Zinnias

Over Christmas Break I invented this tessellation when I was playing around with inflating certain parts of the paper. I found that I could raise pairs of triangles and that they looked very pretty when arranged in groups of four. I made nine zinnias and fashioned the edges of the paper so they looked like leaves. I especially enjoyed making the leaves on the corners pointy, which gave more dimension to the model and caught the light in an angular, eye-catching way. The back of the tessellation is intriguing too: there are nine hollow cubes with dividers, broken it into four regions. As I was folding the triangles, I did not realize that I was creating this interesting pattern on the back, so when I flipped the paper over I had the pleasant surprise of inventing something involuntarily.

I submitted this model to the OrigaMIT Competition, but unfortunately the competition was cancelled because of COVID-19. I am hoping to teach this model at the OrigamiUSA Convention which was meant to take place in June, but it too has been disrupted by the pandemic and has been postponed. As we go through these difficult circumstances I hope that origami can bring peace of mind to a struggling world.

 

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Folded and designed by Sophie Usherwood

Flower Box

Once I had connected four squares of paper for each of the sides of the box and gathered some flaps from which I would form a decorative top, I felt a sense of freedom – I could do whatever I wanted with this extra paper. My mind instantly began to fizz and conjure up images of grand roses and intricate patterns, and I began to toy with the paper to try to make these images a reality. One of the most enjoyable part of designing origami is when you do not know exactly what the end result will look like, but you are gripped with a vision that you are trying to bring to life. I determined that I wanted to create a large flower with many petals on top of the box, and by folding the layers in a symmetrical way I managed to make this flower box.

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Folded and designed by Sophie Usherwood

The 5th Library Display (March 2020)

 

It was very exciting to see the culmination of a year’s origami work in one place, and I particularly enjoyed arranging them in the case. As I was arranging the origami the lovely librarians and local people looking for books would stop by and exclaim that they never knew that origami could be so beautiful and complex. This was my favorite part of the display because realizing people’s fascination with what I spend so much of my time doing makes me feel very warm inside. Each origami model has a memory attached to it – my surroundings, what I was thinking about at that moment, and how the design made me feel. Sharing the origami is like revealing my personal stories to other people. When people praise the origami, it is like they are seeing my identity and accepting and appreciating its singularity.

The bottom two shelves are full of my origami tessellations, which are origami designs where you fold a grid and then using that grid to fold a pattern by squashing and maneuvering the paper based on the gridlines. Tessellations usually involve folding a certain sequence of folds many times, which is very therapeutic, and as you work your way to the edges of the paper you start to see the beautiful pattern you have created. It is a hypnotizing, rewarding process, and I love experimenting with the paper to create original patterns. All of the tessellations on display are my original designs, and I am thrilled to be able to share a personal side of myself with the general public and introduce them to the beauty of tessellations. Another highlight of my exhibit was my collection of origami vases originally designed by Robert Lang. I enjoyed choosing colors throughout the color spectrum and of varying brightness to create a diverse collection of sculpted pots. I also played with different sizes of pots – folding a large piece of paper gives you a sense of expansiveness, while folding a small piece of paper gives you a sense of being put together and secure. There are many different types of special stars that I have folded over the year and a gorgeous modular star ball on the top shelf on the far right. Seeing the product of my work in the case is like a collection of my past experiences, and I look forward to displaying my work next year.

 

 

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Octagonal Star Pot

As I was folding this model, I was reminded of a simple star box that I learned when I was very young. When I inflated it I was met with a wonderful surprise: an extremely sophisticated box that looked like it was made of clay. Thinking back to the simple box I had folded so long ago, I realized how far I have come in my pursuit of origami – the models I create are much more refined, realistic, and aesthetically appealing. I was learning this model in a class at an origami convention called OrigaMIT at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the creator himself, Robert Lang, was teaching the class. This origami master, who was trained as a physicist, inspired me because of his deep knowledge of the folding process. He would give us subtle tips about how to fold it more neatly, like leaving a tiny gap between the edge and the middle line. I did not know what the pot would look like at the end; watching the process unfold was like watching a movie – each fold was a scene, and the purpose of each phase became clear and was integrated into the final product. The pot has a beautifully sculpted look at the end as if it were composed of curved creases. This comes from how the two eight-pointed stars that are lying on top of each other curve downwards due to the geometry of the design. Surprisingly, all of the creases in this model are straight. The way the model was designed curves the flat planes that are segmented by straight creases. In addition, there is a step at the end where you pinch the eight mountain creases to make the downward pointing tips of the large star curve inwards slightly, which adds to the sculpted look. The ingenious design uses the smaller eight-pointed star on the top of the vase as a locking mechanism by storing a large amount of paper securely in place.

 

Folded by Sophie Usherwood                                                                                                                            Designed by Robert Lang

 

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