Origami Creations - Multiple Mini Hydrangea Experience

As I wrote about my Hydrangea origami journey in the days that past, I came to realize that I do want to try and challenge myself and do the multiple hydrangea's - on one paper, no cutting, no gluing.

From planning to do two (2) pieces only, I ended up doing the five (5) pieces hydrangea.  On top of the challenge, I did the mini version (due to paper limitations).  And yes, with a much needed hair puller on one hand :o).

Here are the results of my artwork.  I included a Kinder white chocolate bar for you to have a good comparison of the size of my tessellations.  The kinder bar is 7.5 cm in length.

2 Flowers

4 Flowers (Right one looks nice for a photo frame)

5 Flowers (Nice curvature effect)

 Had great fun folding them most especially the part of compressing them on the initial fold.  One need to make sure that the valleys and mountains are correct or else ...

Have a great day!

- o -

More Info:

Good references when doing these folds are here:

Japanese Halloween in Hong Kong - GeGeGe no Kitarō (ゲゲゲの鬼太郎)

Aside from origami, I also enjoy japanese animation.

For the halloween, Hong Kong has brought over the GeGeGe no Kitarō (ゲゲゲの鬼太郎).  It is a manga series that popularize the forklore spirit monsters (known as yōkai).  Quite appropriate for the coming celebration.

I took some photos of the life size characters on display at Windsor House, Causeway Bay (just a stone throw away from my place).

This is Kitarō (鬼太郎).  He is a boy born in the cemetery and is the last living member of the ghost tribe.  His left eye is covered by his hair because he is missing one eye.  Do you know that he is 350 years old?  Huh?  Yes, huh.

This is Neko Musume (猫娘) or Cat girl.  She transforms into a frightening cat monster with fangs and feline eyes when she is angry or hungry for fish.  She has a crush on Kitaro but he just treats her as a friend.

This is Nezumi Otoko (ねずみ男) or Rat Man.  He is a rodent-like yōkai human half breed.  He has never taken a bath so he is foul smelling and covered with welts and sores (ewww).  He is usually Kitaro's friend but can be a very scheming enemy.

This is Medama-oyaji (目玉のおやじ, or 目玉親父 or Daddy Eyeball.  Once a fully formed adult ghost, he perished of a disease, only to be reborn out of his decayed body as an anthropomorphic version of his own eyeball. He looks small and fragile, but has a strong spirit and a great love for his son. He is also extremely knowledgeable about ghosts and monsters.

Introducing the cast of characters alone will keep your mind excited to see the series.  The Japanese are a creative and very imaginative people.   

Have a great day!

- O -


More info:

Details on GeGeGe on wiki.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeGeGe_no_Kitar%C5%8D

Origami Creations - Geometric Polyhedron

There is an interesting field in modular origami which is very mathematical in nature as it deals with geometrical shapes.   The term most commonly used is Modular Polyhedra.

From the word, polyhedron, which means a solid shape with more than 6 faces.  The folding parts are easy but the challenging one is the assembling of the model.  Again, it poses and interesting puzzle for which is quite mind boggling but enjoyable.

Below is one my favorite and most talk-about (my friends and family) origami piece.

Four Interlocking Triangular Prism designed by Daniel Kwan

 

If you want to try to make one, below is the "how-to" video for this model. 

From Origami Nut - http://www.origaminut.com/646/four-interlocking-triangular-prisms

Enjoy and have a great day!

- o -

More info:

Diagrams can be found here --> http://www.flickr.com/photos/8303956@N08/651459642/

World's Best and Easiest Banana Cake

What's best to eat and easy to prepare for a lazy weekend....

My banana cake special from my mom's easy recipe of goodies.  The cinnamon though is my improvisation - can't resist the lovely color and the smell it adds to every bite.

Here it is ...

Yum yummy goodness.

Oozing with simple flavors - banana and cinnamon

Here is the "How-To" video I have created for all to enjoy:

You may be interested to watch my other video on my world's best oatmeal cookies.  You can find it here:

World Best and Healthiest Oatmeal Cookies

Have a great weekend y'all!

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More info:

Ingredients

125 grams Unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 ripe bananas
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/4 cup low fat high calcium milk

Origami Creations - Hydrangea Flowers: Tessellated Origami

Another field of paper folding that I appreciate is tessellation.

It is the tiling of a plane surface (paper) using one or more geometric shapes and creating lovely decorative patterns.

It is not an easy thing to do but the result is well worth it - in pure golden joy!

My most favorite origami tessellated piece is the Hydrangea flower by Mr. Shuzo Fujimoto.  A simple looking but exquisitely beautiful work of art.

Four levels of petals

To fully appreciate this art piece, I have made a short video to document its creation (not a tutorial) from plain paper to flower.  And, more importantly, to show the magical geometrical shapes it produces when placed against the light.  Tessellated pieces makes good artistic lampshades (awesome lighting effects).



Enjoy!

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More info:

Definition of Tessellation:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tessellation

Origami Diagram of the Hydrangea Flower: 

http://www.nickrobinson.info/clients/smithy/hydrangea_john_smith.pdf

Origami Tutorial for the Hydrangea Flower:

http://youtu.be/3Y3EcpOSSRs

Origami Creations - Giant Squid devour Ships

World Origami days starts on October 24 and will last for 2 weeks (until the 11th of November).  The former date coincides with the birthday of the founder of Origami USA - Lillian Oppenheimer, while the latter date is designated as Japan's Origami Day.

This is a big international celebration to honor the Art of Origami. 

In my small way, I thought of coming up with my simple gift to celebrate the JOY of paper folding, and in gratitude to all the people who in many ways nurtured and influenced me to embrace this art form. 

These will include my family and friends, origami masters (past, present and  upcoming), web tutorials etc...  you know who you are :-).

From the famous classic novel by Jules Verne, here is my origami interpretation of one of its most memorable scene.

  



Maekawa Squid and Redpaper Boat

The battle of the giant colossal squid and Captain Nemo's ship.  Remembering the old legends telling of massive marine monsters attacking boats - how sea creatures pulled ships underwater.

Is this possible?  I believe so and you may see for yourself in this discovery science video by zoologist - Dr Clyde Roper.

Well that's all so much for the day - an Art and a Science session

 Hope you enjoyed as I do.  Have a nice day!

- o -


More info:

On the book Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty_Thousand_Leagues_Under_the_Sea

On the SCI (science channel) video:
http://science.discovery.com/video-topics/strange-creatures/monsters-ball-giant-squid-encounter.htm

Origami - The Queerest Bird of all

Among all the birds, the Owl is the most widely created piece in origami.  Most obviously because of its distinctive face - large eyes, sharp hooked beak and large wide rounded head. 

If  you can still remember the poem, it was called a nasty word - queer (strange) bird.

THE OWL

 Of all the queer birds, I ever did see,
the owl is the queerest by far for me.
for all day long, she sits on a tree,
and when the night comes, away flies she!!!

Yes, readily, a person can immediately identify a folded owl piece with its striking features.

Great Horned Owl - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:GreatHornedOwl-Wiki.jpg



To me, the owl brings happiness with its funny good looks.  Other than that, it is actually always use to promote "smartness".

I have folded my first origami owl using a Jacky HF Chan design as below.  Again, its a simple model but its like "poetry in motion" when making it.



My folded owls in my daughters' bedroom

Below is the link to Jacky's HF Chan owl origami tutorial for your enjoyment.

Have a nice day!

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Origami Creations - Autumn Flower Tutorial

In my last post on the 15th of October - Tuesday, I mentioned that I have joined a competition for Simple Origami.  Competition winners were announced and unfortunately, my entry didn't make it.

In fairness, the top 5 origami art pieces that won, were well deserving.  The experience and opportunity to join a fun competition was more than a gift that will last me a lifetime.  I am looking forward to the next contest.  Bring it on!

And talking about gifts, I made a video tutorial of my autumn flowers for all to enjoy.  Hope you like them.

Simple and Easy Origami Flower / Photo Frame

You can put them on your table tops or on your plants at home.  Guaranteed to make  a gloomy day a happy and brighter one.

Place them on your plants - but make sure not to water them :-).

My ori flower with the Mona Lizard

 

Ain't that cute?

For those interested to get a copy of the photo diagram, you may use the link below:

Photo diagram here.

Have a nice day.

Origami Creations - Modular and Kusudama

Another fun and enjoyable past time for me is to create modular or kusudama origami. 

The unifying definition for these terms is that they are made of two (2) or more repetitive paper folds and connected together either with or without glue.  What differs though is that, a kusudama (a Japanese term), is spherical like in shape while modular origami does not need to be one.

For me, the joy of making these origami art pieces is when joining the parts together.  It is sort of a puzzle in itself and makes a good gift for family and friends. 

Here are some of the ones that I have made all of which does not require gluing (I find it too tedious and troublesome to work with glue).

Mostly using recycled computer paper.

The most number of pieces that I have to make was making and connecting 120 pieces. But my most favorite of all is making and connecting 12 pieces only such as the ones below:

Origami Cube

Origami Mette Rings - Creator Mette Pederson

There are many tutorials in the internet on creating modular origami.  I would recommend for you to try Origami Nut (http://www.origaminut.com/) as a start.

Happy Folding!!!

More info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kusudama
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modular_origami

Food, Glorious Indian Food

One of the most awaited weekend family lunch that we all adore is at Mirch Masala Restaurant - Indian cuisine.

There is something about Indian food that we all crave, and after discussing amongst us, we all have agreed on the following:

1.  Love the spiciness, savory and delightful flavors.

2.  Nan bread is so uniquely out of the ordinary (just imagine our staple food of rice and noodles :-( ).

3.  Eating and dipping your food with your hands makes it a very personal experience.

4.  To top it all, the piped-in Indian music is very uplifting and relaxing.

Let the photos do the talking ...

Savoury Samosa

Flavorful Chicken Tikka

Aloo Gobi (Mixed Vegetables) & Nan bread



We've been regular customers at this restaurant so the management and staff became close personal friends too (an added bonus!).

We enjoyed the meals with a wonderful soup (shorba) appetizer and finished the meal with a delightful cup of Masala tea.

What a way to celebrate the weekend!

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More details:

Mirch Masala website - http://mirchmasala.hk/.

World's Best and Healthiest Oatmeal Cookie

Cooking something special for the family is one of the easiest way to achieve some simple pleasure.  I remember how we made mom very happy every time she cooks us our favorite food.

Let me give this a try and make a big surprise for my wife and kids for the weekend.

I'm cooking, or actually baking ... Oatmeal cookies - World's Best and Healthiest (or so I make them to believe).

Invitingly scrumptious, here it is:

Like 'em plain, soft and chunky.

For a closer look:

Baking perfection :-)

Shot my first cooking video (a great struggle) for those who maybe interested in trying it.  Feel free to use the pause button for your viewing pleasure :-).





Have a great weekend to all!


Recipe details:

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups oats

Steps:

1.  Beat the sugar and butter in a bowl.
2.  Add the eggs to the mixture and then the vanilla.
3.  On a separate bowl, mix the (dry ingredients) flour, baking soda, salt and the cinnamon. 
4.  Add the dry mixture to the butter mixture and continue to beat.
5.  Proceed to add in the oats.
6.  Finish with the spatula to make sure everything is properly mixed.
7.  Cover and chill the mixture for about 1 hour.  Relax ...
8.  I wrap the oven tray with aluminum foil and wipe it thinly with oil.
9.  Rounded balls of the cookie is placed on the tray and flattened with a fork.
10.  Preheat the oven at 190 degrees C and cook the cookies about 10 minutes.
11.  Cool the cookies in a wire rack.
12.  Chomp chomp chomp.

Origami - Who wants a Bulldog?

My favorite origamist from Hongkong is Jacky Chan HF (陳漢輝) as he makes art pieces that are very simple, beautiful and more importantly, easy to make (i.e. his works are mostly ranked for intermediate level skills only).

A current design of his bulldog caught my daughters' attention and I have never stopped making them in my spare time.  

The most fun part is I was able to make and share them with a lot of kids as I volunteer at the local house of the Missionaries of Charity here.  So heartwarming to see children smile away their worries ...

Here are some of the dogs ready for adoption / distribution for the coming weekend.

Little orphan bulldogs

For those interested to make them, I am posting his tutorial video below for your enjoyment.  



Please feel free to write him a note if you have any difficulty in making the model.

Enjoy and have a nice day!

Origami Creations - Halloween

Since the origami competition which I have joined a few weeks ago, I started to challenge myself and create another one.

Hmmm ... now what could be a good piece to work on ...  Got it!

Halloween is so big in Hong Kong (and elsewhere) right now so I decided to give it a shot.

Folding from the simple Kite base and twisting it to form a head and wings, "Lo and behold" I came upon something like ...

My Long Eared Bat - with droopy eyes and sharp finger tips :-)

Compared to the real thing below ... what do you think?

http://www.dkimages.com/discover/Projects/KE933/previews/60004031.JPG

Advance Happy Halloween to All! 

2013 HK Mid-Autumn Festival - Rising Moon

Fortunate to be next door neighbor to Victoria Park where the Mid-Autumn Festival show was held.

The most memorable display was the award winning centerpiece called the Rising Moon - a giant eco-lantern structure made of 7,000 recycled water bottles and installed with LED lights for special effects.



Recycling water bottles with LED lights installed

I shot a short video of the Rising Moon to better appreciate this art piece.



My family also enjoyed the huge paper lantern structures on display.  Most especially these unique and unconventional ones as shown below.

Young child in Traditional Chinese costume

Anyone for Egg Tarts (蛋撻), Pineapple Bread (菠蘿包) and Milk Tea (奶茶).

Have a nice day.

More details here:

http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/see-do/events-festivals/highlight-events/mid-autumn-celebrations.jsp?page=1#ixzz2hrhWsIPK