This is a neat origami model that can be found in Origami Design Secrets, by Robert Lang.  Origami Design Secrets is basically a textbook, so it’s here to demonstrate the “grafting” technique.  Grafting can be used to create a model with one piece of paper, that might otherwise require multiple sheets of paper.  This model, in its original form designed by Kunihiko Kasahara, took three pieces of paper.  Robert Neale made a contribution that simplified it to two sheets of paper.  Kasahara’s head design was combined with a model by Robert Neale, to make a two-piece design.  Finally Robert Lang made a design that only used one sheet.  It’s called the Kasahara-Neale-Lang Dragon, or KNL Dragon.

Among the many models in the book, this is a favorite.  When I’ve shown this to other origami people, they often ask how to make one.  You’re welcome to try this video, but it’s only recommended for experienced origamists.  It involves some very tricky (and small!) sink folds–something I notice Robert Lang tends to scatter all around his designs like they’re nothing!  Nonetheless, it’s a lovely model with a particularly great silhouette.

This model dates back to when I was experimenting with curved creases.  A very simple model is to make alternating creases in concentric circles, and cut out the center of the paper.  To me, it’s such a simple thing, but I’ve heard a lot of people really like this one.

If you like this one, check out the sculptures of Erik Demaine!

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This origami model is a fidget.  You can rotate the tetrahedrons endlessly.  Kids love it.  They don’t last forever, but that’s okay, just make more!  I actually have a bunch of these lying around, because I include it in my origami class.

If you’d like to try this one, I recommend this Happy Origami video.  It’s also possible to make one with a single sheet of paper, but I wouldn’t recommend it.  This particular version uses six sheets of paper, so I can get the rainbow colors in, but it’s a bit of a challenge, so I don’t recommend it on first attempt.

I made these dachshunds as part of the local origami club, and I love them.  I made two, and they immediately reminded me of the two dachshunds that my aunt owned, one light-haired the other dark-haired.  Those dogs always seemed attached at the hip, and were rather codependent.  So, I decided to attach these two at the hip.  I don’t remember how I did it, something to do with pulling out excess paper hidden inside the models.

My mother has owned dachshunds all her life, so I gave these to her as a gift.  Happy Mother’s Day this month!

(For those who didn’t know, “dachshund” is the spelling, but it’s pronounced like “doxin”.  They may also be called doxies or just weiner dogs.  I grew up with these dogs but it took me forever to learn how to spell their name.)

Here’s a collection of experiments, mistakes, and other odds and ends among my origami photos

These were my first two attempts to make a tarantula (final version here).  I didn’t expect to get it right the first time, this is all part of the process.

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This model has instructions online, and is one of the easiest curved-crease models to create.  It just requires six business cards or some other card stock paper, and some means to draw circles.  The instructions suggest using a compass or a template, but I just used a poker chip that I had on hand.  Once you draw the circles, you should score them, which can be done by pressing hard on a ballpoint pen.

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I try to post origami every month, but as of late, my rate of production has been less than that.  That’s okay, I still have a huge backlog of photos.  One thing I’ve never posted, are my very earliest photos, when I started doing modular origami in………. 2012.  Well here’s the very first one:

I started out by folding designs from Beginner’s Book of Modular Origami Polyhedra: The Platonic Solids by Rona Gurkewitz and Bennett Arnstein–it’s not the book in the photo, it’s more beginner-friendly than that.  It’s a good starter book for modular origami, I recommend it.

I didn’t dedicate much effort to the photos at the time.  The book is there because that’s what I had on the shelf.  I put my hand in the photo to give it a sense of scale; also, as if to say “Zap!  A cube!”  I went on to zap more cubes from there on.

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