Swallowtail Butterfly (December, 2010)

 

Base Crease Pattern

Given that my two favorite categories of origami are flowers and bugs, it was inevitable that I would eventually design a butterfly.  In spite of the fact that it seems to be a perfect blend of these two categories, this model stretched both my design and folding skills in new directions in order to get wings of sufficient width and delicacy to suit the subject.  I usually prefer to fold subjects that have some unique defining characteristic, so I chose the swallowtail butterfly because the two points at the end of the lower half of each wing give it a distinctive silhouette.

Acorn Weevil (November, 2010)

 

Base Crease Pattern

The acorn weevil caught my attention due to its strange appearance.  Its long, thin snout, which has two delicate antennae that branch out near the middle, provided a unique structure which would be a challenge to design.  As I inspected the picture more closely, I also noticed that the feet each have three toes.  I am not sure the word "cute" is appropriate to describe many insects, but I think it is fitting in this case.

Jellyfish (September, 2010)

Base Crease Pattern

While looking at my previous Torch Ginger design, I had the idea that it could be altered to resemble a jellyfish.  The Torch Ginger has a lot of unused paper, so I decided to use box-pleating this time and use that extra paper for the long tentacles.  In order to make the body as round as possible, I inflated a small balloon inside the central flap and folded around it - the balloon also served to support the thin layers of the dome while the model dried.  I typically make minimal use of Photoshop to correct color, if anything.  This time, however, I did erase any traces of the clear fishing line I used to suspend the jellyfish.

Dobsonfly (July, 2010)

Base Crease Pattern

Between our family vacation to Disney World at the beginning of June and the World Cup (Spain is awesome...), I have not done much origami recently.  I finally got around to designing, and folding, another insect - the Dobsonfly is an impressive looking bug and was an enjoyable project.

Giant Isopod (April, 2010)

Base Crease Pattern

A Giant Isopod is very similar to  the common pillbug, except that they can be as big as a small cat and live in the deep ocean.  Click here to see more photos from different angles comparing my model to the real thing.

African Daisy (February, 2010)

Base Crease Pattern

It should be obvious by now - I love origami flowers.  Every time I find, and fold, a new interesting flower (most flowers are simply varying numbers of petals in different colors - unique structures are harder to come by than one might think) my emotions are mixed.  The result is inevitably satisfying, yet I always wonder how many more there will be.  It is becoming more and more clear to me that no matter how many designs I come up with, God's creation will always provide more subjects than I can even begin to fold into origami - as they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Giraffe Weevil (January, 2010)

Base Crease Pattern

I occasionally search the internet for pictures of unique subjects, particularly flowers, insects, and arachnids.  The Giraffe Weevil definitely qualifies as unique, and I knew it would make a striking origami model.  Since I wanted to use a color-change for the red shell, I needed thin paper that was black on one side and red on the other.  This is the first model where I used back-coating to accomplish this - I used methyl-cellulose to glue red tissue paper to a sheet of black tissue paper.  Since tissue is so thin, I was pleasantly surprised when the red maintained its color even with the black behind it.

Because the complexity of these models creates the need to "constrain" multiple layers of paper to hold their shape, they are all the product of either tissue-foil or wet-folding.  The former relies on the aluminum foil sandwiched between two layers of tissue (hence the name) to keep the layers compressed, while the latter makes use of water, dissolving the glue already present in the paper which dries and sets the model in the desired shape.  Tissue foil is a handmade paper (for instructions on how to make tissue-foil, visit the paper section of Robert Lang's website) which I have almost entirely stopped using due to two negative side effects - the end product almost always looks at least a little wrinkled, and the foil washes out the color of the thin tissue paper.  Even though I have abandoned using it, this material did serve its purpose at the time - through its use, I dramatically increased my manual folding abilities and created many of my favorite original models, most of which I have since re-done by wet-folding.  Wet-folding is the technique of choice for most (if not all) of the worlds best origamists (instructions can also be found on Robert's website), but I find a more accurate term to be wet-shaping, since I dislike folding wet paper and tend to dry-fold as long as possible and only apply water at the final shaping stages (painter's tape is a wonderful thing - it can constrain the paper without sticking to, and tearing, it).  Suitable paper can be difficult to come by, which is one reason why I originally avoided this method - one solution I have found is treating paper with Methyl Cellulose, a glue used in book-binding.  I purchase it at Paper Source, which also has an instructional video on preparing the MC.  A readily available paper for this method is standard tissue paper, which I originally learned from Bryan Chan's website, specifically from his Praying Mantis design.  Using a foam brush, I apply the Methyl Cellulose to the tissue paper on a mirror - a trick I learned from Robert Lang, which he, in turn, learned from Michael LaFosse.  The glue-soaked-paper does not stick to glass.  The trick is to apply it without wrinkling or tearing the tissue - I can offer no advice on this other than try it many times - there is no substitute for experience.  The resulting paper is extremely strong and durable, while staying remarkably thin.  The only major problem I have found with this material is that it has a tendency to wrinkle - this applies both to the final wet-shaping stages of a model (especially if the model has large, flat features) as well as the original application of the MC to the paper (especially if the application is to paper of more than 12" side length).  Using other types of paper can solve this problem - I have most recently become fond of mulberry paper, which can be found in many varieties at the Handmade Paper Superstore.

The other artistic skill represented here is photography.  My goal in this area is to enhance the folded model by using light and shadows - if the photograph looks better than the actual origami model, I feel that I have accomplished my goal.  I have no official training in this art, but my brother, Steven, does - some of the pictures have been taken by him but, more recently, I have been trying to learn the principles for myself (since he lives 5 hours away, it is not expedient to rely on his notable talents in this area).  My skills are improving, along with the quality of equipment I own, so most of the pictures are taken by me.  I have also provided pictures of the real thing I was trying to re-create, along with (when necessary) links to the websites where I found these pictures. 

I also have many more pictures of models designed by other artists, but still folded by me.