An Origami Horse I Can Be Proud Of

Every now and then, I surprise even myself on how wonderful a design turns out.  As with the Rhino, This Horse exceeded my expectations.  Now I know it is not perfect,  and it is a design tat I ave played around with for years.   However,  There were several things that I think really worked for this piece that I have failed to get to work before.   Namely, the hooves, mane, and head. 


The ears have always been fairly easy to work out, but they often were wither too large, ( i.e. donkey!) Or too thin to look much like a horse.  Sometimes I just buried them as they were too much of a hassle to make work.  However,  this time  I was able to unfold them slightly giving them a curved, broad shape.   Very horse-like in their look. 

The next was the hooves.  What can I say?  they finally turned out the way I thought they should.  Perhaps it was the paper strength, or the size of the sculpture, but I was able to work my finger in to form  them to the perfect shape.  It's true,  there are no " pure folds" here.   It's wet folded so I allow myself a little artistic leeway.  After all,  I'm the one shaping the paper! 

Last was the head.  I rarely ever make two horses the same, even though I follow the same folding sequence.   call me odd, but I just find it difficult to fold two designs exactly identical.  Even the simple origami Crane I have to add pleats, widen the tail, or lengthen the beak...whatever I feel like at the moment.   So I folded this head with several pleats around the top while pulling out the bottom of the chin.   The left over paper was used for a mane!  The eyes  and nose look pretty good, considering that pervious attempts often look more like crumpled paper and less like what I intended.  

So, After gushing about this one model,  I think that it is important to mention the paper.   I used 36" craft paper that I glued together with diluted tacky glue.  I rotated the two pieces so that the paper fibers would be running perpendicular to each other ( something I should NOT repeat!   The fibers shrank and contracted forming bubbles and wrinkles in the paper!)  I then coated both sides with methylcellulose and pressed it down with several heavy books to flatten it.  In the end, the paper was thicker and stronger than the normal single width craft paper I have been using.  I was able to rewet and dry it several times to keep the shapes intact with minimal "help" from glue.  It still requires assistance to help it stand, but I "could stand" if I did not mind the legs flaring out. 

Other than that, I folded a couple other turtles yesterday.  Another snapper with a different shell pattern and a sea turtle.  I actually like the one I did on Saturday slightly better.  But the wet folded cardstock still looks promising.  Hope everyone had a great weekend!  MLK day was fun for us as we traveled to Des Moines to check out the shops.   We did not stay long but at least got a feel for a real city that is unfamiliar to us.  Hope everyone has a great week!

Wet Folding Cardstock Origami Turtle.

So we picked up a few sheets of large cardstock paper on Friday and I folded up another turtle.  Not the Robert Lang design,  Rather the Lafosse design that I have posted before.  

All in all I think it turned out well,  even though the outer shell began to tear as I was putting in the pinch folds.   I blame myself rather than the paper,   I know the cardstock gets fragile when it is wet folded,  But rather than wet it a little,   fold, then dry.  I decided to wet the whole shell and fold it as one.   Big mistake!   The small tears are not readily noticeable,  but they are there and that ticks me off!  Ah well,  live, fold and learn...right? 

The beauty of wet folding is that when the paper is wet, you can make an impression that you normally can't do wit regular paper.  ( ok, perhaps foil back) I don't do it often, but now and then I can press in an eye rather tan a complicated pleat fold that is pushed out.  I like those, but they rarely are as symmetrical as I would like them to be.  


Other than that,  I finished up a samurai headed beetle that I started last weekend.  It has it's own set of flaws,  but I really only folded it to kill time while I waited for my methylcellulose to set up. 

I was half tempted to throw it away.  The paper was a mess and the folding was not as clean as I would have liked.  However, I do think I salvaged it enough to look at least a little like a flying beetle. 






 So there it is.  We have Monday off due to MLK day. Hurray!  Cheryl wants to take a short trim in the new car because we finally can!  The old car was a little bit of a risk.  Not to mention that the new car is fun to drive, gets better gas mileage, and looks sooo much better.   Did I mention that it was fun to drive?  Oh!  And it has power steering!  Cheryl is thinking Des Moines because we have lived in Iowa for two years now and still have not been there.  Plus,   Any more time in Iowa City will drive us crazy!  ( Wellman Too! )  Seeking out another part of Iowa that may be different from our known back yard seems like a little more adventurous and fun than our normal routine.  We Shall see.  Hope Everyone is having a great weekend so far....And if you can, Enjoy MLK day!

More Frogs for ACT....Origami Frogs that is!

What is there to say other than the week is almost over and I'm so exhausted after work that I don't have much energy to fold....However, 


I did manage to scrape up a little CHI to fold up a couplff of frogs.   Nothing really special,  I've blogged about thee frogs before.  But I'm getting a little restless to fold stuff again, and I fought through the tired to make them. 


Anyway, I have been folding them at work with tea paper and I've gor quite the collection now.  These guys are wet folded with cardstock, so they are a little  larger than the small 3" ones at work.   Hopefully someone will like them and give them a good home.  I can't wait until Friday!   We have a three day weekend this weekend!   YEAH!

The Totally Awesome Westminster Chorus

What is there to say?   You must listen to them to truly understand.   I'm a fan of barbershop/male chorus music BTW. 

Origami Big ( Dark) Brown Bat. And Subaru Club of Iowa City

Real Big Brown Bat

Another "real" Bat picture

Ah My love affair with bats stems back to my college days, when I found one on the administration building steps and decided to adopt it for a month during the last few days of winter. He was cute!  And easy enough to care for since I fed him the wax worms we had left over from ice fishing in Minnesota.  But after he scared the Hell out of several football players on my roommates "movie night", the RA  for our floor asked me to get rid of him.  ( sigh! Was I the only one who has a soft spot for all God's Creatures?)  I released him into the wild, but by that time, it was warm enough for him to survive outside.

Simple happy good luck bat

The Origami Version

  If you follow this blog,  you probably remember me making bat houses and discussing at length about them flying around in Michigan.   There  are bats  here as well, but the lack of trees sometimes makes them a little more distant.  Anyway,  A fellow Scorer at ACT asked me if I would fold him one.  I have been wanting to fold the LaFosse big brown bat for some time,  but the paper always managed to get in the way.  However,  with my new found wet folding and paper making techniques, I decided to give it another go, and if I failed this time, I would fold the happy simple bat.
   Well,  every now and then, I impress myself on how well things come together.  This is by far, one of my best pieces, and totally my best bat!   I credit the paper most of all,   It took several attepts to get it right, and although I wanted brown colored tissue ( the paper I used was black,  the brown did not work out.) I still think it looks pretty good as a darker version of the brown bat. 
  The wet folding and drying really helped keep those pinch folds sharp and stable.  I was also able to keep the body nice and round with the constant rewetting and sculpting as it dried.  the texture of the paper is another thing that works well on this design.   I have had trouble getting the tissue paper to be completely smooth.  There are always wrinkles  in the paper as it dries.   But bats have that leathery skin that looks just like the paper. 
  All in all,  I'm very happy with this one.  It did not take me 12 hours,  but most of the day.   ( if you don't count the paper making as part of the folding process.) I hope it exceeds expectations.





Oh!  Before I forget!   A Subaru update!   We have been spotted by the local Subaru club in Iowa City!
 I requested more information,  but it's cool that the car was noticed.  The club members seem to drive those sporty WRX's,  but there are other Subies on the list as well.  We shall see if they answer my Email. 

Daylight Pics of the New Subie!

Ok,   Like a Parent with a newborn child,  I feel like showing off even more pictures of the new car.   These are mostly for ourselves, as new things mean little to people who have no vested interest.   ( Like houses, children, and ...well, cars I guess)  Unfortunately, Cheryl's picture taking ability was not as flattering in the cold, so I had to enhance them slightly.. any My ugly mug probably could have been left out of them...but I did my part and posed like a crazy man as scripted by my better half.   So   Hopefully this will give us a better idea of what the car looked like when it first came home with us.  Sorry if you are bored already,  I understand!  Really!  
Pictures are one of those funny things I think people take so when they get old,  they remember who their REAL family is.  And seriously,  no one wants to watch old vacation video of someone else's family.   ( I know, because I have been on both sides of that situation!)  However,  this is my blog...and I just needed something to post  so I look like I take blogging seriously.   Hope everyone is having a grand Sunday afternoon.   I feel like we missed out on a day, but it was totally worth it!   Enjoy!

Farewell Old Subaru...Hello Elegant New!

Well,  We did it!   It took a little bit more effort than we had hoped, but we found the Subaru of our dreams!   And now it is ours!  We had our eye on it since New Years Eve, But we decided last Thursday that we should make the effort to make it ours.   I have to tell you,  it was a bit of a nail biter driving all the way to Chicago with the old Subie,  but we pulled it off and the old guy pulled through for us one last time. 
A true champ all the way to the end.  It's a little sad to think of losing the old Subaru...It felt like a part of our family.  However,  the power steering was gone, the right tail light kept shorting out, there was an unknown grinding sound behind the left rear tire ( mechanic could not find anything wrong...but it worried me!) And I was having these night mares where we were going to work and the transmission dropped on the car!   Not to mention the rust was eating away at the front fender to the point we would lose chunks of it whenever it got Icy.  Cheryl thought we were going to lose the whole thing and have the frame of the car drop on the road.  There were many other "issues"  that are minor,

but they all add up and I think the car did it's best to warn us that things could get ugly if the situation stayed the same.    Just like my old Subaru that died suddenly and stranded us in Iowa City...alone, lost, and frightened!
   Looking back,  the purple Subaru gave us plenty of signs that it was on it's last legs,  but  you know me...300,000 MILES BABY!  YEAH!   Just how far can I take this thing?!?!   Well the answer is 320,342 miles and with everything failing on the way.   So!  With those memories fresh in our minds,  Cheryl said goodbye and we traveled to the distant lands of Chicago seeking a replacement. 
   I called on Friday to make sure the car was still in stock and then made arrangements to go there today.  ( Saturday)  What else is there to say,   the roads were clear, the skies were sunny, and the old Subaru trudged on to it's final voyage with us at the helm.  Fine'!
   Hello New Subaru Legacy!   It is everything and so much more than we had hoped!   Plus POWER STEERING!  A 2003 with 120,000 miles.   We were driving it home within and hour of shaking the guys hand.   It was the greatest, fastest, most effortless purchase of an auto that I have ever had.  I'll have to post more pics later when it is light out again and I can snap some more.   Let's just say it drove home in the snow without a hitch.  It's been so long since I drove a New-ish car...with POWER STEERING!
   And What trip to Chicago would be complete if we did not stop in to IKEA?  We didn't buy anything of substance,  we mostly just celebrated our successful venture with some Chicken fingers, fries, and LOTS AND LOTS of Honey Mustard Sauce!
  So there it is...The New Subie still has to be felt out a bit...but I like what I see so far.   We are planning on going to get the plates on Monday, and then it will be official!   YEAH!  DARE COMPLETE!

Sword Art Online! Check out this Anime!

So we have finished yet another Anime on Crunchyroll and this one is going to get noticed!   Sword Art Online is the Anime response to Everquest and World of Warcraft MMORPG world.   I was addicted to Everquest back in the day, so this Anime hits a cord with me on the addictive fun nature of online RPG's
 This anime has it all....Action, adventure, romance, and even that danger of having a main character die off.   Not to mention I even got chocked up several times when things did not turn out as I had though.   Well,  Check it out on Crunchyroll.   Or Funimation...Who is Bound to be dubbing this....THEY MUST!   BTW  Funimation is the GREATEST COMPANY EVER!   for dubbing these wonderful anime's into English.   I could gush about them more,  but  I probably already have in a previous post.    I really Hope they get this one!
   In other news...Our Car Quest continues!  And the plot thickens as we have our eyes set on a car.   I have to wait until Saturday to see if we will be able to get it...If not..( Shrug!)  Ah well,  Guess it was not meant to be.  But hopefully luck will be on our side a bit and we might possibly get exactly what we are looking for.    We shall see..