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theFOLD Issue 13, November–December, 2012

Issue 13, November–December, 2012

Glossary of Origami Terms

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30th CDO Convention 2012 by Ilan Garibi Where else can you meet a bee keeper's family, a paper painter/banker, a robotics expert, a math professor, and a brilliant child (aged 14) named Stephano, all with the same passion except at the same hotel, in a small town in Italy...

Holiday Gift 2012: Twist Fish (OrigamiUSA members sign in to access this article) by Jean Baden-Gillette Diagrams for the 2012 OrigamiUSA Holiday Gift.

Gnatcatcher

Creator: Seth Friedman Diagrammer: Seth Friedman

"Howling at the Moon" - On Origami and Synchronistic Discovery by J.C. Nolan Diagrams for Patricia Crawford's Dragonfly, as well as an on article how key models often inspire multiple designers.

On the History of the "Kan no Mado" Dragonfly by David Lister with a foreword by J.C. Nolan This article gives insight into how a dragonfly, which was diagrammed in "Kan no Mado" presumably around 1845, made its way into Western publications.

Glossary of Origami Terms

Ever wondered what a kite fold was? A uniaxial base? A closed sink? This glossary lists definitions for some common English-language origami terms (and a few uncommon ones as well).

A Active path : a path whose length on the crease pattern is equal to its minimum length as specified by the tree graph. Active reduced path : a reduced path within a universal molecule whose length on the crease pattern is equal to its minimum length as specified by the tree graph. Arrowhead molecule : a crease pattern within a quadrilateral that consists of a Waterbomb molecule combined with an angled dart; it allows an arbitrary four-circle quadrilateral to be collapsed while aligning the four tangent points. Atom : a portion of a crease pattern that corresponds to a segment of a single flap within a molecule. Axial crease : a crease in a crease pattern that lies along the axis in the folded form of a uniaxial base. Axial polygon : a polygonal region of paper in a crease pattern outlined by axial creases. In the folded form, the entire perimeter of an axial polygon lies along the axis of the base. Axis : a line on a base along which the edges of flaps lie and to which the hinges of flaps are perpendicular.

B Base : a regular geometric shape that has a structure similar to that of the desired subject. Bird Base : one of the Classic Bases, formed by petal-folding the front and back of a Preliminary Fold. Blintzed base : any base in which the four corners of the square are folded to the center prior to folding the base.

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Blintzing : folding the four corners of a square to the center Book symmetry : the symmetry of a crease pattern that is mirror-symmetric about a line parallel to an edge and passing through the center of the paper. Border graft : modifying a crease pattern as if you added a strip of paper along one or more sides of the square in order to add features to the base. Box pleating : a style of folding characterized by all folds running at multiples of 45°, with the majority running at multiples of 0° and 90° on a regular grid. Branch edge : in a tree graph, an edge that is connected to two branch nodes. Branch node : in a tree graph, a node connected to two or more edges. Branch vertex : a point in the crease pattern that corresponds to a branch node on the tree graph.

C Circle : the geometric shape within a circle-packed crease pattern that represents a leaf edge in the tree graph. That is, the circle identifies the minimum paper that must be allocated for a free flap. Circle packing : placing circles on a square (or other shape) so that they do not overlap and their centers are inside the square. Circle/river method : a design technique for uniaxial bases that constructs the crease pattern by packing nonoverlapping circles and rivers into a square. Classic Bases : the four bases of antiquity (Kite, Fish, Bird, and Frog) that are related by a common structure. Closed sink fold : a sink fold in which the point to be sunk must be popped from convex to concave; it cannot be entirely flattened. Collapse : the general term for bringing together a large number of creases at once to form a base. Composite molecule : a molecule that contains axial creases in its interior. Corner flap : a flap whose tip comes from one of the corners of the square. Crease : a mark left in the paper after a fold has been unfolded.

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Crease assignment : determination of whether each crease is a mountain fold, valley fold, or flat (unfolded) crease. Also called crease parity. Crease pattern : the pattern of creases left behind on the square after a model has been unfolded. Crimp fold : a fold formed by two parallel or nearly parallel mountain folds and valley folds on the near layers of a flap with their mirror image folds formed on the far layers. Crystallization : the process of fixing the locations of circles in a circle packing by enlarging some of the circles until they can no longer move. Cupboard Base : a traditional base consisting of a square with two opposite edges folded toward each other to meet in the middle.

D Decreeping : rearranging several trapped layers of paper so that no layer is wrapped around another. Detail folds : folds that transform the flaps of a base into details of the finished subject. Diagonal symmetry : the symmetry of a crease pattern that is mirror-symmetric about one of the diagonals of the square. Dihedral angle : the angle between the two surfaces on either side of a crease, defined as the angle between the surface normals. Distorted base : a modified base formed by shifting the vertices of the crease pattern so that the paper can fold flat; the number of creases and vertices remains the same, but the angles between them change. Double rabbit-ear fold : a fold in which the creases of a rabbit ear are made on the near layer of a flap and the mirror-image creases are made on the far layer. Double sink fold : two sink folds formed in succession on the same flap. Double-blintzing : folding the four corners of a square to the center twice in succession.

E Edge : in a tree graph, a single line segment. Each edge corresponds to a unique flap or connector between flaps in the base. See leaf edge, branch edge. Edge flap : a flap whose tip comes from one of the edges (but not a corner) of the square. An edge flap has twice as many layers as a same-size corner flap.

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Edge weight : a number assigned to each edge of a tree graph that represents the length of the associated flap. Efficiency : a measure of how much paper is used to obtain features of the subject versus extra paper that is merely hidden away. Elias stretch : A maneuver used in box pleating to create flaps from a pleated region of paper, by changing the direction of the pleats by 90° within wedges of paper.

F Fish Base : one of the Classic Bases, formed by folding all four edges of a square to a common diagonal and gathering the excess paper in two flaps. Flap : a region of paper in an origami shape that is attached only along one edge so that it can be easily manipulated by itself. Folded edge : an edge created by folding. Four-circle quadrilateral : a quadrilateral formed by connecting the centers of four pairwise tangent circles; such a quadrilateral can be folded so that all edges lie on a line and the tangent points between pairs of circles touch. Frog Base : one of the Classic Bases, formed by squash- and petal-folding the four edges of a Preliminary Fold.

G Generic form : a crease pattern within a molecule or group of molecules in which (a) all axial creases are shown as mountain creases; (b) all ridgeline creases are shown as valley creases; and (c) all hinge creases are shown as unfolded creases. The generic form is an approximation of the actual crease pattern of a folded base. Grafted Kite Base : a family of bases composed by adding a border graft to two sides of a Kite Base. Grafting : modifying a crease pattern as if you had spliced into it a strip or strips of paper in order to add new features to an existing base. Gusset : one or more narrow triangles of paper, usually formed by stretching a pleat or crimp. Gusset molecule : a crease pattern within a quadrilateral that resembles a partially stretched Waterbomb molecule with a gusset running across its top. The gusset molecule, like the arrowhead molecule, allows any four-circle quadrilateral to be collapsed while aligning the tangent points.

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H Hex pleating : a design technique similar to box pleating but that uses triangles, hexagons, and hexagonal rivers for packing and all creases run at multiples of 30°. Occupies a role halfway between circle packing and box pleating in terms of both efficiency and regularity. Hinge : a joint between two flaps. Hinge creases : creases that in a uniaxial base are perpendicular to the axis. Hinge creases define the boundaries of flaps or segments of a base. Hole : a region of paper in a box-pleated crease pattern that does not belong to any atom. Hybrid base : a base that is constructed using multiple design techniques. Hybrid reverse fold : a more complicated form of reverse fold that combines aspects of both inside and outside reverse folds.

I Ideal split : a technique for splitting a Kite Base flap, which gives the longest possible pair of flaps. Inflation : the process of adding circles to a crease pattern (corresponding to adding flaps to a base) and expanding the circle (lengthening the flap) until it touches 3 or more others. Inside reverse fold (page 25): a method of changing the direction of a flap, wherein the moving layers are inverted and tucked between the stationary layers. Inside reverse fold : a way of changing the direction of a flap in which the moving layers are inverted and pushed between two of the layers of the flap.

K Kite Base : the simplest of the Classic Bases, formed by folding two adjacent edges of a square to the same diagonal.

L Leaf edge : in a tree graph, an edge connected to at least one leaf node. Leaf node : in a tree graph, a node connected to only a single edge. Leaf vertex : a point in the crease pattern that corresponds to a leaf node on the tree graph.

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M Middle flap : a flap whose tip comes from the interior of the square. A middle flap has twice as many layers as a same-sized edge flap and four times as many as a corner flap. Mixed sink fold : a sink fold containing aspects of both open and closed sinks. Molecule : a crease pattern which when folded flat has its perimeter lie along a common line and for which specified points along the perimeter (the tangent points) become coincident in the folded form. Mountain fold : a crease that is concave downward. Usually indicated by a dot-dot-dash line in sequential diagrams or a solid black line in crease patterns.

N Node : in a tree graph, an endpoint of a line segment. See leaf node, branch node.

O Offset base : a modified base formed by shifting the entire crease pattern on the square while preserving angles between creases, so that extra paper is created in some locations while others lose paper. Open sink fold : a sink fold in which the point to be sunk can be entirely flattened during the course of the sink. Origami : the art of folding paper into decorative shapes, usually from uncut squares. Origami sekkei : see technical folding. Ortholinear river : the analog of a river in box-pleated designs. The river has constant vertical and horizontal width and bends only at 90° angles. Outside reverse fold : a method of changing the direction of a flap, wherein the moving layers are inverted and wrapped around the stationary layers.

P Parity : see Crease assignment. Path : a line between two leaf vertices in the crease pattern. Path conditions : the set of all inequalities relating the coordinates of the leaf vertices, the distances between their corresponding nodes, and a scale factor. The distance between any

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two vertices must be greater than or equal to the scaled distance between their corresponding nodes as measured along the tree. Petal fold : a combination of two squash folds in which a corner is lengthened and narrowed. Plan view : a model is folded in plan view if when it lies flat you are looking at the top of the subject. Plane of projection : a plane containing the axis of the base and the axial edges of all flaps, and that is perpendicular to the layers of the base. Pleat fold : a fold formed by two parallel or nearly parallel mountain folds and valley folds formed through all layers of a flap. Pleat grafting : adding one or more pleats that run across a crease pattern in order to add features or textures formed by the intersections of the pleats. Plug : a crease pattern that is used to fill in holes in box-pleated patterns. Point-splitting : any of a variety of techniques for folding a single flap so that it turns into two or more (smaller) flaps. Precreasing : folding and unfolding to create the creases required for a (usually complex) step. Preliminary Fold : a traditional base formed by bringing the four corners of the square together. Pseudohinge crease : a hinge crease in a unaxial base whose projection is not a node of the underlying tree. Pythagorean stretch : a technique in box pleating in which two diagonally-oriented leaf vertices are allowed to move closer to each other than the square packing would normally permit. This results in the creation of axial creases and ridgeline creases at angles other than 0°, 45°, and 90° in the vicinity of the stretch but permits greater efficiency in the crease packing.

R Rabbit-ear fold : a way of turning a triangular corner into a flap, consisting of folding along all three angle bisectors of the triangle and gathering the excess paper into a flap. Rabbit-ear molecule : the pattern of creases within a triangle that collapses its edges to lie on a single line.

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Raw edge : the original edge of the paper, as opposed to an edge created by folding. Reduced path : a path between two inset vertices created during the construction of the universal molecule. Reduced path inequality : n inequality condition analogous to the path condition that applies to inset vertices and paths in the universal molecule. Reverse fold : a way of changing the direction of a flap by folding different layers of the flap in different directions. The two most common forms are the inside reverse fold and the outside reverse fold. Ridgeline crease : a crease within a molecule that propagates inward from the corners of the molecule. Ridgeline creases are always valley folds when viewed from the interior of a molecule. River : a usually-curved or rectangular constant-width region in a tile or crease pattern that creates a segment between groups of flaps in the folded form.

S Sawhorse molecule : a crease pattern within a quadrilateral similar to the Waterbomb molecule, but with a segment separating the two pairs of flaps. Also known as the Maekawa molecule. Scale : a quantitative measure of efficiency. The scale of a crease pattern is the ratio between the length of a folded flap and the length of its corresponding edge in the tree graph. Shaping : the folds that transform an abstract, geometric base into the finished figure. Side view : a model is folded in side view if when the model lies flat you are looking at the side of the subject. Sink fold : inversion of a point. Sink folds come in several different types. Splitting points : see point-splitting. Spread sink fold : a sink fold in which the edges of the point are spread and the point flattened. Similar to a squash fold. Square/river packing : the analog of circle and river packing that allows box-pleated crease patterns. Squash fold : a fold in which the edges of a flap are spread, usually symmetrically, and the edges flattened.

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Standard bases : the most common origami bases, usually taken to include the Classic Bases plus the Windmill Base, Cupboard Base, Preliminary Fold, and Waterbomb Base. Stretched Bird Base : a form of the Bird Base in which two opposite corners are pulled apart to straighten out the diagonal that connects them. Strip graft : modifying a crease pattern as if you spliced in one or more strips of paper running across a crease pattern in order to add features to the base. Stub : a new edge added to the tree graph attached to a new node introduced into the middle of an existing edge and associated creases added to the crease pattern. Adding a stub allows four path conditions to be simultaneously satisfied as equalities. Subbase : a portion of a base, usually consisting of a single axial polygon. Subtree : the tree graph that is the projection of a subbase. Swivel fold : an asymmetric version of a squash fold in which the two valley folds are not collinear.

T Tangent points : points along axial polygons where circles (or rivers) touch each other and are tangent to the hinge creases. Technical folding : origami designs that are heavily based on geometric and mathematical principles. Three-step model : a universal description of the general folding sequence for a model designed by technical folding. The three steps are: (1) precreasing; (2) collapse; (3) shaping. Tile : a portion of a crease pattern, usually consisting of one or more axial polygons and decorated by circles and rivers, that can be assembled into crease patterns by matching circle and river boundaries. Tree : short for tree graph. Tree graph : a stick figure that represents a uniaxial base, in which each edge of the tree represents a unique flap or connection between flaps. Tree theorem : the theorem that establishes that satisfying the path conditions is both necessary and sufficient for the construction of a crease pattern for a given tree graph.

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Tree theory : the body of knowledge that describes the quantitative construction of crease patterns for uniaxial bases based on a correspondence between features of a tree graph and features in the crease pattern. Triangulation : the process of decomposing high-order axial polygons in a crease pattern into smaller polygons that are all order-3, i.e., triangles.

U Unfold : removing a valley fold or mountain fold (or a group of same), leaving behind one or more creases. Uniaxial base : a base in which all flaps lie along a single axis and all hinges are perpendicular to the axis. Universal molecule : a generalization of the gusset molecule that can be applied to every valid axial polygon. Unsink : removing a sink fold, or turning a closed sink fold from concave to convex.

V Valley fold : a crease that is concave upward. Usually indicated by a dashed line in sequential folding diagrams and a dashed or colored line in crease patterns. Vertex : a point in a crease pattern where multiple creases come together. See leaf vertex, branch vertex.

W Waterbomb Base : a traditional base formed by bringing the midpoints of the four edges of a square together. Waterbomb condition : a quadrilateral satisfies the Waterbomb condition if and only if the sums of opposite sides are equal. A quadrilateral that satisfies this condition can be folded into an analog of the traditional Waterbomb Base. Waterbomb molecule : a crease pattern within a quadrilateral that resembles the traditional Waterbomb. Also called the Husimi molecule. Windmill Base : a traditional base that looks like a windmill.

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Y Yoshizawa split : a technique for splitting a Kite Base flap, in which the point is first sunken, followed by two spread sinks.

The material on this page was adapted and expanded from Origami Design Secrets and www.langorigami.com and is used here with permission of the author. If you would like to contribute a term and definition to this glossary, please send the term and its definition to the Web Team, and we'll add it at the next opportunity.

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30th CDO Convention 2012 by Ilan Garibi Edited by Sara Adams

Tom Hull was a special guest (image - Garibi Ilan).

József Zsebe, another special guest, demonstrated his wet-folding (image - Garibi Ilan).

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The shop is always well-frequented (image - Gerwin Sturm).

Double Eagle by Alessandro Beber - from one sheet of paper! (image - Garibi Ilan)

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Apart from the workshops lots of smaller folding groups form (image - Dasa Severova).

Naomiki Sato showed us how to fold these beautiful roses (image - Dasa Severova).

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Hilli Zenz customizes paper beautifully (image - Garibi Ilan).

Francesco Mancini added an origami puzzle to my collection (image - Garibi Ilan).

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József Zsebe wasn't shy to teach even after midnight (image - Boaz Shuval).

Jeremy Shafer, another special guest, teaching his Wearable Elf Ears (image - Garibi Ilan).

Folding modules - a perfect end to a perfect convention (image - Boaz Shuval). Before I took off to Milan, Italy, I read an article about a monk, who is supposedly the happiest person on earth. Scientists measured his Alfa brainwaves and discovered his

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numbers are way above all others they measured. "Well", I thought to myself, "he is probably asleep now, and I am heading to the 30th CDO origami convention in Vicenza, Italy; so the first place is now mine!!!" That was 5 days ago, and now, here I am back in Israel, again in second place, trying to explain to you how going to the Italian convention is the best in the world. Where else can you meet a bee keeper's family, a paper painter/banker, a robotics expert, a math professor, and a brilliant child (aged 14) named Stephano, all with the same passion? What else can bring a Japanese rose lover from France, an Israeli contrabass player from Germany, and the potential president of the International European Origami Association all to the same hotel, in a small town in Italy? The trip back to Israel took more than 12 hours, so on the way back I managed to purify

The 10 Steps Guide to a Perfect Convention 1. Timing: Make sure no one else is holding a major convention within a month's span of time, especially not during the expensive holiday season or when the big guys such as OUSA or JOAS are having their conventions. In this case, Nov. 1st - 4th was ideal! 2. Size: 240 guests (a new record for the locals), 70 of which were international, is the exact number that brings a huge variety while still maintaining a family-like surrounding. With 240 guests you get enough teachers who are willing to share their knowledge and experience to accommodate ten classes at every given time slot. Plus, there are still more wandering around, who you can hunt down for one-on-one-fast-folder-lessons. 3. Location: All those guests can cozily fit into the great hall of the hotel. All the action including the limited-number-of-participants classes were held in it, and just by standing up and looking all around you, you immediately know what's going on. For example, is Carmen Sprung free to teach you a quick Felix Star lesson? You never feel lost, or worse, feel like you're missing out on something better. 4. Accommodation: When your room is just three floors above you with breakfast, lunch and dinner all included (with free Parmesan cheese), you cannot fail. 5. Giveaways: Give your attendees a book by Nilva Fina Pillan; a booklet about 360 degree models by Roberto Gretter; the periodic magazine of the CDO; 222 pages of convention book; and a pack of special patterned papers. Put it all in a shocking green folder, and you get a winner. 6. Special guests: Not one, nor two, but three. Make one a professor, let him talk about origami and education; ask the next to juggle seven balls while unicycling and presenting his immortal Nail Clippers; and let the third impress you with his unique wet folding style. Specifically, Tom Hull, Jeremy Shafer, and József Zsebe were this year's guests. Lock them all in the main hall, and support an atmosphere that anyone can just stroll to their table and chat, fold, or even teach them a model. 7. The Shop: The hall to the store was semi-dark. 30 minutes before the official opening time it was already packed with people. I was 15 minutes early, so I waited in the front of the line, holding my position tight, making sure no one would try to overtake me, not conceding even in the shortest break of awareness from my part. Tensions rose, with every clock tick. More and more people came. The stress was almost unbearable. Then a strange sound increased the tension even further. But no, it was a false alarm, just a slight movement of the door handle. One minute after 8:30pm the door was still closed. Someone lost it and broke free with wild shouts (or maybe it was just me, in my head?).

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And then, on the brink of a savage riot, the door opened. Four steps ahead! Grab the Komatsu book! Yes! Now left! Forward! Four packages of Sato paper. Far right! Faster! 500 sheet pack of Kami. Backwards, spin in place, the Big Sheet table, slow down. - "One of each color, please!" (Smile!) "Thanks, Gabriela!" DO NOT take the Elephant-Hide-Quartersize-22-Colors Pack. (That was a tough one!) Right! Head on to the cashier! Breathe. And again. I am out, perfect execution, all goals reached! 8. The 3:00am folding session: I must come forth and tell the truth here - I lost the crown. I am no longer the fastest blind crane folder. But I am the inventor and creator of the flattening machine, which allows you to flatten origami models with one top-down movement of your hand, making all after-convention packing a most simple task. Have you ever tried to make an expressionless face when asked? Try to do it at 3am, around an origami table while folding a waterbomb single-handedly. This would have reached a million views on youtube for sure, if only we'd have had a camera. 9. The models: Sometimes I get this feeling I have seen it all. What can you surprise me with? And then I saw the Double Eagle by Alessandro Beber. There was a huge explosion of creativity and talent at the Italian convention. Taking a walk to view all the exhibition tables was a joyful experience full of surprises and Wow!-moments. It felt like being part of a champions league. 10. The people: This aspect needs a full chapter!

It's all about the people Bottom line and above all, convention is about the people. For some reason (or perhaps for the nine reasons above) all the right people came to this convention. The mix of folders from twelve countries and three continents created a never-ending stream of sparks when folders met each other, spoke, shared, learned, and laughed together. Matthew Gardiner approached me and wanted to talk. He is an artist most known for his work with origami and robotics, called Oribotics, and meeting him was one of my best moments of the convention. We discussed my metal origami tessellation and he shared with me his technique of pleating fabric. A whole new world of opportunities opened to me just like that! Naomiki Sato is the son a botanist. His admiration of roses became his main passion in origami. His classes lasted three hours and always while I was giving my own classes. So I had to go undercover and ask for a private, speed-folding, off-schedule class. And yes, some chocolate bars had to exchange hands, but he agreed with a big smile, happy to see yet another admirer get on his knees. When talking to him after this class, I realized how unique and inspiring his way of doing things is: the meticulous refining of the small details, the reality he seeks to achieve, the passion with which he talks about roses and their properties, the amount of love he puts into each one and mostly, and above all, his willingness to share all of that. I spent a whole lunch with Hilli Zanz, a banker that paints pattern on papers. She wants to make a living out of those papers, and I helped her with the first buy. I just couldn't bear not having them.

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I had a laughing explosion with Dasa Severova, Robin Scholz, Alessandro Masiero, and Ricardo while trying by best to make a normal, expressionless face. I was almost nominated as the President of the International European Origami Association by Krystyna and Wojtek Burczyk, but then breakfast was over and they just went down to fold before giving their final approval. Francesco Mancini once again showed me his wisdom and generosity by giving me yet another origami-mechanical puzzle hybrid he folded. Speaking of mechanical puzzles, I met my soul sister who came all the way from the USA: Marti Reis, an origami enthusiast and collector of origami puzzles. Well, so am I! There's no better way to come back from an origami convention than with some puzzles as giveaway gifts! Tom Hull gave me two new ideas for my Origami course. I taught Jeremy Shafer a magic trick with two rubber bands. József Zsebe gave us a post midnight fox class. And then there was this lady from France, who told me whenever she gets the BOS magazine she just loves to read my paper reviews. Now that made me smile for a long time!

Conclusion On the third day of the convention I stopped for a moment and raised my head. On the far right a guy, dressed as a clown with green paper Elf ears was teaching 20 guys to do the same. Another guy was giving away Ferrero Rocher chocolate balls, asking people to eat them, so they can fold a dress from the wrappers. I myself was folding for the 15th time the same unit for a modular twist ball, after seven hours of folding other models. And it all just seemed normal. "This is the life!" I said to myself, and picked up the 16th paper. I just love Italian conventions! -Ilan Garibi

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Holiday Gift 2012: Twist Fish by Jean Baden-Gillette Edited by Jason Ku

The first Holiday Tree at the American Museum of Natural History (circa 1971) was six feet tall decorated with origami insects folded by Alice Gray. Alice was a co-founder of OrigamiUSA who worked in the Department of Entomology at the museum. After a conversation with the head of the Exhibition Department, she was invited to decorate a tree that would be located in the domed rotunda at the main entrance of the Museum. This was the first public origami tree in the country. In the early 1980’s, Alice Gray’s office became the home-office of OrigamiUSA, at that time called The Friends of The Origami Center of America. Michael Shall, also a cofounder of OrigamiUSA, took over managing the Holiday Tree setup, soliciting models from members and supervising its decoration within the Museum. It was one way in which we could say thank you to the Museum for the rent free space they provided us. The Museum made this an event in their monthly calendar with a tree lighting ceremony during the week of Thanksgiving. In the mid 1980’s, Michael thought it would be a great way to promote origami by giving each person who attended the ceremony an origami gift. Thus was born the Annual Holiday Gift. The first one listed in OrigamiUSA’s records (1987), was an Angel Fish by John Montroll. At that time we did not send out a call for models but asked tri-state area members to fold the 500 models needed. The members voiced their pleasure and joy in folding the models for others to enjoy. Over time we realized it was something that all members could participate in no matter where they lived, and thus help to enhance our status at the Museum with this gift. Other models that have been gifts over the years include: Strawberry (Rae Cooker), Butterfly (Akira

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Yoshizawa), Saar Star (Endla Saar), Crane (Traditional), Pocket Posey (Gay Merrill Gross), Owl (Robert Neale); to name a few. The level of packaging has become more sophisticated over the years. We have gone from plain white envelopes to clear bags and boxes, depending on the model and what was needed. In some years, as is the case this year, we are including a background graphic to reflect a school of fish since the theme of the Holiday Tree is Groups of Animals. In early November, local volunteers descend upon the office to open the mail, record the names of contributors, and package the models for distribution. The Holiday Tree at the American Museum of Natural History has become a New York City tradition. It has been listed in books and websites on things to do in NYC during the holidays. The Annual Holiday Gift is a big part of this tradition, and without the help of our members, we would not be able to provide the 1,200 models now needed for the event. The number of models needed has almost tripled in the 25 years that Gifts have been distributed. Thanks to those of you past and present who have folded and sent models to us to make this a wonderful NYC tradition! -Jean Baden-Gillette 2012 Annual Gift Managing Director

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Twist Fish*

Based on the traditional letterfold from a rectangle, introduced by Gay Merrill Gross. This version from a square was arranged by John Cunliffe.

1 3

White side up, fold in half along both diagonals and unfold.

2 4

Fold in half, top to bottom, along the existing crease, to give a trapezoid shape.

5

Fold the bottom and top corners to the center of the square.

The midpoint of the long, top edge is the guide mark or “destination dot” for the next three folds. First fold the bottom right corner to the guide mark. The right half of bottom edge will align with the vertical center crease.

The resulting flap is a parallelogram. Fold the outside obtuse (wide, blunt) corner to the destination dot.

6 9

7

This is one half of the Twist Fish. Turn over to the back.

8

Repeat steps 4 to 6 on this side.

* Diagrams reprinted with permission from: Minigami: Mini Origami Projects for Cards, Gifts and Decorations by Gay Merrill Gross Published by Firefly Books / Collins & Brown, © Copyright 2005 Diagrams by Gay Merrill Gross and Nick Robinson

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10

Fold the new obtuse corner to the destination dot.

To lock, the two tail flaps switch places. Flex the rear tail flap to slide it in front. As you do so, the front flap will flip to the rear.

Rotate the model and the Twist Fish is ready for an aquatic setting.

© Copyright 2005 by Firefly Books / Collins & Brown This document was published by OrigamiUSA’s online magazine, The Fold, with permission from the author. If you did not obtain this document from The Fold’s website, you may have infringed upon the author’s copyright. This document can be obtained legally by joining OrigamiUSA online at http://www.origami-usa.org/

Gnatcatcher

Creator: Seth Friedman Diagrammer: Seth Friedman

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Copyright ©2006 Seth Friedman

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Copyright ©2006 Seth Friedman

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Copyright ©2006 Seth Friedman

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Copyright ©2006 Seth Friedman

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"Howling at the Moon" - On Origami and Synchronistic Discovery by J.C. Nolan Edited by Sara Adams

"Fountain" by Marcel Duchamp, photographed by Alfred Stieglitz with two sets of diagrams for a dragonfly designed by Patricia Crawford; diagrammed by J.C. Nolan, and Neal Elias (vectorized by Sara Adams)

In 1917 Marcel Duchamp caused a major stir in the conservative art world when he submitted a pre-fabricated toilet as a work of art to the 1917 Society of Independent Artists annual salon. His title for the iconoclastic work was "Fountain". This act was not arbitrary, but rather, a well-planned scheme to challenge patrons to start to question the nature of what "is" and what "is not" art. I won't go into the details about the impact that Duchamp's work had on the evolution and history of art. You can find plenty of information on-line about this incident and its implications on the web but I do have a personal story about my own experience with this artifact. Several years back, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) was having an exhibition where Duchamp's "Fountain" was on display. Rather than being behind glass or in a safe and secluded area, the work was right out in the middle of the floor, on a small dais, with a small rank of ropes around it. The exhibition was crowded, but I couldn't resist. It was right there… I could reach out and touch it. And seriously, I'm a trained professional, got the card and everything. I know how to handle sculpture and anyway, what kind of damage is a little body oil likely to do to a porcelain urinal? Worst thing they can do is throw me out!

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Never likely to be the one who breaks rules (Seriously? Who are we kidding here? :-) I waited for the flow of the crowd to recede, peered around the corner to check security and placed my palm lightly on the surface of the vessel. It was a rush… I was immediately hit by a wave of information: energy, visions and experiences of all the people, famous and not, who had touched this object over the decades, who had argued its merit and its place, had debated its meaning and significance: in short, the innumerable individuals who over time had put their energy into it. Now mind you, this experience is total California… we're all about "energy" out here and getting the "vibe" of things and such sort… and maybe it's all fiction, what I felt, what I saw… but I can say unequivocally that my "state" (experience) after touching the sculpture was completely distinct from that prior to touching it . What had happened? Was information "conveyed" by this object? "Downloaded" as us ultra-granola types out here in California refer to it? Scientists would very likely say that it's bunk… all made up by me. Spiritualists would say "Of Course! That makes perfect sense." As a true pragmatist in my approach to everything I'm here to argue that it doesn't matter… in either case I was affected by touching that object, no matter the manner of transmission. I learned something compelling and important about it and art in general through the act of touching it… something about it I didn't realize or understand prior to making contact. In assessing what had occurred, too much focus on the "woo-woo" factor of it, (that's a technical term out here) founded or not, can actually become a distraction to understanding the experience. Something had happened... but what? Dismissing it as fantasy or a knee-jerk reaction denigrates the validity of the question. Just because there is a "fantastic" explanation for something doesn't mean there isn't a reasonable and useful one to derive as well, and in that derivation in particular amazing advancements/discoveries might be made.

When I was in college, I spent a good amount of time studying the woo-woo in various forms, having had much exposure to it as a child. And with all my extensive studies in

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Psychology, Parapsychology, Philosophy and Spiritualism my ultimate determination is that we really don't and can't know the validity of these experiences… and that to declare them true and factual "just because" is as valueless and limiting a direction as declaring them false and deceiving. For example, there is the fact that Zombies are real… truly. Not in the way that Hollywood portrays them, but if you read The Serpent and the Rainbow by Wade Davis, you'll learn about how in Haiti, the voodoo priests prepare a special concoction called Zombie Cucumber. This, it turns out, contains a powerful pharmaceutical, Tetrodotoxin, which serves to slow the autonomic nervous system to the point where breath and heartbeat are undetectable. Voodoo priests would use this concoction on their enemies who would be assumed dead and laid to rest. Then, dug up later by the priests the drug would wear off. Unfortunately, the lack of air would have caused brain damage in the victim, who emerges as a lumbering, docile, slave - a Zombie. Now the interesting thing about the Zombie example is the level of secrecy around the ceremony which the priests used in producing the preparation. The process was very specific, elaborate and above all secretive: must be on the full moon, third Sunday, perfect darkness, etc. But while some of these elements may be crucial, it seems to me that while all of these various specifics are evolved over time and somewhat arbitrary and even unnecessary, some are potentially critical for the proper chemical reactions to take place for the compound to be efficacious. In production, the specifics of pharmaceutical production must be really precise. Temperature, humidity, pressure: the point (or effect) of all these specifics of the ceremony are designed to (or in synchronous effect) allow for the specific conditions to create the tetrodotoxin. This of course without the scientific knowledge of the priest, but rather just the understanding, passed down over time, that this is just simply what one must do and that doing otherwise will "displease the spirits" and cause the compound to fail. For while the ceremony must have evolved over many years, it is likely that much of what's involved may be completely incidental to the proper creation of the chemical. Singing, dancing, proper types of herbs consumed, etc… may all be simply "for show" – "howling at the moon" I like to call it. This, because for the lack of specific science it's not possible for the priest to determine which aspects of the ceremony are scientifically critical and which are simply "tradition". Unfortunately, with all the howling, it's easy for scientists to simply discard the whole activity, but I'm convinced that in time, with greater scientific understanding, we'll be able to ascertain precisely what was occurring, what was "howling at the moon" and what was "real". So what does one do? My approach is that in most (or all) paranormal activities there is some basis of fact within them, wrapped in (approximately) 90% superstition – "howling at the moon" and perhaps 10% reality. These values being, after all, completely arbitrary themselves, based on my own experience. :-)

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It is in this spirit of curiosity and openness that I am fascinated with the tendency in origami for similar breakthroughs and discoveries to occur simultaneously and independently through multiple creators across large distances with no contact having occurred between the discoverers. Similar, I am intrigued by the simultaneous invention of identical models. There are innumerable examples but to name a couple there are the multiple creators of the Six Intersecting Pentagrams (SIP) all within weeks of each other (described in my previous article), my own Andrea's Rose which was co-created independently as "Pinecone" by Toshie Tokahama, and my "Butterfly", which had independently been used earlier as a base by Robert Neale in 1969 in his "Tryst" (caduceus) and Jeremy Shafer's use of a similar structure in his "Interlocking Rings". In this case, I think that there's not much to be said about the "howling" aspect of these occurrences beyond the ultimate dissemination of information/knowledge around origami. For example, in the case of the Six Intersecting Pentagrams, I ultimately found that the whole thing had been spawned by Robert Lang with his 1999 article on polypolyhedra, but until I did the research around the occurrences of simultaneous design it all looked quite suspicious to me, woo-woo wise. In a similar vein, it was delightful to me to discover recently that the Kan no Mado Dragonfly which initially inspired me to write Creating Origami, has also inspired many other creators over the decades: including Ligia Montoya and Patricia Crawford. I learned this while working on preparing the book for re-release and finalizing some copyright permissions with the British Origami Society. It turns out that David Venables had a copy of the original Crawford Kan no Mado diagrams sketched by Neal Elias which he generously agreed to allow us to reproduce. As for Montoya's version, Laura Rozenberg has recently obtained those diagrams from Gershon Legman's widow which she promises will be a full chapter in her upcoming biography on Ligia Montoya. Additionally, of his own accord and out of his delight in sharing the history of origami, David Lister (of BOS) wrote an amazing posting around the topic to Hank Simon regarding the matter which explores the history much deeper. So it seems that the source of my dragonfly is another "Fountain" inspiring many creators to reach beyond what they thought they were capable of. So where do we go next? What's the next step or objective in our explorations? The answer is to simply be

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curious and open, to things you don't understand or even don't yet appreciate (like brussels sprout). -- JC Nolan, Sept '12.

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© Copyright 2012 by J.C. Nolan and Patricia Crawford

On the History of the "Kan no Mado" Dragonfly by David Lister with a foreword by J.C. Nolan Edited by Sara Adams Back in 1995 when Creating Origami was first published I knew a whole lot less about copyright than I know now. I learned most of what I know a few years later in my career when I wrote a few articles as a part of my day job. When preparing for the rerelease of Creating Origami, I discovered that one of the two plates that I'd included on the Kan-no-mado dragonfly, which I'd actually thought was public domain, wasn't, and was under the charge of the BOS. One of the people who was a big helping in connecting with the right people and sorting it all out was David Lister, who is a brilliant historian in the realm of origami with over 50 articles relating to history which are published on the BOS website. It turns out that the Dragonfly that had inspired me to create the book in the first place had also inspired many other creators over the years. In his correspondence with Hank Simon (who was also helping me out) David wrote a wonderful accounting of the known history of the model, where it originated and how it was passed down over the years. Originally I intended to included David's email in my article on synchronicity in art (which also includes two sets of diagrams for a dragonfly by Patricia Crawford, who took inspiration from the Kan no Mado dragonfly), but I felt that it stood better on its own. And so, I've included the original email, mostly in entirety below. -- JC Nolan, Nov '12 Editor's note: The below included text is a slightly modified version of the email David Lister sent. David Lister went to the effort of adding some further details, which came to his attention through further research after his correspondence with Hank. Dear Hank, Thank you for your e-mail dated 19th July giving more information about your request for information relating to the reproduction on the old plate with instructions for a dragonfly. This reply will be longer than expected, but I hope that it will give you most of the background to a fascinating story.

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Excerpt from Kan no Mado featuring partial diagrams for a dragonfly It is clear that the dragonfly in question is that which is included in the mid-19th century copy of the Japanese manuscript encyclopedia which is generally known in the West (by error) as the Kan no Mado. According to Japanese writers, the work should be known as Kayaragusa, although that is the title of only that section of the complete work in which the paperfolding appears. (Because it is familiar to Westerners, I will continue to use the name Kan no Mado here.) The work is generally estimated to date from the mid-19th Century and 1845 is often suggested by Japanese writers. It is thought to copy sections of several other works containing paperfolding of different kinds dating from earlier years, including lost works from the school of the Senbazuru Orikata (The Thousand Cranes), which date from the late 18th Century or perhaps the early 19th, and also a work containing formal wrapping folds and another showing instructions for folding paper dolls. The complete encyclopedia is in 233 slender volumes covering many and diverse subjects and it is not known who compiled it. Two of the volumes, volumes 27 and 28, contain paperfolding. At the end of the complete work (volume 233), it is stated that it was written by Katsyuki Adachi, but he may possibly have been just a copyist. Professor Frederick Starr, an anthropologist of the University of Chicago, was interested in Japanese culture and visited Japan on several occasions in the earlier 20th Century. Among many other subjects he became interested in Japanese paperfolding. Around 1920, he visited Japan again and his attention was brought to the Kan no Mado by the Osaka Asahi newspaper which owned it. I have myself been privileged to see the two

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volumes of the Kan no Mado which contain paperfolding on two visits I have made to Japan. Professor Starr arranged for a manuscript copy of the paperfolding section of the Kan no Mado to be made for him, which he either took back home or which was sent on to him later. He subsequently wrote an article in English for the American magazine Japan, dated 1922, with the title, The Art of Paperfolding in Japan. In it he describes his experiences of paperfolding in Japan, including his visit to see the Kan no Mado (he uses this term, himself). Among the illustrations accompanying the article is a single page of the instructions for the dragonfly which show the final steps leading up to the completed model. There is no clue about the earlier steps in this one page. When he was researching paperfolding following the end of the Second World War in 1945, Gershon Legman came across a copy of Frederick Starr's article in a library and was fascinated by the diagrams of the dragonfly. He made enquiries and found that the original Kan no Mado was then apparently lost. Subsequently he wrote that it was imperative that the Kan no Mado must be found again and he reproduced a copy of the partial instructions on the cover of his booklet A Bibliography of Paperfolding which was printed in 1952. Fortunately the original Kan no Mado was found later, when the newspaper company in Osaka which owned it moved into new offices and was able to have access to its archives.

Robert Harbin picked up the dragonfly in his book Paper Magic Robert Harbin was put in touch with Gershon Legman around 1954 and he, too, was fascinated by the dragonfly and included a copy of what was later found to be only the fourth page of the complete instructions on p. 25 of his book, Paper Magic, dated 1956. The book was a best-seller and brought the Kan no Mado to the notice of Western folders scarcely any of whom had ever previously been aware of its existence. Unfortunately the absence of the earlier parts of the instructions made it virtually impossible to discover how to fold the dragonfly and it remained a puzzle. But the model was clearly far in advance of any other paperfolding known at that time and it

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continued to exercise a fascination for all paperfolders who saw it. Following the publication of Paper Magic they now numbered many thousands. Both Gershon Legman and Robert Harbin were in touch with Ligia Montoya of Argentina and inevitably a copy of the fourth page of the instructions came to her, probably from Legman, who was the first to correspond with Ligia. It was subsequently reported that she was the first Western person to solve the mystery of the dragonfly. Somehow she discovered that it was folded from a base which was a piece of paper in the shape of a six-pointed star, deeply cut between the arms almost into the centre. The paperfolding revival in the West was, by now, well under way and it developed with a basic assumption that paperfolding must be from a plain square and must not use any cutting, gluing or decoration (as Robert Harbin stated on page 13 of Paper Magic). The Kan no Mado dragonfly clearly went against these rules. However, paperfolding in Japan had no such constraints and it would be wrong to criticise the Japanese for their historically more relaxed attitude to folding. More recently Western paperfolders have come to realize that there are different kinds of paperfolding and that in some of them cutting is permissible. Professor Starr died in 1933 and following his death, his copy of what he knew as the Kan no Mado was lost. There were many searches for it, but it was not found until March 1960, when it was traced among some of Professor Starr's papers deposited in the Library of Congress, after Julia and Martin Brossman had asked for a new search to be made. Most of Starr's papers were bequeathed to the University of Chicago, but some were bequeathed to the Library of Congress and apparently Starr's copy of the Kan no Mado had accidentally been buried among them. At the back, or outside, of Starr's copy of the Kan no Mado there appears scribbled characters which have been interpreted as the Japanese words Kan no Mado. This may be a misinterpretation, but it is the reason why Starr, and through him, Westerners generally, have come to know the work as the Kan no Mado. The scribbled characters do not appear on the original work and this is why the name Kayaragusa is to be preferred. The apparent meaning of the words, "kan no mado" is "Window on the coldest season" (suggesting recreations for indoors). Julia and Martin Brossman published a copy of the Kan no Mado as A Japanese Paperfolding Classic in 1961, so that the full instructions for the dragonfly became available for all to see. Their book remains the most accessible edition for Westerners, although it must be borne in mind that it only reproduced the Starr copy and not the original Kan no Mado. Copies of the original Kan no Mado have been made available, but they are not readily obtainable. Nevertheless a comparison between a reproduction of the original Kan no Mado and the Starr copy shows how very accurate the copy is. Only a very close examination discloses the minute differences.

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A reprint of A Japanese Paperfolding Classic is available on Lulu A slightly reduced facsimile copy in paperback of the Brossman's book (authorized by them) was issued around 2009 by Lulu Publishing. It is probably still available from Lulu. I found it to be inexpensive and excellent value for money. An examination of Brossman's book quickly reveals the full extent of the instructions for folding the Kan no Mado dragonfly. The six-pointed star is used not only for the dragonfly but also for five other models, a bee, a dancing monkey, a wild boar, Fukusuke (a prosperous man), and Saya Otome (a rice-planting maid). The folding of the base used for the six models is given on three preceding pages which are mysteriously headed with the title Onibi (Elf Fire). The final steps for each of the six derivative models is shown on a single page and it is the final page for the dragonfly that was printed by Professor Starr in his article in the magazine Japan and which, after many years, was found and reproduced by Gershon Legman and later by Robert Harbin. On pages 64 and 65 of his book, Secrets of Origami (1963), Robert Harbin includes full instructions for folding the dragonfly from the heavily cut six-pointed star. He introduces the model by writing: "The original picture of this model, lent to me by Gershon Legman, appeared in Paper Magic. Ligia Montoya successfully discovered the method of folding from the available diagrams." (Harbin omits to point out that Ligia managed to fold it from only a quarter of the diagrams!) While the diagrams he shows in Secrets of Origami may have been derived from Ligia Montoya reconstruction, they were, as they were actually printed, probably drawn by Robert Harbin himself. The method of folding is similar to that in the Kan no Mado itself, but the later stages are considerably abbreviated, perhaps to get them on a single page. After giving the textual instructions for the model, Robert Harbin further writes: "As a matter of interest, Senorita Ligia Montoya has produced a dragonfly without making any cuts". I sought for a long time to find this creation by Ligia Montoya, but without any success. But recently I have received a copy of Ligia's model. It turns out to be folded, not from a square, as one might expect, but from a six-pointed star. But unlike

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the star in the Kan no Mado, it does not have any cuts towards the centre between the arms of the star. The whole story of Kayaragusa or Kan no Mado is a most interesting one and I hope that this background information will be found to be as fascinating for you as it is for me. Best wishes, David Lister, July '12

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theFOLD Issue 13, November–December, 2012