I highly recommend you check out the fledgling website belonging to Ron Resch, a visionary mathematician and designer who was one of (if not *the*) first to explore the architectural potential of 3D tessellated structures in the 1960’s and 70’s.
Only lately have I been exposed to more of his work, and the more I see the more I want to know. He has a film- called “The Paper and Stick Film”- which is apparently quite a fascinating thing to watch. He has a link to purchase this from his website, but it still seems to be a non-functioning link. (The minute this becomes available I’m buying it!)
It looks like he updated his site with some more photos of his patents and some additional historical photos of things he has worked on, too, so if you’ve been to the site before I suggest visiting it again.
Tom Hull talked a good bit about Resch at the Origami USA convention this year, and really intrigued me to look further into his designs. Only recently have I started exploring 3D tessellations myself, and so seeing his innovative thoughts from way back when is really an eye-opener for me.
One thing that really hit me today as I was looking at his site (yet again) was this curving folded piece, made up of out pleats. I like the way it captures an essence- flight, perhaps, or maybe something a bit more ethereal than that.
Sometime soon I need to make a pilgrimage up to Vegreville in Alberta, Canada to see his giant Easter Egg, made for the large Ukrainian community on the High Prairies to celebrate their heritage. There’s some more information about that on his site as well, which is worth looking at. Do a google search for it too, you won’t regret it.
-Eric
Update 2012: As Ron Resch has passed away, his website has fallen into the hands of domain scavengers – so I’ve removed the links to the content. If it reappears somewhere else in the future I will re-link.
I just googled my last name and You are the result. I just want to see if you respond.
You might not be the same Ron Resch, but of course you are quite welcome to post comments 🙂
I’m a big fan of Ron’s work, and the more I see of it the more I realize there is to learn.
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I’m Ron’s cousin and I’ve been trying to find an email address for him… haven’t seen him in years but I would love to touch base with him again. Any ideas? Thanks
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Ron Resch may be reached at:
RonResch@gmail.com
Also The discover TV channel of Canada will be airing a 5-6 min. piece on my Vegreville Giant Easter Egg tomorrow, Thursday April 5, 2007 at 7:00 pm on their science Program called the Daily Planet. see http://www.discoverychannel.ca/
HOWEVER as of last September broadband access to these programs is no longer available to the USA. Canada, Germany and a few other select countries may view it live.
=== IF you would like to see this program email me your request. I will be given a special URL link to give to my friends (that’s you) which may be used for viewing the stored program for 24 hours after the live internet broadcast.
Ron Resch
Curious, our last names are the same…I do not have any artistic talent, I think, I write poems though.
I live in Italy and my great-grand father was a musician and a composer.
Any info on your family of origin?
our last name are the same…
Hello Ron,
I come here byway of your “Largest Easter Egg” which I saw on the Discovery channel and I noticed something that you may or may not be aware of.
I have studied Fibonacci numbers and ratios for a number of years in relation to the stock market charts and in turn to the prevalence of the same to most of the universe. In relation to eggs, I have found that when an egg is placed on end, that the maximum width of an egg is 0.382 or 0.618 of the height depending on which end is up.
This I do not see in the design of your egg. I do not say this to be critical and I’m sure that laying out the construction of the egg may not allow for this but I could not help but bring it to your attention in case you were not aware of the ratios.
Non the less it was a magnificent feat.
Cheers, Gary
Hello, I love all your writings, keep them coming.
Hi there, i now have taken a time reading through your blogs and simply thought i ought to be courtesy enough to pass comment. i have definitely loved all your sites and i have high hopes you will continue to keep producing it for myself and other people which enjoy reading it.
I like this post, as well as this whole site. it is very well constructed and the information that you have presented here is also top notch and a great read for me. Please keep creating such excellent material. Thanks alot.
A couple of comments about two interesting books I own.
Creating with Paper, by Pauline Johnson, a professor of Art at the University of Washington, Published in 1958 by University of Washington Press. The chapter headings include, Curling, bending, folding, scoring , and geometric forms. The 208 pages are full of B&W photos and line drawings. Curved scoring creates interesting results. Diagonal folding
and accordion pleating is thoroughly explored. Amazing, considering it was 1958.
Papercraft by Dona Z. Meilach, 48 pages published by Pitman Publishing Corporation, 1968, has a couple of pages on Sculptural Form, subtitled From Flat Paper to Sculptural Form. Scoring and Chevron folding are shown.
What can look so modern to today’s origami has been around for a half a century, as least in two books I have.
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Currently on Vimeo:
I met Ron Resch at a Sun Community One event in Atlanta, where I was manning a booth. He’d driven down for the event from the northeast somewhere to try to win a computer giveaway. I think this was sometime 2007 or 2008. He didn’t arrive on time for the giveaway due to a vehicle breakdown. Anyway we talked with him for hours and he showed us a lot of fascinating graphics he had on his laptop. He talked about working on Star Trek the Motion Picture and the Vegreville Egg. I’d seen some story about the egg on TV when I was a kid, in the seventies. I just watched the Ron Resch Paper and Stick Film. Fascinating story.
Does anyone have the original URL of his website ? I haven’t been able to find it on the wayback machine, I was hoping it was there and that I could find some of his old work.
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Ron Resch site is now restored at http://www.ronresch.org/
Starting this July, we worked on the project to restore site from the web fetch copy provided by Erik Demaine, with permission from Ron’ son Yon Resch and guidance provided by Robert J. Lang. Yon Resch is now hosting the site.