515: Viking Longship

| wonko

Ever since first watching the telly series “Vikings” (currently 3 seasons, worth looking for) I was a fan of the gritty realism and glimpse into the lifestyle (albeit cinematicised) of what I imagine was a hard working and noble race:515LongShipViews2

The character “Floki” was an odd inventor genius and ship builder, I think he would have approved of this design – a teensy weensy longboat complete with oars, sail and dragon bow sprit.515LongShip

The design is challenging, for as much as it requires a really odd 10×1 sheet of paper as for the instructions in cryptic Spanish – quite a challenge in themselves as the diagrams were heavily stylised and gave hints as to where to fold rather than solid landmarks. Continue reading →

514: Convertible

| wonko

As a member of Origami USA (OUSA), we get access to some member designs and this one stuck out as something fun to try:514Convertible

Jason Ku’s Convertible uses some standard (and not so standard) box pleating tricks to sculpt a fully formed car from a flat sheet. Continue reading →

Joisel in Memoriam

| wonko

On the 10th of October, 2010, the origami world lost a living treasure and master of the art of Origami – Monsieur Eric Joisel.MrDanny

To “breathe life into paper” is something I am inspired to do as a DIRECT reaction and influence of his work. To think more about the art and less about the technique is challenging, but a worthy struggle.

Eric Joisel – your legacy lives on. May all paper folders learn a little from your art, be inspired by your spirit and fold from the heart.

Schools In (swimming against the tide?)

| wonko

A good friend, Janet, found some marbled tie-dyed mulberry paper when she was recently in Bangkok, Thailand.Glint

Like a true maniac she carefully rolled and carried with her on her travels, returning to Australia she carefully transported it to a place I would also be (Townsville for a conference). paper1

What commitment. Continue reading →

513: Koh’s Bubble-Eyed Goldfish

| wonko

Not quite sure how I missed this little beauty in the flurry of folding fishies, but Sensei Koh messaged me on fakebook and asked why I had not folded it. Truth is I was dazed and confused (and just a little fished out) and must have just missed it:513BubbleEye

That is a pity, this little charmer is one of my favourites in the collection. Lovely aquiline body shape. flowing find and well formed head. Continue reading →

Test Fold of A “Glint” Of Goldfish

| wonko

Fun Fact – the collective noun for goldfish is either “Glint” or “Troubling” – now you know:SchoolsIn

Now to choose which of these will make it to the actual goldfish bowl – suggestions….? Continue reading →

512: Koh’s Blackmoor Goldfish

| wonko

Interestingly (for me), I have had goldfish over the years. At one stage I had a tank with 3 of these in it – Blackmoors – lovely plump little goggle-eyed black goldfish:512Blackmoor

I remember as they got sicker, they became less black until, as they floated upside down ready to be scooped and flushed to an early grave they were almost a deep purple colour. Continue reading →

511: Koh’s Tancho Oranda Goldfish

| wonko

A completely different folding technique was a nice change with this much tortured bit of paper:511TanchoOranda

An odd-shaped goldfish, famously all white except for a colourful growth on the head, this thin-waisted fantail was actually really hard work even at this scale. Continue reading →

510: Koh’s Ranchu Goldfish

| wonko

…continuing on the “fishy” journey, the final in this technique’s series of plump full-bodied goldfish, Ronald Koh’s Ranchu:510Ranchu

Oddly, this mutant is known for the cancer-like orange growth on it’s head, the model approximates this. Continue reading →

509: Koh’s Oranda Goldfish

| wonko

…continuing the fishy theme, this is Ronald Koh’s Oranda Goldfish:509Oranda

A lovely plump little fellow, I am sure I have had these at one time or another – round body, abundance of thin fins and round head. Continue reading →

508: Koh’s Wakin Goldfish

| wonko

Continuing the fishy theme, this “goldfish” looks more like a salmon:508Wakin

The base, similar to the previous two manages to devote more to body, less to fins so that it looks like you would get a decent fillet of this little fishy. Continue reading →

507: Koh’s Veiltail Goldfish

| wonko

Continuing on the “something fishy” theme, I thought i would have a go at the Veiltail:507Veiltail

This goldfish mutant is nuts – bred for the profundity of tail, the body is stunted and a small muscular tail necessary to drove the massive drapery of tail fins. Continue reading →

506: Koh’s Ryukin Goldfish

| wonko

I have been searching for something “fishy” to make with some lovely paper gifted by a friend when Ronald Koh came to the rescue with some amazing mutant goldfish designs:506RyukinGoldfish

This is a Ryukin, and has a lovely 3d body, staring eyes and beautiful flowing fantail. Characterised by a hunched back, chunky body and pot belly, they swim slowly and provide decorative elements to any aquarium. Continue reading →

505: Dragonfly

| wonko

As part of my JOAS membership, I get sent magazines with models to try – a really excellent collection of complex models from the worlds best designers. When I saw Satoshi Kamiya’s Dragonfly, I was really scared of it.505DragonFlyThe level of pleat management and re-arrangement of flaps and layers is truly terrifying when viewed as a whole.

As a “treat”, to reward my marking progress (I am a teacher, I set assessment but hate marking it) I allowed myself to complete a couple of steps each sitting. This fold has taken place over the period of 3 weeks, a little at a time. the advantage of this method is that I did not get freaked out by what was to come, just concentrating on the couple of steps I was allowed to complete. Continue reading →

About Face

| wonko

Faces are things we humans are born to recognise. We see them everywhere, we can recognise them with the barest of visual clues:

 Apparently even magpies do facial recognition, remembering the dive-bombing victim and their seeming boundary transgressions for years.

I am interested in the structure of faces, particularly how little paper manipulation is necessary to evoke a face that embodies an expression, the visual manifestation of attitude and mood.

Inspired by the work of Junior Fritz Jacquet, I am exploring how to fold faces from flat sheets without edge incursions, with the hope that it translates into tube-folded faces – we shall see. I have documented my progress below: Continue reading →