Origami: Mucube

Mucube 1

Mucube, designed by me, made out of modified Sonobe units

Someone asked me if this model was based on the Ukrainian flag.  Point in fact, I made this model last year, so it wasn’t.  But let’s say it is now.

This design was inspired by Jan Misali’s video about the 48 regular polyhedra.  The mucube is a series of connected squares that infinitely tile R3. Whether this really counts as a regular polyhedron is dubious… but obviously a great target for an origami design.  I liked it so much that I made two of them.  The other is below the fold.

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Origami: Rhombus Weave

Rhombus Weave

Rhombus Weave, designed by Eric Gjerde

At this point in time, I have almost 10 years of origami photos to choose from, and though the pace of my artwork has slowed during the pandemic, I still have a large number of photos in my backlog.  (You can, of course, find them all if you find the link on my sidebar.)  This one comes from an earlier era when I didn’t care what was in the background, because the photos were only for myself, and the backgrounds added flavor.  A few of these are embarrassing, but I actually like this one because it’s the balcony view from my old apartment.

This origami tessellation comes from Eric Gjerde’s classic book, Origami Tessellations, definitely recommended if you ever want an introduction.  The pattern on the paper has horizontal lines, but the rhombuses are twisted so that the lines undulate up and down.

Origami: James Webb Space Telescope

Last month I heard a lot of buzz about the James Webb Space Telescope. So I made origami of it.

origami of the James Webb Space Telescope mirrors

James Webb Telescope, designed by Robert J. Lang. Folding template online.

Specifically, this is just the big mirror component of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

Since people are currently interested in the JWST, and since I just made origami of it, and since I have a physics background, I thought I’d talk about it. Or at least, explain why the mirrors look that way.

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Origami: Crane Heart

Crane Heart

Crane Heart, designer unknown

The origami crane is probably the most iconic design in origami, so naturally people make all sorts of designs that riff on it.  This design has a crane grafted onto a heart.  It’s easy to find video instructions for this one, although I haven’t found any credited designer.

Happy new year!

Origami: Stairway leaf

Stairway leaf

Stairway leaf, a design by me

You can make some pretty things with relatively simple patterns in origami.  This model is the result of some experimentation with pleats.  It has two parallel sets of pleats, which meet along a zig zag line.  This is one of those models that when I stare at it for long enough, I start thinking about more things I could do with this.

Origami: Giggling Skull

Giggling skull

Skull by Jo Nakashima, and Skeleton Hand by Jeremy Shafer

The other day, my mother said that she didn’t celebrate Halloween growing up, they only had All Saints Day.  I think she’s a lot more enthusiastic about Halloween than I am.  Anyway, here’s a Halloween themed origami I made once, as part of the local origami club.  I think the skull is supposed to be made with one-sided black paper, to contrast the color of the eyes with the rest, but clearly I didn’t plan ahead.  Another fortuitous accident, is that once we had the skull and the hand, everyone’s skull was giggling.

Origami: Coronavirus

Coronavirus origami

Coronavirus, an original design by me

Let me tell a story.  Although I’ve continued posting monthly origami photos, I’ve made very little origami in the past year.  I just have a really large backlog of photos (all on my Flickr, if you can find it).  Although being stuck at home all the time doesn’t seem like it would interfere with origami (and indeed, I was already stuck at home in previous years due to unemployment), there was more of a psychological shift, as I felt less motivated to pursue certain interests.

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