identify an author to this, it'd be greatly appreciated.

It has a good look for putting in so little work on the CP and folding. 












Monday, October 22, 2018

Moonwatcher/Dawn of Man



October 16, 2018


Moonwatcher/Dawn of Man


Created by 芦村俊一 Shunichi ASHIMURA
Folded by Michael Sanders 
8" x 8" American foil bonded to lightweight washi or unryu (2 squares)


The ultimate sci-fi movie.

Maybe I should have folded the Monolith, too?  Haha!