Author: wonko

666: (116/365) Parent Teacher Interviews

| wonko

As a teacher, we periodically get the opportunity to meet with parents of our students. Invariably they are interested in how their sons are going, how they went on the test and what can be done to continue to encourage them to give of their best:

I actually like meeting with parents – they are great allies in the battle to teach kids. Fortunately I teach a fairly interesting subject (IT), but can imagine it is a real battle in subjects the kids HAVE to do, as opposed to wanting to to it. Continue reading →

665: (115/365) The Last Post

| wonko

I am not sure what it is about the music, but “The Last Post” always gets to me:

After visiting Gallipoli 2 years ago (nearly to the day), and the Canberra war memorial last year, this is never more true. The tune is haunting, desperately sad and intimately bound up with a remembrance of Australian and New Zealand troops (originally) but more recently with all armed force personnel from all wars, police actions and conflicts.

I am always, oddly, extraordinarily anxious when it is played live. I feel for the trumpeter as the tune has no where to go – when the note is wrong it is so terribly uncomfortable. I am particularly in awe of the students that play it in front of the whole school. James did it proud yesterday at a school assembly. I get goosebumps thinking about it, but I always have. Continue reading →

664: (114/365) Compact Cow

| wonko

 

This is a simple water-bombic critter, from a family of compact animals designed by Perro Cerdito:

I decided to fold the cow, from a collection that contained a dog (thing) and a cat-ish thing. Continue reading →

663: (113/365) Lil’ Lion

| wonko

If you have not seen the movie “Lion” starring Dev Patel, you really should, it is a wild ride, lovely story and contains reference to an Indian name that means “Lion”:

I have been looking for nice lion models and a friend on Fakebook (Oriol Esteve from Spain) graciously shared a recent design. I knew I needed to have a go at it. Continue reading →

662: (112/365) Spiral Corrugation

| wonko

Origami seems to be the new Materials Engineering black, being considered a contemporary alternative approach to fabrication and structure:

I was reading an article on deploying large solar arrays in space. This problem is not unique – everything taken into space must be small at launch so it can fit in a rocket. Continue reading →

661: (111/365) Multiple Rippling Deltoid

| wonko

I have passed this model many times, thinking “not sure what that is, maybe later”, but decided to give it a whirl tonight:

What a curious object. Designed by Jeremy Schafer, from his book “Origami to Astonish and Amaze”, this odd ripply mathematical conundrum hurts your brain to look at.

A fun paper manipulation first makes a nested tetrahedron, which is then accordion pleated to make the deltoid. You can then open it up like some surreal book, 4 separate rippled deltoids emerge – curious indeed. Continue reading →

660: (110/365) Riki Saito’s Alien

| wonko

It is late, I am tired, the first week back at the start of the term is exhausting but this little alien is looking after me:

Folded from Japanese foil, it compliments yesterdays model. Incidentally today is a few days after the 56th anniversary of humans in space as Yuri Gagarin first left our atmosphere  Continue reading →

659: (109/365) I WANT To Believe

| wonko

Now I am not so conceited as to think that humans are the only intelligent life in the universe, but the more I understand about humans, the more I am convinced that the sure proof there IS intelligent life elsewhere is the fact that they have in no way attempted to contact us. Nothing. Not a peep:

I want to understand what form extra terrestrial life might take, but I am continually confounded by plethora of lifeforms on this planet.

I am sure that ET will not resemble the Sci-Fi little green carbon-based bipedal life we see in popularist imagery. Continue reading →

658: (108/365) Yoshizawa’s Goldfish

| wonko

Few origami masters did more for modern origami than Yoshizawa Sensei:

With delightfully few folds, his models evoke shapes, creatures and personalities. Continue reading →

657: (107/365) Le Chat Noir

| wonko

I have had this model on my “must try” list for ages but there was something about the fold sequence that made me uneasy, couldn’t put my finger on it:

I decided to fold it in black, because…reasons. faithfully following the folding diagrams unexpected things began to happen – layers on the wrong side, meridians not aligning etc.

I got a little “creative” and it worked out fine, but I think there are errors in the sequence (or steps missing). I followed the diagrams faithfully until … I didn’t, really. Continue reading →

656: (106/365): Hsi Min Tai’s Rabbit

| wonko

Having folded Robert Lang, Jun Maekawa and Ronald Koh’s Rabbits, I feel I have been a bit spoiled in terms of “best” rabbits out there:

Always on the lookout for something new, and given that it is Easter Sunday, a rabbit seemed appropriate and this rabbit gave me an interesting challenge. Continue reading →

655: (105/365) Basset Hound

| wonko

Those who know me realise I am mostly a “cat person” but my parents used to have Bassets, lovely dogs that were low to the ground, long ears and seemingly wearing a skin that was 5 sizes too big:

I have been looking for a good Basset hound model and, up until now, have not really found anything suitable.

Scanning the State Library (and learning you can e-borrow their collection) I stumbled across an archived copy of Seth Friedman’s “Dog Origami”. The last (and presumably most complex) model in the book was a Basset, and I have spent much of the afternoon trying to fold it. Continue reading →

654: (104/365) Neelish Kumar’s Crucifixion

| wonko

When I first saw NeelishK’s fold of this model I was in total awe of the boxpleating skill it showcased:

He is part of a shared group on Fakebook and to my amazement shared, via photodiagram, guidelines and folding sequence suggestions. Continue reading →

653: (103/365) Stretching Cat

| wonko

As any cat owner knows, cats seem to be able to tie themselves in knots, and this pose is fairly typical of a stretch pose:

Well, I say cat “owners” but in reality, cats own and train us to serve them, it is in the nature of cats really. Continue reading →

652: (102/365) Sleep In

| wonko

Now you are set to sleep in, for the first time in ages right? Your neighbour, bless him, decides this morning is the time to chainsaw and woodchip the hedgerow:

As amusing as this sounds, this actually happened to me this morning. Coincidentally I had just completed Fernando Gilgado’s “Sleeping In” model – seems the universe was conspiring against me. Continue reading →