Faye E. Goldman - Geometric Origami

This book contains a collection of geometric origami models made from folding strips of paper using a special technique developed by Heinz Strobl.

Known as Snapology (youll understand why later), the technique employs the two most basic folds in origamithe valley fold (fold up to make a V-shape) and the mountain fold (fold behind to make a upside-down V-shape)to build fantastic 3D models of great beauty and durability. This means that nearly every model in this book is accessible to beginning-level folders. This is not to say that the building of these models is easy and that patience and practice isnt required. These models are challenging, and they will require perseverence. But they are extremely rewarding and quick to build. Most of these models have geometric polyhedra at their corequite literally! If you recall from your high school geometry class, polyhedra (singular: polyhedron) are three-dimensional figures with many sides.

Each of the models in this book is made of prismssmall triangles, squares, hexagons, etc.that protrude from an underlying structure. Strip away the protrusions and youll find a tetrahedron (pyramid), a cube (hexahedron), or another such shapepolyhedra that are, to my mind, as beautiful in their own right as the paper-strip models are. Youll learn how to make paper-strip models based on the Platonic solidspolyhedra made of only one shape (named for the philosopher Plato), as well as the Archimedean solidspolyhedra made of two or more shapes (and named for the Greek mathematician, Archimedes). It is this connection to geometry that originally drew me to this particular type of paper folding. My background is in math and chemistry and I love making things.

There are two types of strips used to make these models: Scaffold (scaffolding) strips make up the underlying structure.

They are made in the shapes of the polygons that make up the model. The length of the strips is always twice the number of sides in the polygon. To make scaffolds for triangles, for instance, use strips that are 1 6 because the strip is wrapped around itself twice. How long should strips for squares be? If you said 1 8 (two squares for each of four sides), you would be correct. Hinge strips connect the scaffolds. Hinges are what is most visible in the finished model.

They come in two basic sizes: 1 4 and 1 6. If you are building something with a lot of prisms that are pretty tightly packed, a 1 4 hinge is fine. But if there arent a lot of prisms, or if the angles between the prisms are pretty wide (90 or larger), you need a little extra length to tuck under layers so the ends stay put. 1 6 strips are best in that case, but they can be a little tricky to connect. As an alternative, you can make all hinge strips 1 4 and glue the ends down. You can use the same color for both the scaffolds and the hinges, but sometimes using coordinating colors looks nice, since the scaffold color always peeks through at the edges.

Scaffold and hinge strips should be folded so all the folds go in the same direction because they will be wrapped around themselves or other strips. Mountain folds are made on the outside of the stripsthis is the side that is the most visible. If you make a mistake and fold valley folds, dont despair. Just reverse the creases (fold in the other direction) to change a valley fold to a mountain fold. If the strips you are using have the same color on both sides, it is even easier to fix.

You can use just about any kind of paper to make these modelscomputer paper, colored paper, even wrapping paperas long as it holds a fold nicely and isnt too stiff (I dont recommend card stock, for instance). You can use just about any kind of paper to make these modelscomputer paper, colored paper, even wrapping paperas long as it holds a fold nicely and isnt too stiff (I dont recommend card stock, for instance).

Gift-wrapping ribbon can also be used; just make sure that the ribbon will hold a crease when folded. Ribbon comes in such beautiful colors and prints these days, and the kind with gold edging makes great-looking models. Polypropylene ribbon works well. Fabric ribbons generally do not. Beginners should use ribbon over 3/4 inch wide. As you gain skill, you can try ribbon as narrow as 3/8 inch.