Origami Tessellations

Prolific origami genius Brian Chan created this how-to video for one of his creations, Mens et Manus. It’s so very, very funny.

Click To Play

You can view (and download) the movie in larger formats here:

http://chosetec.techtv.mit.edu/file/93/

(Thanks to Brian Webb for the link!)

I’ve been doing a lot of “idea work” lately- also known as playing around and not doing anything seriously. Here’s some examples of work in progress, which I intend to keep developing into some new things.

This came out of some explorations with complex 3D surfaces with non-convex edges in the shape of a zig-zag. This came out quite nicely but the large zig-zag shape made the paper curve into a circle… so I added some compression in the center, which made a corrugated pattern in the midst of it all. It’s sort of a strange mix between my normal tessellation techniques and origami corrugations, as done by Ray Schamp and Polly Verity.

Working on completing this piece- it’s sort of a triptych, although it’s on one sheet of paper. Once I wrap it up I’ll be documenting the process via some instructional material to be posted on this site.

I’ve been fascinated by “pleat explosions” after seeing the work of paper artist Jen Stark. I wanted to riff off her work, transposed into my chosen methodology; it’s been difficult due to inherent limitations with uncut folded paper techniques. So I decided it was high time I start trying new things, and I cut the paper in specific locations to free up some pleats.

I haven’t spent a lot of time doing the modeling and shaping of this trial attempt, but I think there’s some nice possibilities in it. I think there’s a whole family of floral shapes that can be pulled out of this, and I’m contemplating a large tessellation of these floral designs. It will also allow me to try some dye techniques, using some ideas from Jane Araújo and Joseph Wu, both of whom have done a lot of experimentation with dyes of various sorts. More on this to come.

I found a new geometrical pattern to be exploited on a triangular grid- also used sparingly in the tessellated corrugation piece above. It yields a large 3D cone shape- I’m sure there’s something that can be done with this. For the meantime it’s being filed away under the “things to be explored later” category.

Last but not least, my publisher sent the final lasers for my book to me for last-minute corrections. After a few tweaks I sent it back, and it was shipped off to the publishers last week! I’m glad to have this project completed; it’s been a lot of fun but also a bit stressful at times. It was also a very valuable learning experience, and I’m better prepared now for the next book.

-Eric

So, I’ve been a fan of Coudal Partners for quite some time now- circling back to their site every time I dig through my bookmarks and then spending a day browsing through all the content and links they have.

I recently learned from my friend Jeff Rutzky (happy birthday Jeff, by the way) that they’re not just a wonderful site, but this powerful and brilliant ad agency in Chicago. Oops. I suppose I should have figured that one out more quickly, especially when they were so nice to link to me way back in 2005. Live and learn, right?

Well, Coudal had people sending in things to them all the time, unsolicited. You know how much fun it is to get packages you aren’t expecting, don’t you? It’s kind of like a grown-up version of Christmas, but without any family awkwardness or having to buy gifts for kids. It’s a tiny little moment of self-gratification as you tear into the Fedex box and wonder what sort of goodies are inside.

They decided to expand on this, and started swapping out items sent to them with other items sent to them- so they got to have their pseudo-Christmas fun, and then spread the joy with others too. I like this idea a lot, enough so that I will be sending something in to them shortly, once I figure out what it is that I should be sending in. (Here’s a hint: it’s most likely made of paper. Guesses, anyone?)

But then I was further enlightened to know that some of my origami friends have already been doing this- see nifty items from Jeff and Vanessa Gould (of Green Fuse Films fame, home of the Exploring Origami documentary project):

Crown Hall Kirigami, from Jeff Rutzky

Color Wheel Kusudama, from Vanessa Gould

Also, the folks at Coudal are behind Jewelboxing.com, a really slick method for making jewelboxed CD/DVD cases and inserts/labels/etc. I saw that Jeff and Vanessa had connected together to make some cases for her “Exploring Origami” demo, using none other than Joel Cooper’s mask images for the cover!

It’s just an odd thing how different people and places you know seem to connect together in unexpected ways. I’m always surprised when I find things like this- “I know that person- and that person! they’re both here on this site! who knew?”

I’m hoping some of you other creators out there send something in to Coudal Partners as well; I’d love to see them swamped with fantastic paper artwork all at once.

-Eric

Another completely stellar piece from origamista Christine Edison.

Her work has continually improved- become both more complex and yet more simplified, as if she’s filtering out things to reveal only the beautiful interior framework that needs to remain.

Needless to say I’m a huge fan of her work. She has some pieces on display in the upcoming Treasures of Origami Art exhibition at the Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art in Haifa, Israel; I’m also pleased to say that she has some artwork featured in the gallery section of my upcoming book.

The real difficulty is that each new piece of hers that I see becomes my new favorite!

Christine also has her own origami blog, if you’d like to keep an eye on what she’s up to. If you’re a flickrite, make sure you add her as a contact!