"I can feel the sky cracking in my heart / it's fallen to the pavement, don't know where to start"

[larryhammer]

The past couple months, I've been doing a lot of origami in public. The most common reaction: "How long have you been doing this?" (Answer: "Since third grade.") Second-most common reaction: "I did that for a while when I was young, but I tried something complicated and gave up." (Answer: "Yeah, that happens." Because I can't think of anything better.)

One comment I'm still thinking about, a couple weeks later: "Watching you, I realize origami is not a matter of knowing how to make the folds correctly, but how to correct them." (not exact quote, but that's the gist)

My first reaction was along the lines of "Um, well, yeah." After all, you adjust the folds as you make them, to meet the marks. But I'd never thought about it quite like that. And in fact, this is a lesson I've been subconsciously internalizing the past couple years, ever since meeting a Robert Lang quote from an interview (which apparently I didn't journal here) about how the biggest mistake of intermediate folders is to make creases too sharp, to which my reaction was "guilty as charged." As I worked on this, I learned that one of the consequences of not creasing as sharply is that you are not as locked in to your mistakes, that you can slide things slightly as needed, as the structure progresses.

All of which sounds a lot like I'm talking about writing and revision, and I suspect resonates with artists in other media. That it was said by someone in my writer's group makes me think more about the application to writing, though.

Anyway, things folded in public generally gets given away -- otherwise the house would be (even more) awash in the things I do to perfectly innocent paper. Those at home, however, stick around unless (until) the Young Cat gets to them. And since it's a while since I showed off, how about some pic-spam.

October, I played a lot with "water-patterned" paper (that's what the kanji on the package calls it, anyway) -- which have a sort of non-smooth shading of colors. Here's some African animals made with it (click to embiggen):



I see I forgot to include the blue-to-purple rhinoceros in the tableaux -- ah well. I'm especially fond of how the colors pattern worked out for the elephant. Animals seem to take to this paper especially well.

A floral tyrannosaur is worried about his winged brothers:



Last month, I got a large pack of chiyogami ("many-patterned-paper") washi ("Japanese-style-paper") in 30 different patterns. The tyrannosaur is one of the first things I made with it. Washi is thicker than standard origami paper, so it's not the best paper for detailed models (let's just say that the ladybug was not a success and leave it at that), but it turns out to be excellent for wet-folding. So I've gone back to teaching myself that. So more three-dimensional models that don't splay apart over time. To show the difference, this cardinal is dry-folded while the koi is wet-folded:



Three more wet-folded models -- sparrow, goose, and apatosaurus:



I'd call that last another sakurasaurus, but it's a plum-blossom pattern. Also, the picture angle does not bring out that it's rounded in 3D.

---L.

Comments

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

*love*

and yep, it's about writing.

[janni.livejournal.com]

Funny how everything is. Breathing, too, I bet.

Those are some adorable little dinosaurs.

[larryhammer]

:-)

[elsceetaria.livejournal.com]

Those are amazing.

[larryhammer]

Thankee. Most of them are designed by John Montroll and folded from his books, except the koi by Robert Lang.

---L.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Those are so cute!

[larryhammer]

Especially that last dinosaur.

---L.

[estara.livejournal.com]

I absolutely adore that whale in particular.

[estara.livejournal.com]

ooops... koi o.o;;

[larryhammer]

Lang does it in two versions, one smooth like this and one with scales folded all over its body (!!). I hope one day to manage one of those.

---L.

[estara.livejournal.com]

Goodness... do you get many broken fingernails, fiddling with tiny pieces like that?

[larryhammer]

No, actually -- not on soft pieces of paper. I do have to keep my fingernails short and smooth, though, for when I do need to crease hard.

That said, I haven't figured out how to fold those scales in that particular pattern. I can create a single scale of the tesselation, but I'm stumped on how to do it repeatably, as it were. And Lang (quite reasonably, given the book's purposes as an advanced folding manual) leaves things for the student to work out, including that bit o' knowledge.

---L.

[estara.livejournal.com]

Good luck! And steady hands and a steady eye...

[larryhammer]

Thankee.

---L.

[mneme]

Thank you! I need to get back to folding more often -- but too many hobies, not enough time.

The "don't crease too sharply" is a good piece of advice that I've missed; good to keep in mind!

[larryhammer]

I hear ya, about hobbies and time. Oh, I hear ya.

---L.

[theironchocho.livejournal.com]

Giraffe! I think all of these are great, but I'm especially fond of the "water-patterned" paper and the koi. I didn't know creases could be made too sharp.

Giraffe!

[larryhammer]

The water-patterned paper is fun. I have about a dozen pieces left, and I'm still pondering what to use them on.

---L.

[behindpyramids.livejournal.com]

here from sartorias. totally. freakin'. loved. this. down to the orgami pics. I love that these rough and tough dinosaurs are made of delicate water printed paper.

I never liked origami. The precision irritated me. I wonder what that says about my writing...

[larryhammer]

Yes, but do you like the three sakurasaurs? (Though "the" is a bit of a misnomer, as I've folded other dinos with a different sakura pattern.) You can have a lot of fun, playing off pattern and model. Though as I type that, I'm waiting for a rabbit folded from rabbit-print paper to dry, which is sorta overkill in the playing together instead of playing off.

The precision is what appeals to me, especially those parts of me with mild OCD tendencies.

---L.

[behindpyramids.livejournal.com]

I love them. They make me think tea party or small town gardening club in the best way possible.

Oh oh please post a picture of the meta rabbit!

I've always wanted to be a very precise person, or someone with mildly OCD tendencies--my coworker is like that and his desk is beautiful, all clean lines and empty spaces. Sadly, I'm more of a melting butter, blurred edges person.

[larryhammer]

I'll try to get a pic of the metarabbit up this weekend. Possibly as the flopsy at the tea party with the sakurasaurs.

---L.

[larryhammer]

Whoop -- forgot to close the loop. Photo of the metarabbit is here.

---L.

[jennifergale.livejournal.com]

OMG! The Koi! That is amazing!

Don't Crease Sharply. Yup.

I'll have to apply that one to paper the next time I get the urge. I'm fairly certain this is what fouled up my last attempts.

[larryhammer]

And of course, like all lessons, it isn't quite THAT simple. Sometimes, you have to crease sharply (for example, when making a guidemark for a sink). The trick is to internalize judging when to crease sharply and when to crease lightly.

Don't crease too sharply.

---L.

[jennifergale.livejournal.com]

Heh. Aaaand, that's also true.

[skogkatt.livejournal.com]

Here via sartorias. Wow, these are amazing! And yes, what you say about adjusting the folds and the way that maps over to writing and revising is perfect. I don't do origami and never have, but I've been working on learning to adjust the folds in my writing for as long as I can remember.

Those at home, however, stick around unless (until) the Young Cat gets to them.

Our two New Old Cats have discovered the Best Toy Evar in a small paper crane that fell off of a friend's costume at our Halloween party. I find it in a different room every day.

(edited to fix typos because I am rash and impetuous and always forget to proofread)

[larryhammer]

It rustles like a little preything! It rebounds in not entirely predictable ways! It flutters when you whap it! Clearly, origami is the Best Cat Toy Ever.

---L.

[batwrangler.livejournal.com]

I love the koi. Have you tried any of Michael LaFosse's bats?

[larryhammer]

One, once, when I was ... not as accomplished. I should return to Fosse's stuff.

---L.