45804434 Origami Bonsai Electronic Magazine Vol 3 Iss 1

8/12/2019 45804434 Origami Bonsai Electronic Magazine Vol 3 Iss 1

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Folding the Clematis

Origami R x: Out of the Abyss

Pebbles with Variable Color

Origami Bonsai Décor



Table of Contents

Folding the Clematis 5

Origami Rx: Out of the Abyss 10

Pebbles with Variable Color 15

Origami Bonsai Décor 17

Origami Bonsai® is a registered trademark of Benjamin John Coleman

You are free to adapt and share Origami Bonsai Electronic Magazine Volume

3 Issue 1 as long as you attribute the material you use to Benjamin John

Coleman. Glow-Fold is a patented technique and must be licensed

separately. Contact [email protected] for details.

Web-Enabled!

Click on any highlighted item ortext in this document and you willbe taken to a link on the web.

Origami Bonsai Electronic Magazine Volume 3 Issue 1

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Origami Bonsai Resources on the Web

Click on the thumbnail to be taken to the corresponding web site.

www.OrigamiBonsai.org Origamibonsai.org has tips, books you can buy, freefolding videos, photos of Origami Bonsai created all bypeople living all over the world, and lots more.

www.Scribd.com/Benagami You'll find Origami Bonsai Electronic Magazine here along

with less expensive electronic versions of AdvancedOrigami Bonsai and Origami Bonsai Accessories.

FaceBook When you become a "fan" of Origami Bonsai onFaceBook you will be notified when new issues of thismagazine are released. You'll also find craft showschedules where Origami Bonsai artists will be present,along with other announcements.

www.YouTube.com/OrigamiBonsaiForum A lot of Origami Bonsai folding videos.

www.Etsy.com Search "origami bonsai" and "makigami accessories" tosee lists of items for sale in these categories from artistsand craftspeople around the globe.


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http://www.etsy.com/shop/Benagami

http://www.youtube.com/origamibonsaiforum

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Origami-Bonsai/309983322004

http://www.scribd.com/benagami

http://www.origamibonsai.org/



Origami Bonsai Books and Instant Flowers

Click the thumbnail to order or preview .

The first book in the Origami Bonsai (2010, TuttlePublishing) series is available at bookstores worldwide.This book teaches how to fold the basic flower formfrom which many varieties of flower can be folded.Comes with folding videos on DVD. 112 pages.

Advanced Origami Bonsai teaches how to makebranches from newspaper using the Makigami

technique. Also teaches how to create intricate branchnetworks for Origami Bonsai sculptures. 182 pages on

DVD or through Scribd.com.

Origami Bonsai Accessories t eaches how to makedurable Makigami jewelry, accessories, bangles, plantersand other items. Concepts presented can be applied toother crafts, hobbies, and art forms. Make virtuallyanything from paper. 152 pages on DVD or throughScribd.com.

Origami Bonsai Instant Flowers are the first massproduced origami flower in the world! They fold

instantly into 12 flower varieties with videos on YouTubeto guide you. Each package comes with 6 red, 3 blue and

3 yellow instant flowers.


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http://www.origamibonsai.org/instantflowers.html

http://www.origamibonsai.org/books.html





Folding the Clematis Flower

The Clematis flower is based on the Basic Flower Form. If you are not familiarwith how to fold the Basic Flower Form there are instructions on how to fold

it on page 50 of Origami Bonsai .

What makes this flower particularly goodlooking is the dramatic change in color onthe bottom of the flower. This colortransition occurs in a set of folds that is not

visible in the finished flower, so it appears both abruptand natural in the folded flower. In general youshould choose contrasting colors to take greatest

advantage of this feature.When painting a square you

plan to fold into a Clematis,make sure your leaf color ispainted a fair distance ontothe bottom of the petal.Notice my painting pattern

(pictured left). I painted asmall additional area on each

petal which corresponds to thewide part of the kite shape in

the top picture.

Begin with the basic flower form (p. 50Origami Bonsai). Book fold the top layer ofpaper (diamond shape) from right to left.

Step

1


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When you perform the fold in step 1, oneof the petals will partially open. Insertyour finger into the petal and then run theindex finger of your other hand over theedges to flatten it.

Fold the bottom corner of the top pleat ofpaper up as shown.

Your model should look like this. Flip it and

perform step 3 on the other side. Then book foldand perform steps 1 through 3 on the other twopetals.

Step

2

Step

3

Step

4


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Click here to see a list of Origami Bonsai sculptures available on Etsy.

Origami Bonsai artists and craftspeople, make sure to include the keywords "origami" and "bonsai" when posting your work to E tsy so itwill be included when readers click this advertisement.


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http://www.etsy.com/search_results.php?search_query=origami+bonsai&search_type=handmade







Your completed Clematis flower should look similar to those pictured above. You can watch avideo which shows how to fold the Clematis flower by clicking the icon above.

This flower folding pattern has two distinct features which will help you determine when to useit. Firstly, it has a complex and beautiful bud shape, which makes it a good choice forsculptures with flowers that don’t point directly at the viewer.

The other feature to notice is that the Clematis flower does not require that you pushpetals up from underneath. Instead, this flower’s petals are pulled from the center.

This means that the smallest size you can fold is not a function of the size ofyour smallest finger. You can fold a much

smaller Clematis flower than youcan a Primrose.


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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymmkv6ZZkiQ&feature=player_embedded



Origami R x: Out of the Abyss

As we live our lives, occasionally we are

challenged with some sort of obstacle thatseems insurmountable. Perhaps that obstacleis a disease which requires a long treatment,and then a long recovery period afterwards. Itcould also be a handicap, or some sort ofdisorder for which there is little or notreatment. Or it could be something for whichit seems there is no resolution, except for thepassage of time, like the long wait for a lovedone to return from war.

In many respects, these challenges are like a talland impossible-to-climb mountain. Because wecan’ t climb it, the only option is to tunnelthrough. And so we proverbially dig, deeperand deeper, until we become blinded by thedark. It is a scary place we enter; a pitch blackabyss envelops us . It’s so dark we fear wecould lose ourselves, but the only way out is tocontinue digging, and we press forward. After

what seems like an eternity we emerge whole,victorious, into light at the other side.

What follows are the stories of four people whohad challenges thrust upon them. Each ofthese people entered a period of their lives that

could have lead to crippling despair or isolation.But in each case the burden of the challengewas lessened, either by falling back upon theorigami they learned as a child, or by

discovering it for the first time.

Rachel Taylor ’s grandparents emigrated from Japan to the US just before World War 2. Her father joined the US Air Force and flew F- 15’s for a living. She remembers moving around a lot in her youngerdays, “sometimes we would fly to a new state. I remember my dad sitting next to me and pulling outone of the airline magazines, tearing out a page, making it into a square, and then folding it into acrane.” At about age 6 she learned to how to fold origami cranes from her father and grandmother.


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Taylor’s family moved often, and she came to depend upon the friendship provided by her olderbrother, “we never lived anywhere longer than three years,” she said. “My brother and I grew up bestfriends. When your family are your best friends, no matter where you go you have each other.” Taylor’sbrother joi ned the Marine Corps, while Taylor followed in her father’s footsteps, joining the US Air

Force.

“While I was still a cadet at the US Air Force Academy my brother was deployed to Iraq,” she said. Sheremembered a family tradition. When her grandfather had gone away to fight in World War II, hergrandmother had folded one origami crane each day he was gone. And so she began folding cranes, shebelieves, to keep her brother safe in Iraq. “I would fold in my dorm room, quietly at my desk. It’s atherapeutic process if you let it be. One crane per day - because luck is needed that day. I don’t forget.You don’t forget to brush your teeth; you don’t forget to fold a crane. Not a day went by that I didn’tthink of my brother in Iraq, so not a day we nt by that I didn’t fold a crane to keep him safe.”

“My cranes are all folded the exact same way. There’s something meaningful about doing it the sameway you were taught. There’s history there… you’re paying homage to that history. When I’m finished I feel in control, at peace, like I did what I can do. ”

Her brother safely completed a total of three tours in Iraq and one in Africa and Taylor ended up with a

shoebox filled with over 800 cranes. “We don’t talk about it. We’re not big on talking ab out ouremotions. I think from being in Iraq we each have our own crap that we’re dealing with. That’s what isso beautiful about the cranes. You don’t have to talk; you just know. There’s a real strength that comesfrom that.”

Florina Mitrea lives inBucharest,Romania and was

diagnosed withbreast cancer inMarch, 2010. “Itis very hard to besick here inRomania. No oneseems to care

about sickpeople. If youwant to surviveyou have to beinventive and


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find an escape,” she said. Mitrea has u ndergone surgery and at the time of this interview she was at theend of her first round of chemotherapy treatments, a total of eight of them, that would continue untilDecember, 2010. “After one chemo session it takes seven days to feel better,” she adde d.

According to the American Cancer Society ’s web site , chemotherapy has numerous side effects including

hair loss, nausea, vomiting, and fatigue. Typical treatment lasts three to six months over which timemultiple doses of drugs will be administered. After each dose there is a recovery period.

“In Rom ania we say never say it is done until it is done, ” Mitrea boldly said. “Right now I’m at thebeginning of my recovery from this disease. I’ll undergo more testing to see if I beat the cancer, if not ,I’ll start the fight again.”

Some months ago when she was feeling up to it, Mitrea began surfing YouTube with an IBM PC. Shelikes to paint and was searching for flower videos when she stumbled upon some flower folding videos.“I was fascinated and I started to look with great interest at your tutorials” she said referring to anOrigami Bonsai video she watched. “ When I was little, at school I made an origami cup, some frogs andboats from paper, so I was already familiar with origami .”

Mitrea spent two days reverse engineering the shape shown in an Origami Bonsai Instant Flower videoto discover how the basic flower form is folded. “After that it was easy. All the beautiful flowers beganto blossom in my hands!” she said enthusiastically. “I was happy, and I forgot how sick I was. After thefirst flower, I began to fold more and more. I couldn’t stop. It made me so happy!”

When Mitrea is unable to fold, either because she’s receiving a treatment or is too sick following one,she’s still working on her art. “I’m working on a lot of sculptures in my head, every night, and in themorning. Sometimes I draw them and then wait until I feel good enough to fold the paper. When I amfinally able to work at it, my thoughts go to a faraway place and I feel wonderful.”

Whether Mitrea’ s illness is cured or not remains to be seen. In the meantime she has discovered

something inside herself that she is proud of . “I started my professional career as a graphic artist, butnow I want to follow this Origami Bonsai path. I think I make beautiful arrangements,” she said.

Jason Shrand was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Asperg er’ssyndrome when he was child. According to Wikipedia, ADHD is a developmental disorder which affectsproblem solving, planning, understanding, and impulse control areas of the brain. Asperger’s Syndrome,again from Wikipedia, is “a pervasive developmental disorder distinguished by a… qualitativeimpairment in social interaction.” Having both disorders put Shrand at a severe disadvantage withrespect to his peers. Because of these disorders, not only would he have trouble concentrating on alesson, but he would also have trouble making friends.


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http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/TreatmentTypes/Chemotherapy/ChemotherapyPrinciplesAnIn-depthDiscussionoftheTechniquesanditsRoleinTreatment/chemotherapy-principles-what-is-chemo


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention_deficit_hyperactivity_disorder

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger's_Syndrome

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger's_Syndrome

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention_deficit_hyperactivity_disorder




He said “I had a lot of difficulty staying focused in class throughout elementary and middle school. Ifound that doing something with my hands helped me stay on task. I often used stress balls or smallpieces of clay,but sometimesother students

would getdistractedwhen I broughta ball of clayinto mathclass.”

And then hewas introducedto origami inhis fifth gradeSocial Studiesclass at theEames WaySchool in

Marshfield,Massachusetts,USA. The classwas reading Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes (Puffin, April, 2004), a story about a girl living inHiroshima at the time of the atomic bombing by the US. As part of the lesson, his teacher, Joyce Biaginimade origami books and squares of paper available to students. Biagini says that origami “can focussome students who can become bored in a traditional classroom. It has been particularly helpful withsome of my special education students.”

Shrand says he was “intrigued by how a simple piece of paper could be folded into something socomplex and beautiful, and since all I needed was paper, there was never any shortage of materials. Myteacher recognized that folding was a good way for me to deal with my ADHD, and I found that I wasactually able to pay attention to the teacher more effectively by making paper cranes. My teacher letme fold cranes every class, and put them on display aro und the room.”

On a visit to the classroom, Sh rand’s father , Dr. Joseph Shrand was astonished at the number of cranes

his son had made. He said that “hu ndreds of origami cranes decorated the perimeter of the classroom. ”

It seems origami continues to help the younger Shrand overcome the challenges life has given him. Herecently arrived at college and “taped a small box of origami cranes, flowers, turtles and everything inbetween outside his dorm room door,” said Shrand, “People can choose a model – it’s been quite thesocial booster” he said enthusiastically.


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Troy Lovick has his hands full. His ten year old son, Aidan, was recently diagnosed with both ADHD andAsperger’s Syndrome. “He routinely tests in the genius range in language and analytic s kills, however hisfine motor skills remain underdeveloped,” said Lovick. Specifically, Lovick says that Aidan has a problemwith frustration, “pushing the wrong button on a TV remote can take you to a screen you can’t exit

from; this can make him apople ctic (rage) and cause a 20 minute crisis.”

He says that Aidan learned origami from a classmate, a “1/2 Japanese young lady he has a crush on,”last year. Since then, Aiden folds in “fits and starts, but really works at it. I have never seen himbecome agitated while folding, even though he forgets or is sometimes not pleased with the aestheticoutcome of his efforts. This is a major benefit. Considering he still hasn’t learned to tie his shoes, I viewhis attraction to origami as a minor miracle,” he said.

Perhaps for Aidan, this miracle has only begun to unfold?


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Pebbles with Variable Color

The other morning I was readingthe New York Times, turned thepage and just stared at thisadvertisement. Notice the colors;these vivid hues are hard for anewspaper to achieve. It’s abeautiful advertisement. Iwondered if it might be possible toobtain interesting pebbles from it.

I processed the pebbles asdescribed in Advanced Origami

Bonsai p. 120 up to and includingstep 5. I made sure that thisadvertisement was facing the

outside as I made each pebble. Once my pebbles were dry, I mixed 9 parts wood glue with 1part water. I added the pebbles to my sculpture by following the instructions on p. 123 usingthe diluted glue and water mixture rather thanfull strength glue. This requires a little patiencebecause the pebbles tend not to clump togethervery well. In fact, they kind of tend to go all overthe place. Consider putting a large pan under

your sculpture to catch wayward pebbles. Thefinished look is worth the extra effort.

Once your pebbles have dried you should apply asecond coat of the diluted glue and watermixture to them. This will ensure that nonecome loose in the future. After you apply thesecond coat, use a dry brush to pick up any of theglue mixture that may have pooled around thepebbles.

Notice the color variation (right) in the pebblescreated from the advertisement pictured above.There’s a bit of red, from the beach (above) anda lot of blue hues from the ocean.


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Notice (above) that there is no visible excess glue in the finished sculpture. There is also adistinctly matte surface that allows more color to come through.

These pebbles (left) were made from anadvertisement that was primarily red in color.


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Origami Bonsai Décor

When I take pictures of Origami Bonsaisculptures it’s usually for commercialpurposes. I take a group of photos of a

specific sculpture in order to sell it. Thepictures tend to be dramatic in terms ofthe space afforded the sculpture, butsterile in terms of the space surroundingit. For the purpose of selling a specificsculpture I don’t want anythingcompeting with the sculpture for yourattention.

I seldom have the opportunity to reflectupon my works and how they interact

with their surroundings. I’m talking aboutdécor here, and how an Origami Bonsaibotanical sculpture compliments a room,a hallway, or some other space.Whenever I complete a sculpture I put iton display in a common hallway of abuilding my parents live in. Residentspass by the sculpture and I obtainfeedback through comments they tell myparents. This has resulted in numerousdesign changes over the years and is a bigpart of the evolution of this art form.


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Makigami Accessories are durable, wearable and biodegradable. To see a list of

Makigami accessories available on Etsy , Click here.

Origami Bonsai artists and craftspeople, make sure to include the keywords "makigami" and "accessories" when posting your work to Etsy

so it will be included when readers click this advertisement.


http://www.etsy.com/search_results.php?search_query=makigami+accessories&search_type=handmade




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45804434 Origami Bonsai Electronic Magazine Vol 3 Iss 1