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September–October, 2014 Origami Designer's Secrets: Anja Markiewicz by Ilan Garibi Edited by Patsy Wang-Iverson biography

interview diagrams

About Anja

Imagine your whole exhibition, more than 30 models, stored in a matchbox. Anja always presents her models with a magnifying glass, otherwise you won't be able to see much of its beauty and elegance. As a master in miniature origami, she decided to go this extra mile and become a professional origami artist. As always, nine questions are answered, and this time we have a bonus – I tried my hands in miniature-folding, under the smiling supervising eyes of Anja, and it was a very interesting experience...

Who is Anja Markiewicz? Please tell me what I must know about you. Anja Markiewicz, image by Janine Vogelein (All non-credited images by Anja Markiewicz)

Folding with friends Image by Halina Rosciszewska-Narloch

Anja : The Origami artist Anya Midori is a selfconfident and strong business woman. The therapist Anja Markiewicz is also hard working and straightforward, but an emphatic person. The private Anja Markiewicz is very sensitive and diffident. But the private Anja can be loud and dominant, too. Sometimes it is very difficult to find a good compromise

between job and family.

What is Origami to you? Why are you interested in Origami? What was your first model to fold? What types of Origami do you like to fold and to create? Anja : Origami is my life; Origami is my passion; Origami is to visit friends, and Origami is relaxation (yes, to fold miniature Origami is for me a relaxation!) ;-) Now it is a passion of my life! I love to fold with other people and attend Origami meetings or Origami conventions! A lot of Origami people are my friends. I prefer miniatures! I love to fold very small Origami. Mostly I like to fold animals. My favorite animal models are realistic and not too complex to fold. In my first model, I was challenged to fold the Jedi Master Yoda of Kawahata with a friend. We were at school and we wanted to make a project together with other students. The other students wanted to design a sheet of paper with the name and logo of a company, and my friend and I were supposed to fold Master Yoda from this paper. You know it is a very complex model. So it took us weeks to

understand the diagram and to fold a great Yoda. When we presented very proudly the result, the other students had already lost interest in the project.

How did you become a miniature folder? What drove you to this extreme edge of the Origami world? Anja : I found Origami around seven years ago. At this time I visited a school as an occupational therapist. It was a boring lesson, and I ate some chocolate with a friend, but we still were bored. We then started to fold an Origami ship with the the chocolate wrapper. Then we cut the paper in half and folded again, cut and folded ... so we started to fold very small ships and after a while my friend wasn’t able to fold the smaller paper. So I won the competition. It was so nice to fold this size. At home I started to fold other models with this chocolate wrapper. At this time I still didn’t know I had a big talent. One to two years later I met my Origami friend Ralf Konrad and showed him some of my first miniature Origami works. He was fascinated and told me that I am very talented. I couldn’t believe it. I thought that every Origami artist can fold in this size. This is how I found my destiny. .

As a miniature folder, you mostly fold other people's models. How do you choose them? What makes a model suitable for miniature folding? What is it in the model that appeals to you? Anja : Sometimes I fold a new model first with larger paper and then with smaller sheets. Every time it is a challenge for me to fold the model with a smaller sheet or to fold a more difficult or complex model. I like to fold intermediate models with nice and easy folding steps. It is difficult to describe. Some folding segments are more fun than others. I don’t like to fold modular Origami in small size, because it is very difficult to put the pieces together, and mostly the result is relatively “very” big.

Miniature origami samples

First miniature origami from chocolate wrapper.

I tried to fold a miniature with you, but failed miserably. Do you use any tools? How can one close-sink such tiny paper? Tell us how you do it! Anja : This is a very difficult question. I can’t explain how I fold a miniature Origami. I fold it in the same way one folds a big model. The only tool I use is a toothpick. The tip helps me to do anything inside the model. It is my finger and bone folder for the small models. I think you need a lot of feeling in your fingers, because often I roll and push the paper between my fingers. For very small miniature Origamis I need a needle and good light, but no magnifying glass or tweezers.

What papers do you usually use and why? How do you decide what paper to choose? Anja : I use very thin paper similar to tissue paper, only

Miniature origami papers

Folding at an event Image by Marcus Karsten

Folding miniature origami Image by Knut Klihowetz

stronger and waterproof (it is important, if I fold with sweaty fingers). I think the paper has only 20g/m3. It is a paper from Japan, and I don't know the name. I only use this kind of paper. I think it would be a good idea to test different papers with an easy model. Take very small paper and try to fold. So you get a feeling for different properties of the paper. Folded version of Anja`s Homepage logo Some papers are too slippery, some too smooth or tear quickly. Some papers even disintegrate.

Cross, by Anja

Recently you decided to become a professional Origamist. I know many of us would love to practice the hobby as the source of income. Please share with us your experience and thoughts about that. Anja : To be a professional Origamist was not a deliberate decision, so I didn't plan it. With other Origami friends we visited a paper company in Berlin and we could see the production of paper and Origami books and we talked with the boss of this company. She told me she was working on a new book and she took some photos of the steps. For this job she used a professional hand model, but she wasn’t happy, because this hand model didn't touch the paper correctly so it looked unnatural. I said, more as a joke, “Maybe one of us Origami people can do this job. We know how to fold the paper.” She looked at my fingers and said “good idea! Please give me your contact details.” And sometime later she phoned me saying she had a job for me. But first I had to register as a professional Origami artist. Now Origami is my full-time job. I have a lot of different jobs to do. All in all I could say, I have two different ways to get my income with Origami. To start with my favorite way, I sell my miniature Origami. I take these little models in small boxes and brand them as keyrings, mobile phone charms, necklaces, bookmarks or bracelets. The other way is to work for big and famous companies. Sometimes I drive to an event, a fair or a company party and work there as an Origami artist. There I have a table, and I fold for or with the customers and present how I can fold a sheet of paper (in a normal size) to create an animal or something else. Another possibility to get money with Origami is to fold models for advertising: either a model for a visual like an ad or a product logo or many copies of a model to serve as presents for customers.

I am sure there is one model of yours that you would like to point out to us. Which one is it, and please tell us why you chose it? Anja : I created a religious cross. This is a special symbol for me, because I’m not religious. My parents don’t believe in God. They raised me with the fact that God doesn’t exist. But at school and throughout life I heard about God and was curious what is he and why so many people believed in him and we didn’t. Now I’m an adult and the belief and God are very important topics in my working life. As an occupational therapist and in my nonsalaried work with dying and incurable people I meet a lot of people who are comforted by their belief in God. So I created a cross as a symbol for God, and I need it in my work. I fold it as a present for my patients, and they take it as a lucky charm.

Is there one last question I should have asked? Ask yourself, but don’t answer. Just let us know what is the question … Anja : What will be my Origami future? Will I enjoy Origami in 10 years? Is it possible to make a living only from Origami jobs? Will I still have keen sight in 10 years? Name

Anja Markiewicz AKA Anya Midori

Place of residence

Potsdam, Germany

Profession

Occupational Therapist/Origami Artist

Email

kontakt [at] faltsucht [dot] de"> [email protected]

Website

http://www.faltsucht.de

Diagrams! To really know a designer, you must fold her models. Anja presents here her Cross. Click here to download the diagram.

Miniature origami with Anja The first feeling I have is hopelessness. I am totally out of my comfort zone. I can't see or feel the paper like I usually do; I make small mistakes I usually disregard immediately, but here every tiny mistake is big. I can't even notice I am holding the paper with the wrong side up (and Anja sits by with a little smile in her face). The first step is precreases, and I find it already to be on the verge of impossible. I manage to fold into halves but when trying to blintz I am far from having all corners in the center. The crease lines are hardly visible and totally impossible to feel. I managed, somehow, and was ready to collapse. I may have gotten used to it, because it went well. But my sense of

Kreuz Design: Anya Midori - 2013 Diagramm: Alessandro Masiero

Cross Designed by: Anya Midori - 2013 Diagrammed by: Alessandro Masiero

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© Copyright 2013 by Anya Midori This document was published by OrigamiUSA’s online magazine, The Fold, with permission from the author. If you did not obtain this document from The Fold’s website, you may have infringed upon the author’s copyright. This document can be obtained legally by joining OrigamiUSA online at http://www.origami-usa.org/

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© Copyright 2013 by Anya Midori This document was published by OrigamiUSA’s online magazine, The Fold, with permission from the author. If you did not obtain this document from The Fold’s website, you may have infringed upon the author’s copyright. This document can be obtained legally by joining OrigamiUSA online at http://www.origami-usa.org/

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© Copyright 2013 by Anya Midori This document was published by OrigamiUSA’s online magazine, The Fold, with permission from the author. If you did not obtain this document from The Fold’s website, you may have infringed upon the author’s copyright. This document can be obtained legally by joining OrigamiUSA online at http://www.origami-usa.org/

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© Copyright 2013 by Anya Midori This document was published by OrigamiUSA’s online magazine, The Fold, with permission from the author. If you did not obtain this document from The Fold’s website, you may have infringed upon the author’s copyright. This document can be obtained legally by joining OrigamiUSA online at http://www.origami-usa.org/

September 2014 Dear OrigamiUSA Member, For more than 40 years OrigamiUSA has decorated the annual Origami Holiday Tree at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. It has become a tradition for us, the Museum staff, New Yorkers and visitors from around the world who look forward to the wonder it holds. After the Rockefeller Center tree it is the most visited holiday tree in New York City. It began as a way of showing our appreciation to the Museum and staff for the home-office space we receive as a contribution from the Museum. At the popular and anticipated tree lighting ceremony OrigamiUSA volunteers distribute to all those who attend an origami gift folded by you, our members. This year in keeping with the theme of the Holiday Tree “A Night at the Museum” which will coincide with an upcoming movie, we are going to distribute as the Holiday Gift the Mascot Monkey by Tomoko Fuse (diagrams included). Enclosed you will find one sheet of 6 inch paper. If you would like to make more than one, please follow the guidelines below:

Do

Do Not

Ø Use 6 inch paper only (the gift packaging has size limitations) Ø Use patterned or solid color paper Ø Pack the model flat for mailing

Ø Send models other than the Mascot Monkey Ø Draw on or embellish the model in any way Ø Tear the paper to size, clean cuts only since some edges are visible Ø Send models larger or smaller than what is produced by a 6 inch square.

We look forward to receiving your model contributions no later than October 24, 2014. Please pack your models carefully, mark the envelope “Annual Gift” and send to: OrigamiUSA 15 West 77th Street New York, NY 10024 Thank you and Happy Folding!

Jean Baden-Gillette Annual Gift Coordinator

This mailing is being sent to all members first class through the generosity of the American Museum of Natural History.

15 West 77 Street New York NY 10024-5192 Fax 212-769-5668 Telephone 212-769-5635 Website www.origami-usa.org E-mail origamiusa@pipeline com

Mascot Monkey 1

by Tomoko Fuse

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Open and squash.

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Open and squash.

Turn to left.

Fold and unfold.

Bring the upper layer upward and squash flat.

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Repeat steps 7 and 8 on the back.

Turn to the triangular Open and squash. flap to the left.

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Make the head.

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theF LD

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© Copyright 2013 by Jason Ku This document was published by OrigamiUSA’s online magazine, The Fold, with permission from the author. If you did not obtain this document from The Fold’s website, you may have infringed upon the author’s copyright. This document can be obtained legally by joining OrigamiUSA online at http://www.origami-usa.org/

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Fold the back flaps behind.

Fold in between under the head.

Fold the triangle between the layers.

Back side view.

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Inside reverse fold.

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Make outside reverse fold for hand and inside reverse fingers.

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Make inside reverse fold for hand and outside reverse fingers.

OrigamiUSA wants to thank Tomoko Fuse for her generosity in allowing us to use her Mascot Monkey model, distribute the diagrams to our members and post the diagrams in our on-line magazine, The Fold.

theF LD

© Copyright 2013 by Jason Ku This document was published by OrigamiUSA’s online magazine, The Fold, with permission from the author. If you did not obtain this document from The Fold’s website, you may have infringed upon the author’s copyright. This document can be obtained legally by joining OrigamiUSA online at http://www.origami-usa.org/

September–October, 2014 Diagrams: Decorative Cubes by Meenakshi Mukerji modular diagrams

low intermediate geometric

Decorative Cube (top left) and Variations. Click on picture for diagrams.

The Decorative Cube design is an improvement over my previous Windmill Base Cubes (published in Origami Inspirations, 2010) in that, no separate joining tabs are needed. Both look similar but while the Decorative Cube is only a six unit modular, the Windmill Base Cube is made up of 18 units (six for faces and 12 for joining tabs) and hence more tedious to make. Each face of the Decorative Cube is still a Froebel type design but the use of separate joining tabs are eliminated by starting with Blintzed Windmill Bases instead of ordinary Windmill Bases. Corona Harmony paper, 6" or larger, best suits the design as it distinguishes the center from the rest of the unit. Although the Decorative Cube has been diagrammed along with only three other variations, possibilities are numerous. You are encouraged to try other Froebel type variations by applying them to Blintzed Windmill Bases and connecting them as explained in the diagrams.

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September–October, 2014 Paper Review #22: Karaperapisu by Ilan Garibi and Gadi Vishne Edited by Sara Adams paper

There are some benefits for having a Japanese speaking editor. When Jason Ku stayed in Japan for a year, he opened a gateway for me to some incredible Japanese papers. This article, as well as the next five, are dedicated to those papers. We start with a unique, iridescent paper. Its name, as far as we know, has no real meaning, and it may come from the word "Karape" (฀฀฀ - Ka Ra Pe) which is a shortening of the English term "Color Wrapping Paper". Rapisu has no meaning, but it does roll nicely on your tongue. It is made and distributed by Takeo, a Japanese producer (with more than 5000 papers in its catalogue!), and packed by Toyo, marked as an origami paper. By the way, on the Takeo site it is referred to as a gift wrapping paper. It is not good for everything, as it sits in the middle of the low weight group. It is mainly for complex and multi-layered models, so do not look for modulars or simple folding in this article. We were unable to get any official data, so it is all based on our tests.

Properties 1. Thickness: The paper weighs 42gsm and has a thickness of 71 microns. This puts it in the same category as Unryu, thin Kraft and Onion Skin paper. Unlike the other mentioned papers, it is the only one that is sold as origami paper. 2. Sizes: There's a complete range of sizes - you can find full sheets at 93.9cm × 63.6cm, or pre-cut squares with a side length of 60cm, 40cm, 30.5cm, or 15cm. 3. Colors: 4 colors are available: blue, gold, red, and green. 4. Paper Coloring or Colorability: This paper is not meant for coloring. 5. Texture: One side is black (!), the other has a shiny, glimmering metal finish. The paper is very smooth on both sides. 6. Photogenic: This is a little tricky. The deep colors and the metallic, glimmering texture have great potential. Both the color side and the black reverse have a glimmer that can be a big problem if you do not know how to control your light. It takes a good photographer to bring out its beauty. 7. Aging and Wear and Tear: The paper is weak, almost the weakest paper we have tested - it scored 216/316 in the tear machine, while 40gsm Kraft scored 204/247. The paper tore for two of the three of us while folding. 3 out of 10. 8. Memory: The paper's performance here surprised us. Although the paper is thin, it has great memory. Once you fold it you need to smooth it strongly to flatten the paper again. 9 out of 10. 9. Forgiveness: If you make a sharp crease, you can easily reverse it. You can feel the crease and follow it, just work a little slower than usual. 8 out of 10. 10. Tensile Strength: We refer here to the maximum stress the paper can undergo while being stretched or pulled. On the one hand, the paper is flexible and stretched by 11.7mm before snapping! On the other hand, it can hold only 4kg with the grain, and 2kg against the grain. 4 out of 10. 11. Bending Resistance: This section rates the amount of force you need to apply to get a sharp crease and how strong the paper is while being curved. Since the test machine is in repair, I have no numbers here but a sense of my hand. The medium papers are highly resistant when folded. A bone folder is almost a must. 9 out of 10. The super thin papers are more welcoming, but they are far from being soft, even given their low weight. 7 out of 10. 12. Price group: Expensive - think thoroughly before using – for a best friend's wedding gift. 13. Where to buy: origami-shop.com (15cm, 30.5cm, 40cm, 60cm) OrigamiUSA's TheSource (15cm) origami-papier.eu (15cm) origamihouse.jp (15cm) takeopaper.com (93.9cm × 63.6cm, delivery within Japan only)

A pack of Karaperapisu

Test results Tessellation Pineapple tessellation (the extreme version) by Ilan Garibi, 30.5×30.5cm The extreme version is based on an 8×8 molecule (unlike the 6×6 in the original) and an extra stage in the collapse. This version asks for very thin paper, but with agility and resistance. Karaperapisu is such a thin paper, and yet the first folds reveal that the paper breaks and takes creases like much thicker paper. I folded a 34 by 34 grid and could reverse it with little effort. Only rarely do I miss the existing crease line. I work slowly, sometimes even very slowly, while doing the precreasing. The diagonal folds do not jump into corners, and you have to lead them slowly to place. The black side has very little bump and it is hard to see the crease lines. The collapse is done in three stages, and this is where this paper rocks! It is so thin, yet highly responsive, keeps its shape even when there are many layers, and the paper stays crisp even after a lot of handling.

Complex Owl by Katsuta Kyohei, 30.5×30.5cm

Collapsing the model worked perfectly.

I could fold the model with this paper very quickly - perhaps my fastest fold of it yet. The paper snaps into place accurately. It was easy to fold the grid as well as all the precreases accurately, and collapsing the base was easier than ever. The paper folds beautifully, and reverses with no effort at all. Truth be told, the talons are usually a big problem, but not this time. Throughout all the open sinks, the paper behaved perfectly. I used tweezers for the final details and the result is highly satisfying.

Lyrebird by Satoshi Kamiya, 30.5×30.5cm This is the first time I folded the lyrebird. There are many boxIt was very easy to fold the owl from Karaperapisu. pleating moves here and for the first time the paper is a little disappointing. When I fold two to four layers together, I lose accuracy. Inner pleats are much harder to reverse, as required when open sinking back and forth. While pulling aside a layer to reverse it, the paper tore. Another tear formed when I opened the many Folding the lyrebird was a challenge. layers of the wing base. On the plus side, the series of outside-inside reverse folds to create the tail went really well. There is a total of layers of paper, and only few paper types allow manipulating so many layers this easily. To complete the tail, you have to fold a corrugation. I had a lot of issues here. Using the method suggested in the book, it was almost impossible to pull out the wanted layer and to push it back, because of the little tensile strength this paper has. I then tried folding it like a tessellation, but the creases I formed by folding all layers at the same time didn't give me accurate enough crease lines to work with. It was a complete mess. Indeed, this model has steps that you can only easily complete with thin paper, and then other steps where you need some stiffness - which this paper lacks.

3D models Wizard by Satoshi Kamiya, 30.5×30.5cm Precreasing went perfectly. The paper has great memory and it was easy to make the long fold lines in the first steps. I managed to shape the model as I wanted, and the paper held the shape without MC or other help. Surprisingly, even though the stick has many layers, I managed to get it right, too.

Dwarf by Eric Joisel, 30.5×30.5cm The paper folds well; I liked the way it reverses and holds the creases and shape. Yes, it is a thin paper, but not thin enough for this model.

The hands have so many layers - too many to shape them as I wanted to. Another issue was the weakness - when pulling the paper aside, it easily tears, so I had to work slowly while shaping the beard. The paper holds the shape without need for MC.

Our young expert At the age of fourteen, Ynon Toledano is our special third opinion reviewer.

Cicada Nymph and Cyclommatus Metallifer, both by Satoshi Kamiya, 30.5×30.5cm

You have to work carefully to prevent the paper from tearing.

A perfect paper for insects. The paper folds great. It is easy to reverse fold lines, and with both models, the many layers were no obstacle for me. It is good for shaping as well, and I managed to create all small details of the legs. It did tend to break and tear at the edges, and I use just a little MC enforcement at the final stages. All in all it’s a perfect paper for insects, and I really enjoyed it.

Final verdict While we had hugely varying opinions in our previous review, we had a complete wall to wall approval here - it is a great paper, especially for complex and 3D models. Even for tessellations it worked fine, thanks to the contrast very thin papers can achieve: only 0.071mm thick, and yet it can hold a crease perfectly. However, it is not a perfect paper. There is a price to pay here – the paper is weak and will tear if not handled carefully, as it happened to us. Moreover, its texture and the black reverse - although rare and unique - create a problem: you cannot color it and not that many models are suitable for the iridescent look. In flickr, I found no pictures of models made from it. It is probably because it is not a well known paper. With more and more online stores starting to sell it, I believe this will change soon.

Why should you buy it? It is thin, unique in color, and has perfect memory. If you like to fold bugs or complex models, this is the paper for you. Bottom line: a treasure to be found! Paper

Thickness (gsm)

Size

Color palette

Texture

Aging

Memory

Karaperapisu42

93.9cm×63.6cm; 15cm, 30.5cm, 4 40cm, 60cm

Iridescent Unknown9

O-Gami

~25, ~85

55.9cm×71.1cm 32

Handmade

Many years

66

US letter, A3, A4 Limited

Smooth

Unknown9.5

Clean Room

9.5/9

Forgiveness

Tensile Strength

Bending Resistance

Price group

8

4

4

4

9/7

9.5

9/7

5

9

6

7

3

Paper Efalin

115

70cm×100cm

24

Fine Linen, New Linen, Many years Crash, Smooth

Lokta

~50

varies; e.g. 45cm×45cm, 50cm×65cm

Many

Handmade

Many years

6

7.5

9.5

6

4

Bible

35-50

B1, A4

white

Smooth

Many years

7

7.5

8.5

6

2

Sato Gami

80

Rough and Unknown9 Fibery

9

7

8

4

Glassine

40

Smooth

6

8

4

3

Unryu

27

8

10

5

4

Skytone

90, 176

9

7

8.5

3

Kami

60

8

7

8

1

Ingres

90

8

7.5

8.5

2

9

8

4

8.5

5

2

8

4

1

4

4

2

7

9.5

3

10

2

5

4

4

1

5

6

1

6

5

2

10

10

3

15cm, 35cm, full 6 sheets 10cm, 15cm, 20cm, A4, 11 70×100cm 40cm, 60cm

8

9.5

7

3

Unknown9.5

HandMany 7.5 made years Smooth, Unknown8 marble-like Smooth, a Many 8 bit shiny years

10

A4, 12 63.5cm×96.5cm 7.5cm, 15cm, 200+ 30cm 5 B1, B2, A4 (previouslyRough 21)

Years

8

Glittery; handmade Unknown8 8 look Many 8 5 White Cockled Onion Skin 35 years Smooth 15cm; 30cm; and a little Light Unknown9 5 Kraft 35 48cm; 35cm; shiny on brown 40×60cm one side 28 hues, Less Crumpled 48-51 64cm by 64cm plus 12 Bumps than a 8 6 pearled year Smooth 110-340 (120 Stardream 72cm by 102cm 33 hues and Years 9 9 tested) sparkly Many 40cm by 50cm Very 5 to 9 6 to 8 Varies Origamido 10-100 years and more broad A0-A7, B and C Mainly Few white, but smooth 50-120 (80 equivalents, 7 9 Printer Paper and dull years many ANSI. Many tested) colors others various from smooth Many Japanese 10 4 50 3cm up to 50cm 12 colors and shiny years Foil squares 7.5cm; 15cm; Mildly Many 9 8 Tant 78 30.5cm; 35cm; 100 colors rough years 110×80cm Many A4; Elephant 10 7 7 colors smooth 110 years 70cm×100cm Hide Paper Classic Action Tessellation Complex Modular

3D

Wet Folding

Final score

Karaperapisu O-Gami Clean Room Paper Efalin Lokta Bible Sato Gami Glassine

9 9 10 9.5 8 8 8 7

n/a 8.5 n/a 9 n/a n/a n/a n/a

9 98 8 8 8 8.5 8

Nicolas Terry 50 Tissue Foil

15cm, 20cm, 30cm, 40cm, 60cm A4; Letter; 84.5×64.4cm

9

n/a n/a 8 7 n/a 8.5 8 8

n/a n/a 10 9.5 n/a 7.5 9 8.5

8 hues

8.5 9 9 9 7 8 9 9

9 8.5 6 5 8 8.5 6 7

n/a n/a 6 6 n/a 6 9 9.5

Unryu

n/a

n/a

n/a

9

n/a

9

n/a

9

Skytone Kami Ingres Nicolas Terry Tissue Foil Onion Skin Kraft Crumpled Stardream Origamido Printer Paper Japanese Foil Tant Elephant Hide

8 8.5 7 9 8 8 8 8.5 8 7.5 9 9 8.5

8.5 8 8.5 8.5 8 7 7.5 8.5 7.5 7.5 9 8.5 9

9 8 8 8.5 7.5 8 8.5 9 7.5 6 6 9 10

9 7 7 9.5 8.5 9 8.5 7.5 9.5 5 8 8 8

9 9 7 8 6 6 7 7.5 n/a 6 8.5 9 8.5

9 7.5 8 9 8 8 8 9 9 6.5 8 8 9.5

8.5 7.5 8 9.5 n/a n/a n/a 9 n/a n/a n/a 7.5 9.5

9 8 7.5 9+ 8 7.5 8 9 9 6 7 8 9.5

September–October, 2014 Review: "Practigami" by Halle Edited by Jason Ku book review objects

Practigami Editor: Gerardo Gacharná Ramírez Paperback 7.5" x 7.5" Black and White 135 pages English, some Spanish/French ISBN 1495203026 $3.13 Buy it from Createspace I must confess that when some years ago I watched in disbelief the birth of a new site about origami, my first thought was to try to guess how long it would last. It was Neorigami, led by an unknown Colombian named Gerardo Gacharná. Over time, not only has his project become stronger but it has also remained true to his purpose of including all the fans, experts and professionals who wish to present their works and, besides that, he has encouraged the spread of origami and creativity. Dissemination through his support as a member of the editorial group, an electronic magazine called Mini Neo is today a benchmark in Latin America. The creativity of the publication stems from the different challenges he has promoted over the years. And as a result, the book I present to you here was born: PRACTIGAMI. With the ability to involve members of associations and international forums, Gerardo proposed the challenge of creating paper models, but with the added value of having some sort of practical application. Not surprisingly, Gerardo himself has always been passionate about this type of paper ventures. The turnout was massive and, once again, the restless and enterprising spirit of Gerardo made him take a step forward putting together the most outstanding works in this book that he now offers to the entire origami community. The models are divided into eight chapters depending on their role in everyday life, whether for home, garden, office, etc. It excels in its content: there’s a superb fireplace bellows, designed by the author himself; an excellent garbage can that opens and closes by pressing a pedal by Ilan Garibi; a funny nose for holding glasses invented by Jens Kober; and one cannot forget a wonderful lamp shade from the Russian Ekaterina Lukasheva or some very intelligent condiment shakers created by the Turkish Atilla Yurtkul. The diagrams are very clear and were made by several authors which helped making this dream a reality. The diagrams themselves also reflect the spirit of the project, that is, the union and support of many people for a common goal: the dissemination of origami. There are more than twenty models, gathered in 135 pages that will keep you entertained from start to finish. It is published by an online "print on demand" publisher in order to reduce costs, with the desire of getting the work to every fan. Original, didactic and practical... what more could you ask for? The passion, dedication, and effort of the author has made PRACTIGAMI a reality which will become an origami classic over time, if it isn’t one already. Buy it today! -Halle

September–October, 2014 Editorial: Dear Roberto... by Francesco Mancini Meenakshi Mukerji diagrams

low intermediate math geometric

Dear Roberto... I am the lucky owner of a very small part of Roberto Morassi's origami archive. For those who don't know him, Roberto is the founding father of Centro Diffusione Origami. I have five folders full of materials he collected during the early days of his passion for origami. In them there are articles, diagrams, letters on various fields of paper folding and fabric folding. The most interesting part is surely the mail exchanges with origami luminaries such as Fred Rohm, Sam Randlett or Bob Neale in the subject area of the mathematics of origami. I'm talking about the 1970s when the CDO wasn't born yet and, most of all, they didn't have the internet and the email, so the communications were in pen or typewriter. They didn't have graphic design software so in the envelopes you can find hand- drawn sequences and step folds of the models. The first treasure I found is a method to cut out a regular heptagon from a square sheet of paper. It was discovered in 1975 by Jacques Justin. I like the method because it's quick and easy. You can use it in order to fold something with this polygon for yourself or you can use it as a teaching aid. The regular heptagon can offer various didactic ideas: it's a polygon that is not constructible by Euclidean straightedge and compass geometry, some coins have 7 sides, there are cactuses with 7 lobes etc. You can also talk about the many symbologies of the heptagram (Figure 1). Or you can play a heptagon scavengers' hunt game with your students.

Figure 1

You can see in the scan of the letter that Justin sent Roberto the diagram and the final shape with a message on it: "Dear Roberto, do you know the folding of the regular 7-gon. It is based on the very precise relationship tg2π/7=5/4. Hope all is well for you. Best regards, Jacques."

Figure 2. Click on picture for diagrams for the heptagon.

Decoding the relationship tg2π/7=5/4 I wanted to decode the relationship tg2π/7=5/4 in Justin's note above. 2π/7 is the size of the angle at the center of a regular heptagon in radians. I will use degrees, so the internal angle is 360°/7. If we do some math, tan(360°/7)≈1.254 and 5/4=1.25, so the relationship is precise to the third digit. But where does the 5/4 come from? I thought about it and I think I found the solution. I'm not a mathematician so I apologize in advance for being crude. (Thanks to professor Francesco Fumagalli for the first review.) Figure 3 is the sheet unfolded after step #5 of diagrams, I added an extra construction line to connect M to A by bringing point D to point O (right). This will form the right triangle MBA. Let the side of the square be of length 1 unit. We know from folding the length of the short sides: MB=1/2 and BA=5/8 (left).

Figure 3

From Trigonometry we have tangent of angle AMB, we call it x, is equal to the ratio of the opposite side to the adjacent: So tan(x) = AB/MB = (5/8)/(1/2) = 5/4. With the reverse operation, the arctangent, we can find the value of x: x = arctan 5/4=51.34°, which is very close to 51.42° the angle at the center of a regular heptagon. But in the figure x is not the angle at the center of the heptagon, MOC. We can easily calculate it. If we consider the right triangle MCO (the angle MCO is right because, for the Huzita-Justin Axiom #2, the segment MA is the perpendicular to the segment OC) the angle MOC is equal to: 180° [sum of internal angles of a triangle] -90° [MCO] - (90°-x) [OMC]= 180° -90°-90° + x=x. So the angle at the center is equal to 51.34° too. We can say that we have a regular heptagon with a very good approximation. Now that you have the heptagon you only need to search for a nice model to fold with it. It's not so easy to find such a model because not many designers started with a heptagon, the only one who comes to my mind is Philip Chapman-Bell. But you can look for a model from octagon or a hexagon and try to transpose to a heptagon. Then there will be a lot of choice from designs by Evan Zodl, Meenakshi Mukerji, Dasa Severova, Christiane Bettens, Chris Palmer etc.

Happy folding, Francesco

Regular 7-gon Method by Jacques Justin. Diagrams by Francesco Decio/ Francesco Mancini based on the original 1

2

3

5/8 A

3/8

4

5

M

A

M

O

A

7

6

A

O

M

A Bring M to A

Fold behind

Fold behind

8

O

M

9 M A

90°

O

M

M O

10

A'

O

A

Heptagon finished

O

© Copyright 2014 by Justin/ Decio/ Mancini

A Cut perpendicular to the bisector (O is not the centre of the square)

September–October, 2014 Diagrams: Marquise By Ekaterina Lukasheva Edited by Meenakshi Mukerji modular diagrams

low intermediate math color-change geometric

Marquise is a 30-unit modular, though you could make a 12-unit assembly as well. It incorporates color change with the tiny flowers of the reverse color of the paper. In the photo, however, harmony paper has been used so some shading effect can be seen in the star. The solid kami paper version of the design also looks nice. Please click on picture on the right for diagrams.

Marquise (c) Ekaterina Lukasheva, 2010. www.kusudama.me 1

2

3

Make two little marks

4

5

6

7

8

9

t heF LD

© Copyright 2010 by Ekaterina Lukasheva This document was published by OrigamiUSA’s online magazine, The Fold, with permission from the author. If you did not obtain this document from The Fold’s website, you may have infringed upon the author’s copyright. This document can be obtained legally by joining OrigamiUSA online at http://www.origami-usa.org/

10

12

11

13

14

16

15

17

18

Repeat the same on the other side

Repeat the same with the other side

t heF LD

© Copyright 2010 by Ekaterina Lukasheva This document was published by OrigamiUSA’s online magazine, The Fold, with permission from the author. If you did not obtain this document from The Fold’s website, you may have infringed upon the author’s copyright. This document can be obtained legally by joining OrigamiUSA online at http://www.origami-usa.org/

19

20

Pocket

Flap Put your finger underneath the darkened area of the unit, and collapse as shown

Open up the petals

Hook the flap onto the pocket

Star assembly

To make the star connect 5 units as shown

t heF LD

Complete star

© Copyright 2010 by Ekaterina Lukasheva This document was published by OrigamiUSA’s online magazine, The Fold, with permission from the author. If you did not obtain this document from The Fold’s website, you may have infringed upon the author’s copyright. This document can be obtained legally by joining OrigamiUSA online at http://www.origami-usa.org/

Ball assembly Form triangular pyramid with 3 units

Top view

Connect units so that 5 of them meet in the poins marked with stars

t heF LD

© Copyright 2010 by Ekaterina Lukasheva This document was published by OrigamiUSA’s online magazine, The Fold, with permission from the author. If you did not obtain this document from The Fold’s website, you may have infringed upon the author’s copyright. This document can be obtained legally by joining OrigamiUSA online at http://www.origami-usa.org/

Angle variation Change step 14 to following

Color change variation Change steps 2-3 to following and proceed the other steps from the main diagram

Pocket

Flap

Make two little marks

t heF LD

© Copyright 2010 by Ekaterina Lukasheva This document was published by OrigamiUSA’s online magazine, The Fold, with permission from the author. If you did not obtain this document from The Fold’s website, you may have infringed upon the author’s copyright. This document can be obtained legally by joining OrigamiUSA online at http://www.origami-usa.org/

September–October, 2014 Crease Patterns: 3D Wall and Octet Truss by Robert J. Lang edited by Thomas Hull crease patterns

complex

corrugation tessellation design techniques

One of the classic designs of origami tessellation is Momotani's Wall (see the Origami Database for the many books in which it has been published).

Momotani's Wall, crease pattern.

Momotani's Wall, folded form.

It is an example of a counterrotating square twist tessellation, composed of square twists that rotate in alternate directions relative to their neighbors. With suitable choice of crease assignment, this crease pattern has the appearance of a flat brick wall; it is a simple example of a flagstone tessellation, in which the polygons of the front surface meet edge-to-edge, rather than overlapping. Today's crease pattern is inspired by Momotani's Wall: it is a 3D brick wall. The 3D-ness considerably enhances the illusion of distinct bricks.

3D Wall, front.

3D Wall, angled.

A particularly nice feature of Momotani's design is that it has a straightforward folding sequence from an unmarked square. Like many, perhaps most 3D tessellations, however, this 3D Wall does not have a linear folding sequence, nor are the reference points easily located. The best way to fold it is probably to print it out and precrease, or, if you like, use a scoring machine to score the folds. (A vector PDF is provided for those who would like to machine-score.)

3D Wall, crease pattern. Click for a PDF.

The elements of the crease pattern of 3D Wall mirror the elements of Momotani's Wall: there are sets of rectangles that form the front and back faces of the structure and trapezoids that connect the two sets, which are analogous to the trapezoids of a counterrotating twist tessellation. These panels remain planar in the folded form (although in the case of the trapezoids, they are tilted in the 3D structure). An interesting situation arises with the remaining polygons, which are rotated squares analogous to the central squares of the flat twists in Momotani's Wall. In 3D Wall, though, they are distorted into tetrahedra, and in order to take this form, it is necessary to add a pleat (or similar structure) along the diagonal of the twisted square. The original Momotani Wall was iso-area: if you turned the crease pattern over and rotated it by 90 degrees, you got the same pattern. This pattern is not iso-area, because the tetrahedra break the symmetry. However, you can transform it into an iso-area pattern. Each tetrahedral "gadget" has four possible orientations. The "crimp" running across the tetrahedron can occur in two ways, with the angled valley fold to the left or right of the straight mountain fold; and also the crimp could run along the other diagonal (with a straight valley fold and an angled mountain fold). By rotating half of the crimps and setting their crimp direction, the crease pattern can be made truly iso-area, a symmetry that extends to the folded form. If you look at the back side of the 3D Wall, it is the same pattern as the front side, but rotated by 90 degrees, i.e., the bricks run vertically. This tetrahedral gadget is one I developed several years ago, when I was investigating structures for a client who was interested in truss-core panels. A famous structure in mechanical engineering is the Octahedral-Tetrahedral truss, a.k.a. the oct-tet truss. Several origami artists (notably David Huffman) developed origami versions of this structure, sliced along a plane parallel to a family of equilateral triangles. I was interested in a slice along a square plane, like this:

An octahedral space frame. From Wikimedia Commons.

And so I developed an origami Oct-Tet Truss, shown here.

Oct-Tet Truss, crease pattern. Click for a PDF.

Oct-Tet Truss, folded from Wyndstone Marble paper.

This design folds very nicely from Wyndstone Marble paper, but when folded from mylar, one can see the octahedral/tetrahedral structure clearly in the interior.

Oct-Tet Truss, folded from laser-scored Mylar.

Like 3D Wall, this, too, has an analogous flat twist structure, which in this case is an array of unidirectional square twists. And also like its 3D brother, the precreasing is tedious and the collapse is a challenge — but well worth the effort.

September–October, 2014 Interview: Uyen Nguyen by Wendy Zeichner Edited by Jason Ku exhibition interview

A view of the gallery. Photo: Duks Koschitz. The origami exhibition, Surface to Structure: Folded Forms, took place at The Cooper Union in New York City from June 19 – July 3, 2014, featuring more than 130 works from 88 artists around the world. There were over 3,000 visitors in the two-week period. The curator was Uyen Nguyen, a recent graduate of Cooper Union. This exhibit is an amazing accomplishment for anyone, but especially for someone so young and with no prior experience in curating. This is Uyen Nguyen’s story. Uyen’s name (pronounced "win") is of Vietnamese origin, and she often goes by her nickname, Win-Win. Recently we were able to ask her a few questions about her experience. WZ: Can you tell me something about your background? Where did you grow up? What was your first encounter with origami? UN: I grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah. When I was in the third grade, my family travelled to Uyen Nguyen. Photo: Wendy Zeichner. Vietnam where my cousins taught me the traditional lily. That became my favorite model and throughout the rest of my time living in Utah, I would constantly fold lilies in my spare time - old homeworks, quizzes, many of them became lilies. WZ: What did you major in at the Cooper Union? UN: I majored in Mechanical Engineering. I gained greater interest in geometric forms, taught myself about platonic solids and other polyhedra, and through that became interested in modular origami to model these forms. My sophomore year I started an origami club at Cooper, not because I was deeply involved with origami but because I wanted to meet new people, make new friends, and do something kind of fun while we were at it.

From the Representational Section. Photo: Duks Koschitz. WZ: What deepened your interest in origami? UN: In 2012, I learned of OrigamiUSA and the convention at FIT. I decided that was something I couldn’t miss out on, and I had to check it out. Attending my first convention, I would solidly say, was the turning point for when origami transitioned from a casual side hobby to my greatest passion, the central focus of my life, and what I want to pursue as a career. That is when my involvement with origami became as intense as it is today. WZ: Now that you have graduated, what are your plans for the future, long term and short term? UN: I currently work as a researcher at Cornell University under one of the NSF EFRI-ODDEISEI grants for origami as it is applied to physics. One of my projects uses the Miura Ori pattern to study a phenomenon called percolation rigidity. I am also studying the mechanical characteristics of a structure I developed very similar to Tomoko Fuse’s Pako Pako. I look forward to gaining expertise both in origami and in the technical field. I don’t yet know what I’d like to do after my year at Cornell or as a career but I definitely would like it to be centered around origami, and am exploring all avenues, as an artist, curator, and now, researcher.

The Modular Section. Photo: Duks Koschitz. WZ: Tell me how you decided to create the exhibit at the Cooper Union. UN: I have had aspirations to be an artist since I was very young, and while an engineering student at Cooper, I would see the shows that art students would put on, and I longed to put on a show of my own. As my passion for origami grew, my desire to put on a show morphed to become one specifically for origami. Having an origami exhibition at Cooper was very meaningful to me for a number of reasons: The Cooper Union is a major part of the history of origami, the first ever exhibition of origami artwork in the USA was held there – an exhibit called Plane Geometry and Fancy Figures. It ran at the Cooper Union from June 1st to August 31st, 1959. One of OrgiamiUSA’s founders, Lillian Oppenheimer played a major role in organizing this exhibition. Arguably, this exhibition, certainly Ms. Oppenheimer’s efforts, catalyzed the spread of origami throughout the United States. Being of great significance, I wanted to pay homage to this first exhibit, and what better way than to have another one housed in the same institution? Origami was initially pursued purely for its artistic value. Recently, there have been discoveries of scientific applications, like programmable matter, and the design of air bags and solar panels. It is an art that generates science, and without this art, these kinds of sciences would not be possible. Likewise, science also gives back to the art, through innovations in machinery and chemical processes used in papermaking, allowing the origamist control over the medium to have specific properties, like thickness, strength, stiffness, texture, and color. Computers have also revolutionized origami, allowing for automated design and precision scoring of crease patterns. I greatly appreciate in origami that the dialogue between art and science goes both ways, and is not just a one-way street. Given its strong ties to art and science, I think it highly appropriate that an origami exhibit be hosted in an institution which nourishes both art and science instead of focusing on one or the other. The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art is such a place. WZ: Was this exhibit for class credit? A senior project?

UN: This exhibition was not related to my coursework or school curriculum in any way. I didn’t do it for credit or as a senior project. In fact, I did it while I was doing my senior project, and I don’t think I’ve ever worked so hard in my life. There was no faculty advisor overseeing the exhibition.

Lion by Hoang Tien Quyet, Fluid Dynamic by Richard Sweeney, Vole by Bernie Peyton. Photos: Christopher Bierlein. WZ: How did you contact the creators to get models for the exhibition? When did you begin contacting people? UN: I sent out an email via the O-list and OrigamiUSA members list announcing the exhibition and that submissions were now open via the Surface to Structure website. We also emailed personal invitations to specific artists whose contact information we had (there are, of course, many amazing creators that were not yet on my radar, or who I couldn’t reach). I also know roughly how to read and write Vietnamese, so I posted an invitation to participate on the forum of the Vietnamese Origami Group. We did not put the call out until early in April 2014. So we only had about 2.5 months to do everything! The submission deadline was April 12 and the exhibit opened on June 19. We got over 200 submissions, and I was astounded by the quality. The final show had 134 submissions accepted.

Works by Gachepapier (left & right) and David Brill (center). Photo: Duks Koschitz. WZ: How did you decide which to choose? What were the criteria? UN: People submitted photographs of their work and we based the selection on the photos and not on names of the creators. I wanted this exhibition to be an educational one and showcase the large scope and diversity of origami. I didn’t want to just include the work of masters but also the work of upcoming artists. I think our youngest artist was Sejin Park, from Korea, age 14. I also wanted to encompass different techniques and genres of the art. Once we decided which models we wanted to include, we organized them into groups because we wanted to form a cohesive narrative. There were some really quality works that we could not accept because they did not fit in with other accepted submissions. WZ: There were a lot of different sections, weren’t there? UN: Yes, we had some historic models from Akira Yoshizawa and Giuseppe Baggi. Other sections included representational, modular, scientific, mathematical, fashion, tessellations, pleats & corrugations, and paper & metal. WZ: It was very well done. What kind of curating experience did you have before starting this project? UN: None at all. I based this work on my knowledge of origami and also what I found to be aesthetically pleasing.

WZ: Thanks so much for this interview and for creating that amazing exhibit. I am glad to have you in the origami community and look forward to seeing your future work. UN: Thanks for interviewing me! This was a really meaningful experience for me and it felt so wonderful to see the joy that visitors noticeably portrayed. People came from around the globe to see it – some made international trips specifically for the exhibition and said it was well worth the visit. The comments in the guestbook are quite wonderful too, and at some point when I have time, I’d like to scan the pages and upload them to surfacetostructure.com so that everyone can review comments (blocking out personal info like emails). Some of the feedback I got was along the lines of “You can’t call this origami. Origami is just simple geometric animal shapes. This is real art, not origami.” In the guestbook people wrote things like, “I thought origami was just paper cranes. How very wrong I was!” One of my goals with the exhibition was to change the perceptions of people who didn’t consider it to be a genuine art form, and so feedback like this makes me really happy because I know it was a success. Interview conducted by Wendy Zeichner