Nick Robinson's Blog, page 7

Flexagons cover

Just seen the cover to my forthcoming flexagons book. #fantasticflexagons  It’s been a fascinating diversion from origami ;)

 

Lunga Vita Roberto!

My Italian friend Roberto Morassi was recently admitted to hospital with a serious illness. Thankfully, he is back with us again and our good wishes go to him for a full recovery. Here’s a reworking of one of his ori-gags (see the full series here).

Akira Yoshizawa, Japan’s Greatest Origami Master

Tuttle Publishing ISBN: 9784805313930 Hardcover 192 pages

Nui Nui are an Italian based publishers with whom I have authored several books, including one devoted to BOS creators.. Their quality control and graphic style is second to none, so I was delighted to see this title of theirs published in English by Tuttle (who are also re-publishing all Nui Nui titles).

Most of us will own several Yoshizawa titles, but this is an opportunity to buy a serious collection in English. The influence Yoshizawa has had on origami cannot be over-stated. He, almost single-handedly, set the standards for folding and creating, inspiring many of our current creative masters.

The diagrams are from his original books, scanned to a high standard and relaid in a more contemporary style within a 9×12 inches hardback format. Robert Lang supplies a superb introduction to and assessment of his work. There are also many beautiful photos of him and his work. Excellent colour photos give you all the motivation you should need to try them out.  This is not to say that you will get anywhere near the standards the Master adhered to. It is common knowledge that whilst technically simple, his work requires a “touch” that few of us possess, no matter how hard we try. You cannot teach “sensitivity”, but only strive to achieve it. In addition, much of his work is “wet-folded”, a technique where you use thicker paper but dampen it, allowing for infinately subtle folding nuances. I’ve used this technique for over 25 years and yet still struggle to get anywhere near the Master’s ability.

Projects include: The Koinobori and the Helmet, Butterflies of Every Kind, Fairy Tale Crowns and Caps, Lion Mask, Tengu Masks, and many more. My personal favourites include Fishes, Tadpole and Fox Mask, but really, there are so many superb designs on display here, showing the full range of subjects he worked with. There is also a useful bibliography at the end.

Worth buying? Silly question really, every serious folder should own this. OK, all the models have been previously published, but to find such a selection in one place, in English (OK, American) is a real joy. Nui Nui are to be congratulated, not least for preparing this book with the full co-operation of Kiyo Yoshizawa, a feat that speaks volumes for their professionalism. Tuttle also deserve plaudits for recognising the value of this (and other) books.

Festive Folding

It seems a suitable time to (re)share a video I made of a Simple Santa accompanied by one of my favourite seasonal songs.

I’m on radio 4 today

All being well, I will appear on today’s “You and Yours” on radio 4!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b081l87p

Models wanted

I’m writing a book that needs a lot of simple / low intermediate models, I’d like to offer new designs – what do you have, my friends?

Origami and the art of satire

Over the years, there have been precious few models design as satirical comments on the world. Why this should be so is perhaps a comment on the reluctance of most people to “get involved with politics”, but it’s a shame, Most serious art-forms have embraced satire for thousands of years.

Of existing examples, Eric Kenneway once made a design showing how Lyndon B Johnson turned into an bomb. He also made a book of folded faces, including highly successful models of Stalin, Nixon, Hitler and Fidel Castro. His natural designs skills and unique vision of origami shine out. Tony O’Hare once made caricatures of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan (diagrams here). Daniela Carboni made a representation of Ku Klux Klan members. I can’t think of many others that fit the category, although back in the day, there was also a folding toy satirising President Nixon. I’ve tried to reflect politics in some of my designs, including the Berlin Wall, refugees and a fold celebrating the Obama victory.

So when the US Presidential election kicked off, I was delighted to see an origami version of the Clinton “H” logo, created by several people following a challenge begun by Meenakshi Mukerji. Several people responded, including Michel himself,  Jason Ku, Leong Cheng Chit, Francis Ow and Robert Lang. Mon ami Michel Grand told me of this challenge while we were at a Folding Didactics conference in Badalona and after a few minutes of crumpling paper, I came up with a version using a 7×7 grid. The challenge wasn’t particularly the shape, which is relatively easy to achieve, but to use the paper efficiently. I guess mine will be similar to Robert Lang’s version. This led me to thinking, what about some Trump origami?

Trying to caricature people with paper isn’t easy (which may be why so few designs exist) but I set to and after some experimentation, came up with a design. It seemed to good to be true that when I turned it over, the letter T appeared! The trick was to find something that caricatured, but wasn’t *obviously* offensive, since I wanted the brain-dead Trump supporters to latch on to it and spread the word for me. However, the nose is probably too phallic to get away with this. I haven’t made diagrams, but could do if there was a demand.

I apolgise to any Republican friends I may unknowingly have, but words cannot truly express the contempt I feel for Trump. If I was a Yank, Clinton would be my choice (in the absence of Bernie Sanders). I feel deep sorrow for all those Americans who have lost all faith in the political system, but if you don’t vote, you’re just burying your head in the sand.  David Sedaris summed up the choice nicely when he said “you go into a restaurant. The waiter offers you a piece of mouldy old cheese or some sh*t with razor blades in it Which do you choose?”. We have the same issues in the UK and the result was the catastrophic, mindless and fraudulent Brexit campaign, that led the UK to probably the worst decision we have made in several hundred years.

So, do you know of any other political caricatures?

 

Good Cod!

Time to trawl through my book of puns (errr no) – both language editions of my “Origami Fish” book are now on sale. Contributors copies are being mailed out as I type. More book details here. The books smell much better than the real thing ;)

Mindfulness

I was interviewed for this article on mindfullness…

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/wellbeing/mood-and-mind/why-origami-is-the-latest-new-mindfulness-craze/

World Mental Health Day

I’m delighted to be working for the World Mental Health Day in Leeds…

World Mental Health Day at Leeds Beckett, 10 October