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[NO] Amazing one-sheet paper artwork

Published by ericgjerde

와인이 있는 식탁 (my translation tool says this: ‘With the dining table which is the person’. who knows?)

I can’t link to the images, unfortunately, due to some brain-dead javascript ugliness that prohibits me from linking to them (the blog hosting company, not the person!)

very impressive stuff. not origami, more like supremely artistic kirigami, but still appetizing. the use of a single sheet of paper makes it more interesting!

WIP triangle fold, redux (reverse)

Published by ericgjerde

a slightly different attack on the triangle thing. can you tell that when I mentally envision something, I have to create it or it drives me nuts? this design is giving me stress, and I want to complete it and be done with it already.

regardless, here is a modified base, folded from a sheet of treated unryu. it’s actually one of the scrap pieces left over from my testing process, which explains the random edges, etc.

it’s very lovely paper, and is great to fold- it’s extremely thin, but treating it properly makes it stiff and springy. much more so than standard kami (the paper you buy in a pack of 100 from the paper store.)

Something else worth noting here- on the star version of this fold, you’re taking a pattern with hexagonal symmetry which gives you 6 shapes (thusly, 6 triangles). if you try the same methodology with triangular symmetry, you get 3 shapes with 6 sides. I suppose this is rather obvious, but it’s still interesting to see it play out this way.

on the larger version of this that I did (here), I ended up with some odd hexagonal shapes on the bottom that became larger and larger as my folds progressed.

I need to refold this newer variant on larger paper that is more forgiving, so I can do better manipulation of my crease points and all the complicated sinks.

treated unryu paper

Published by ericgjerde



treated unryu paper

Originally uploaded by Ori-gomi.

So I had a hard time finding out what sort of Methyl Cellulose I should use on thin paper like unryu (like washi, made with mulberry or something similar). MC makes it stiff- you get it as a powder and mix it up, apply it, let it dry, etc.

I got a great tip from someone on the Origami-L mailing list to use Sodium Carboxymethyl Cellulose, which apparently dries stiffer than regular methyl cellulose. I’m not a chemist (that’s my wife!) so I really wouldn’t know, but I checked out the place he recommended. it was $26.95 for a 100g bottle, which would have lasted quite a while but seemed expensive to the cheap old man inside me.

So having put this off for a while (and I picked up a large supply of great papers that need it!) I happened across something this weekend that seems to solve my problem.

at my parent’s house, working down in my dad’s woodshop, I noticed a can of “spray starch” he uses to make his work shirts press flat and stiff. I looked at the ingredients list, and lo and behold- besides water and propellant, the main ingredient was none other than Sodium Carboxymethyl Cellulose.

I tested it out on paper- sprayed it with the stuff (called “Magic Sizing”) and ironed it flat using a normal clothes iron (use a sheet of linen or other smooth thin cloth between your iron and the paper or you’ll get starchy stuff all over the iron. yuck.)

it makes for VERY flat and smooth paper, but very springy and strong. it’s a joy to fold. and there’s really not much waiting for it to dry, as it takes about 3 minutes to really soak in, and then about 2 or 3 minutes to iron it flat and dry.

the best part? the stuff in the spray can cost about $1, and it’s a big can!

or maybe the best part is the lovely laundry smell the paper has after you’re done. (I’m looking for “fragrance free” spray, but haven’t found any yet.)

I tested several different brands of “spray starch”, and only the Magic Sizing brand specifically lists the methyl cellulose in the ingredients. the others probably have something similar, but it’s just listed as “polymers” etc. they seem to work about the same, though, so I wouldn’t worry about it too much if you can’t find this particular brand.

I tested various levels of application (ranging from a light spray to a full soaking) but there’s only so much MC the paper can absorb, so the supersoaking doesn’t do much other than make your ironing work harder. Also, if the paper gets too wet, it becomes very difficult to eliminate wrinkles, etc.

Ironing larger sheets (1m squared) becomes tricky, but I’m working on a process for that. it’s not really solved yet, though.

I’m working on better documentation for this whole process, so if it’s interesting for you I’d suggest waiting until I’m finished.

you are also, of course, welcome to contact me any time, at origomi@mac.com.