Nick Robinson's Blog, page 40

Those were the days, my freind

Looking for pictures of David Petty (which proved remarkably elusive), I dug out this old photo of a BOS convention, almost certainly Bristol. Hard to date, since we went there often, but it was a "proper" photo and I've been using digital for a while. Let me know if you can confirm the date.

Although Eric Joisel was in the photo, Thoki Yenn was the more likely guest, I suspect. I wish I could "do a bladerunner" and scan the image at highest res, then zoom in on one of the badges, but the quality just isn't there on the photo.

Other likely lads in this snippet are myself, brother Mark below me, Eric J, Brilly, Giles Towning, David Venables and Mick Guy. Mr Petty is, of course, on the left with wife Lillian nearby (not curry monster Jessie Gibbs in the hat).

Rudolf the Red knows rain, dear…

Here's a model I created for the World's Best Origami book, because I felt there just weren't *enough* Santas to go round. I realise I am perpetuating two myths: a) that there is a Santa b) that he works for coca-cola, but I still have fond memories of Christmas when my children were young.

Those were the days,, my friend

Flicking through a box of old ori-photos (real photos!) I found this nice shot from some time in the mid 90′s. I then had to digitise it in order to post here – it's hard to remember the limitations of colour negatives given our amazing digital age. And to think I used to have my own darkroom, actually printing from negatives – how quaint is that?

Alex Bateman, meself, my daugher Daisy, Wayne's daughter Nicole, Wayne Brown and in the background, Pauline Trew

David Petty RIP

I first met Dave Petty during my early days in the BOS around 1985. He was one of the regular attendees at the mini-meetings hosted by Dave Brill at his parents house in Bramhall, in Cheshire. I owe my entire "career" to the encouragement and education I received from the regulars there – the two Davids, Wayne Brown and Ted Norminton – what a wonderfully stimulating and friendly origami environment it was and I've been fortunate enough to count them all as friends since those days.

DP hardly changed across the years (aside from becoming more "distinguished/grey"). He was never an extrovert and seemed to think long and hard before saying anything, so you rarely had trivial conversations with him. Instead, you enjoyed the opinions of a man who loved origami to the core and enjoyed the analysis and discussion as much as the folding.

David Petty with Michael Shall

Along with the rest of the core team, he invariably had a new model to teach every month and with DP, you rarely got just the single model, he explored most, if not all, of the variations a design might offer. More often than not, he'd actually calculate the number of variations and produce diagrams of them all. He'd exploit any new technique with almost ruthless efficiency, thus a zeppelin would mutate into a Mills bomb, then into a cactus, finally a cactus in a pot!

Like many of us, DP enjoyed the collecting aspect of origami and amassed an amazing collection of images of origami book covers, as well as origami telephone cards. Another of his passions was looking for (and diagramming) traditional designs. For many years he has presented a new discovery on his site as "Model of the month". His willingness to put in the diagramming hours then freely share the results characterised the man.

[image error]He produced several booklets for the BOS, including two for folders who were to die tragically young, Jan Willem Derksen and Stephen Palmer. Each was illustrated in his own unique hand-drawn style.

30: Paper People and other Pointers

40: The Genius of Jan Willem Derksen

45: The Origami of Stephen Palmer

46: Modular Construction and Twists

48: Making Faces

65: Planar Modulars (CD-Rom)

[image error]He was later to use Windows Paint (yes!) to produce diagrams, against every logic I could throw at him, but David was ever his own man. He self-published a book called Hearts 3D in 1991. This arose from correspondence between DP and several others (myself included) with Francis Ow, who began the quest for origami hearts, eventually publishing 3 books of them! We were happy to take up the creative challenge, especially DP, who diagrammed  the best for this spiral-bound book.

He also wrote some colourful commercial books, combining traditional designs with his own and others work. These were Origami 1-2-3, Origami A-B-C, Origami Wreaths and Rings, Origami & Creative Paper Projects for Everyone

Petty by Halle

Everything DP did had his own individual stamp on it. His earlier (and better, I would contend) diagrams were painstakingly hand-drawn, even down to adding shading by drawing 100's of dots to represent the coloured side of the paper. The Convention Packs he prepared as publications officer had a unique layout style all of their own.

Perhaps his most singular characteristic was in his teaching. I should give some background information here – at the early mini-meetings, there was a tendency towards joking, irreverent comments, mickey-taking, heckling and even on occasions, rudeness –  naturally, I took no part in this. So, you were a brave man to teach your latest classic to this hyper-cynical audience.

DP had the ability not only to consistently teach at about a sixteenth of the speed the group was capable of, but was also completely impervious to the ribbing we gave him (and each other). He just taught at his own tempo, with quiet dignity. I don't think I ever saw him rush a model in thirty years. He was a thorough teacher and set us all an example.

Lillian and David Petty with Ted Norminton

His services to origami were manifold – he was general secretary and later publications officer who produced many Convention Packs and booklets. He also undertook a lot of research work on behalf of the Society and for his own satisfaction. He was a regular attendee of both mini-meetings and conventions and maintained correspondence with a wide variety of folders around the world. He was awarded the Sidney French medal in 2007 and at that point stepped back from the Society to enjoy his retirement.

As a profession, he worked for the Dutch electronics company Phillips, working with circuit boards (or something!) for as long as I knew him, and delighted in spraying us with his best Dutch. He formed close ties with the Netherlands origami folk and even lived there for a while. Almost everywhere he went, he was accompanied by his wife Lillian. Whilst not a folder herself, she generously allowed him the time and space to pursue what must have seemed like an obsession to her.

David also played the flute

We maintained email contact and a few years ago, I was delighted to offer him free space on my web server after his site had been partially lost by a poor internet company. He uploaded vast quantities of files (over 2,500 images, 100s of diagrams!) and he worked on his site to the end. The site will remain online as a tribute to the man.

So, how to summarise the last 27 years? My abiding memories are of a deeply private and modest man, but fiercely independent and proud of his work. His slightly taciturn demeanour disguised a wry sense of humour and a deep love of all things origami. I'm delighted to have known him and send all my deep condolences to Lillian.

Below is one of his many modular designs, taken from my Ori for Dummies book.

[image error]

Origami Didactics and Research forum

For some time now I've been taking an ever-increasing interest in the aspects of origami other than the actual folding of models. My two visits to the conference in Freiburg (see my report) have further fired up my enthusiasm for this, so I've put together a forum for discussing these aspects of origami.

They key to its success will be the level to which people who join the forum stay within the brief when posting. I really don't want it swamping (like that of Saj Khans) with photos of every dog-eared model that people have folded, along with request for diagrams and "how do I fold this?" requests. They are fine in the right place, but the Didactics forum most definitely isn't the right place.

I'm hoping it will become a place of historical debate, tips on teaching, information about antique books, maths, geometry and software.  In short, everything *but* folding itself, although inevitably there will be elements of that from time to time. The categories will develop as the posts roll in.

I'm going to be a fairly tough moderator, since I appreciate that stance from other forums I frequent. Maintaining the "on-topicness" is key to attracting input from those who have little time to spare. We shall see!

 

They all laughed 'til she said Bun

I was idly watching adverts on the telly recently (I try not to, but it's hard!) when I saw some buns being baked in what looked like origami dishes.

A quick pause to fetch the camera, the results shown here. A google image search for "folded buncases" brought up several with the same idea – for example, here's a page with several on offer.

So, the obvious question is, how are they folded? It must be a mechanical process. I may buy several and try to deconstruct or dissect them (in the interests of origami knowledge, of course).

I saw Mummy folding Santa Claus

Christmas is rapidly approaching and my mind has been anything but festive recently. So, what better than to adapt and old design and imagine it's a suitable object to hang by the balls on a Christmas tree?

I recently revisted my old "flower form", published yonks ago in "Pfiffiges Origami" by Paulo Mulatinho.  By continuing to twist round the loose corners, an idea emerged. It took a great deal of experimentation to achieve a shape that had reference points for the folding sequence and locked well together. Ideally, it would be taller and thinner, but I've yet to achieve this and it may not be possible.

I posted it on Facebook – someone asked "what is it?", meaning I've probably failed to hit the mark. Maybe if the brown was actually white, it might look more like snow? However, I still like it ;)

Take me, Origami Caravan…

Apologies for not publicising this a little earlier, but the Origami Caravan project seems to be doing really well. The idea was to auction custom-made models to raise funds for the Japanese Tsunami relief and I offered two designs. I then took my eye off the ball until today, when I discovered they had been won by a lucky person in the States, for the magnificent sum of $60. Over $1300 has been raised so far and there is fierce bidding for a model by Kamiya. More similar auctions are planned, I urge you to place a bid – aside from raising money, it also elevates the status of origami closer towards the level that we all know it deserves.

Showroom Dummies

I was recently invited to Manchester to join the travelling roadshow celebrating the 20th anniversary of the "Dummies" imprint. The prospect of adding a few more sales to my name was more than sufficient to entice me over the Pennines, especially since I had an excuse to meet Lord and Lady Brill of Worth Hall in the Boars Head at Higher Poynton for lunch.

The "gig" ran from 3-5pm and I was sat by the tour bus in a square in the centre of Manchester. Previous demos had been given on "organic growing" and "body language" and there were lots of people passing by – the weather was unseasonably nice by Manchester standards. We were also joined by the "Dummies Man", who was hugely entertaining – alas, I forgot to have a PR photo taken alongside him.

Curiously, theywere not allowed to actually sell books (some local by-law) but were handing out £5 vouchers towards the cost of any Dummies book from WH Smiths. Naturally, I encouraged them to choose O4D! I taught both children and adults and it was a highly enjoyable experience. The Dummies staff were friendly and professional, despite a touring schedule which sent them from Colchester up to Edinburgh!

The Dummies brand is almost unique in brand awareness terms, largely due to a rigorous internal style policy which ensures each book matches up to previous ones. The Origami book was apparently the first in their series which was art rather than text based.

I had high hopes after what seemed like the relative success of the book that we could make a follow-up volume, but the powers that be in America apparently decided this wasn't a goer. Maybe if they get enough encouraging emails, they may reconsider (hint hint).

Sam Randlett – a true Founding Father

[image error]Sam Randlett has become an almost mythical figure in the world of origami over the years.  Born in 1930 he wrote The Art of Origami at the age of 30. His first wife Jean illustrated the book and (in 1963) the other half of this classic pair, The Best of Origami.

Apart from these two seminal books, Randlett's most significant contribution to origami was a collaboration with  Robert Harbin to produce a comprehensive system of symbols and terminology (including the preliminary fold, waterbomb base, blintz base, fish base, bird base and frog base) which are still the de-facto set today. These were used in his books (which every serious paper-folder should have in their collection, IMHO) and in almost all Wstern books since then. He edited the origami newsletter called The Flapping Bird from 1969 to 1976, but since then has kept a remarkably low profile in the ori-world.

I've had a couple of brief (written) encounters with him over the years, asking for permission to publish his work. He once sent me an unpublished Jack Skillman design for use in a BOS convention pack ("Table salt" in the Autumn 1986 collection). He explained that he'd found this model in Skillman's apartment shortly after his death. This wouldn't mean much to today's young turks, but I was seriously impressed – it was like a window into the early days of origami.

Biographical detail is hard to find, but it appears Sam still teaches piano (music being the other love of his life). There's a fascinating article written by Jean-Claude Lejeune.

Here's a list of his published models extracted from the wonderful origami database.

African Mask
Art of Origami


Angel fish
Art of Origami


Binary star
Flapping Bird


Blintz Birdbase
Complete Notebooks of Neal Elias


Blue Whale
Art of Origami


Boston Terrier
Art of Origami


Brontosaurus
Art of Origami


Bull
Complete Notebooks of Neal Elias


Bull mask
Flapping Bird


Butterfly
Art of Origami


Caliz
Pajarita 50


Camel
Art of Origami


Card
Flapping Bird


Chalice
BOS Magazine 81 April 1980


Christmas Ornaments
Art of Origami


Dachsund
Art of Origami


Dog Variation
Art of Origami


Dove
FOCA Origami Convention 1982


Duck
Art of Origami


Fish
Teach Yourself Origami


Flapping Bird
Origami in Action


Flower
Art of Origami


Golden Eagle
Complete Notebooks of Neal Elias


Goldfish
Complete Notebooks of Neal Elias


Goldfish – veil tail
Flapping Bird


Goose
Complete Notebooks of Neal Elias


Grasshopper
Art of Origami


Green Pepper
Art of Origami


Hooded Cobra
Art of Origami


Knot Bat
Art of Origami


Leaf
Complete Notebooks of Neal Elias


Longhorn Bull
Art of Origami


Moth
Art of Origami


Mouse
Art of Origami


Necktie
Folding Money II


New Flapping Bird
Art of Origami


Ornament
Complete Notebooks of Neal Elias


Owl and the Pussycat
Complete Notebooks of Neal Elias


Parrot
Art of Origami


Pelican
Art of Origami


Pheasant
Art of Origami


Polar Bear
Complete Notebooks of Neal Elias


Polar bear Cub
Art of Origami


Presentation Box
Complete Notebooks of Neal Elias


Purse
Flapping Bird


Rabbit
Art of Origami


Rabbit with cottontail
Art of Origami


Randlett's flapping bird
Story-gami


Red Pepper
Art of Origami


Reversible Fish
Art of Origami


Rooster
Art of Origami


Sea Turtle
Art of Origami


Shorthorn Bull
Art of Origami


Shrimp
Complete Notebooks of Neal Elias


Small Bill
Folding Money II


Snapping Wolf
Art of Origami


Song Bird
Complete Notebooks of Neal Elias


Springer Spaniel
Art of Origami


Star
Complete Notebooks of Neal Elias


Stegosaurus
Art of Origami


Trojan Horse
Art of Origami


Turtle
Art of Origami


Vampire Bat
Art of Origami


Veil-Tailed Goldfish
Paper #086


Waterbomb
Art of Origami