domestic

910: (360/365) After Christmas Sales

| wonko

Retailers really have a nerve when you think about it. Right up to Christmas they hike up their prices. We dutiful drones pay top dollar for loot which we wrap and give away. Come “Boxing Day” prices plummet in almost obscene ways and it can get hectic as people clamber for bargains:

We went early, with a list and an idea of what we would regularly pay for the items on that list. In, bought (from the then still full shelves and racks), and out again in an hour and a half – this is the stuff of legends. Continue reading →

908: (358/365) ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas …

| wonko

…and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, except for a mouse:

Prep for festivities is always fun. Family feast tomorrow, lots to do. I hope you and your families enjoy the prep time as much as the day itself. Continue reading →

893: (343/365) Teddy

| wonko

It has been said that “you are never alone with a rubber duck” – equally true with a teddy bear I suspect:

I must experiment with the posture. designed for bi-colour paper, you cannot see the colour changes for eyes and the rest with this fold, but the arms and legs are charming, cutie ears and general body morphology is pleasing. Continue reading →

891: (341/365) Drop Box

| wonko

Apparently there is a lolly in Holland called “Drop” – it is most likely a salted licorice, must look that up. This box is designed to gift “drop” to friends:

When I first saw the model I was sure it was a bomb … I mean, look at it! Continue reading →

879: (329/365) No Crib for a Bed

| wonko

So, I needed some furniture, and thought of a feed trough, but had to invent one:

Folded from a smallish square, this has trough and some rather nice legs, but does not look very comfortable. Continue reading →

844: (294/365) Our House, is a very very very fine house …

| wonko

It seems to be the season for buying houses. A couple of my work colleagues have, individually, in the last little while purchased houses:

The “Great Australian Dream” apparently is to own your own home – this seems irrefutable proof that it is still entirely possible. Continue reading →

822: (272/365) Excalibur

| wonko

“The Lady of the Lake,… [angels sing] …her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite, held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water, signifying by divine providence that I, Arthur, was to carry Excalibur. [singing stops] THAT is why I’m your king!”:

“Listen, strange women, lyin’ in ponds, distributin’ swords is no basis for a system of government. SUPREME executive power derives from a mandate of the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.”

“Shut up!”

“You can’t expect to wield supreme executive power, just ’cause some watery tart threw a sword at you!” Continue reading →

796: (246/365) Japanese Andon Lamp

| wonko

Paper is an amazing thing. In Japanese culture, for centuries, walls and furnishings were made from timber and Washi (hand-made Kozo fibre paper). Candle-driven laps made of paper (counter-intuitively) are still common, this is an Andon Lamp:

There are 2 versions of this – one that uses 4 squares (this one) and another minor variation makes the frame with 4 bits of paper and then you put in other paper inserts into frames formed on each side of a contrasting colour/texture. Continue reading →

761: (211/365) Spirit House

| wonko

When I went to Japan in the early Noughties, I loved so much of the culture I encountered in the everyday. On my return I decided our house deserved a “Spirit House”. The principle is simple, it guards our front door, traps the bad spirits from entering and amplifies the good:

Since it’s install, it has worked a charm and today I brought it into this century by adding a solar-charged light inside the stone lantern section, that glows softly at night. To commemorate the renovation I was looking for a fold of a spirit house and happened across one designed by Ichiro Kinoshita. Continue reading →

713: (163/365) Roman Diaz’s Goat

| wonko

Scrumbling through my “must fold list” I came across a curious hand-drawn diagram set from Spain and decided to give it a whirl:

After much torturing (I started with a 35cm square) the result is a rather lovely goat. I think this is my favourite farmyard animal so far – lovely proportions, fantastic modelling potential. Continue reading →

701: (151/365) Queenslander!

| wonko

…a little known fact, up until the night of the day this fold was supposed to be folded (last night if I am honest, missed a day, catching up, sorry) I had NEVER watched a Rugby match. Ever:

So I was over at a mates place, we were supposed to be playing a board game but apparently State of Origin was on, so they watched and I did too. Continue reading →

692: (142/365) Wu’s Modular Chess Board

| wonko

Looking around for a chess board in origami was fun, there seem to be a few out there, including a few that use only 1 sheet of paper and a million creases to perform the necessary colour changes for the squares:

I discovered I could not source paper large enough to make a playable chess board, so looked for alternatives and stumbled across Joseph Wu’s modular chessboard. 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 →

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 →