Crucifix (December, 2011)

 

Base Crease Pattern

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.

Matthew 27:50-52

The crucifixion of Jesus Christ is the greatest gift that has ever been given, and placing one's hope and faith for salvation in Him is the most important decision a person can make.  It is a decision I made due, in large part, to my mother.  Because of that, I am giving this model to her for Christmas this year.

Spider Lily (September, 2011)

Base Crease Pattern

The contrast between the flat, broad petals and the thin filaments at the center of this flower made it a challenging model to fold.  In this design, the thin filaments come from the edge of the paper, and the central stigma is inverted through the center - if the paper were a different color on the reverse side, the stigma would be color-changed.  I decided against this, even though the real one has a green stigma, because back-coating the white tissue paper would have made it thicker than I wanted and would have made the white less pure.  The end result is one of my favorite flower designs along with my hibiscus and torch ginger, the latter of which is still my favorite thing I have ever folded.

Hooded Mantis (August, 2011)

Base Crease Pattern

The Praying Mantis is an extremely popular subject among origami artists and has been done very well by many folders.  Because of this, I have not been motivated to design one of my own, even though it is such a striking insect.  When I discovered that there was a Hooded Mantis, I knew instantly that I wanted to design this variation on one of my favorite origami themes.

Morning Glory (June, 2011)

Base Crease Pattern

After completing my Tailless Whip Scorpion, I wanted to fold something easier and more enjoyable.  A vine of morning glories has, unexpectedly, appeared in our garden, and it was exactly what I was looking for - a beautiful flower that is simple yet distinctive.  Unlike the vast majority of my designs, this model was folded from a 6" square (I usually use a 12" square) and was completed in a single day (I can't remember the last time that happened).

Tailless Whip Scorpion (June, 2011)

Base Crease Pattern

I have folded a whip scorpion before, inspired by Bear Grylls eating one on Man vs. Wild but, after seeing that episode again, it was obvious that he did not eat the variety I had designed.  Instead, it was the "tailless" whip scorpion that he had consumed - a much nastier looking critter, and much more challenging to design and fold. It was difficult to find pictures that clearly showed all features of this arachnid, and they seemed to show wide variations in the length and thickness of the pedipalps, as well as the size and number of the spikes. It didn't help that these things seem to prefer keeping their pedipalps folded up while at rest. I don't know if the claws on mine are completely accurate, but I think I captured the look well - this was the most challenging part, and the reason I discarded two versions before the one in the photograph. I was unwilling to accept claws that looked clumsy and goofy instead of wicked and vicious.

Rafflesia Arnoldii (March, 2011)

Base Crease Pattern

The rafflesia arnoldii, more commonly known as a corpse flower due to its unique aroma, caught my eye as an origami subject because of the challenge it posed in creating the central dome with a hole in the middle.  This proved to be even trickier than I had anticipated, and I discarded about 5 or 6 designs because they either did not work at all or made the dome too cone-shaped.  I finally decided to use a method similar to my jellyfish - I shaped the dome around a balloon, but this time the balloon was only about two thirds of the way inside the central flap.  I inverted the remaining third, creating the hole in the middle.

Flying Walking Stick (January, 2011)

Base Crease Pattern

I have always been fond of Robert Lang's insects - his praying mantis, samurai helmet beetle, and scorpion from Origami Insects II are models I have particularly enjoyed folding, but his flying walking stick is my personal favorite.  Although he does have the crease pattern on his website, diagrams for this particular model are not published in a book, so I decided to design my own.

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.