Playing with Paper/A Valentine's Day Treat

In 2008 I took a workshop that changed my life and my approach to making artist's books. It was taught by Joan Michaels Paque and she was a paper engineer and weaver extraordinaire. After the class I was playing around with folding paper and created a small book with the crease pattern you see below. The book was put into a drawer for years until last week when I decided to clean out my cluttered office and found it again. I always thought of this folded structure as a book and only looked at it linearly, but now I make structures that fold around in a circle. When I twisted this one into a circle it created a structure that is flexible and interesting in many orientations.

I have been thinking about ways to modify this structure and came up with two variations. One is inspired by Valentine's Day and the other is the answer to the question: What happens if I make a smaller version and nest it inside the bigger one? I hope you like the results and try folding one yourself.

Enjoy.

-Gina

Crease Pattern

Stages of folding the structure.

Two orientations of the round structure. There are more below.

I cut out hearts from paper folded into the water bomb base.

Variation 1: Insert hearts cut from 4 x 4 inch paper into the slots to make a unique Valentine.

Variation 2: Fold a second structure from 3 x 18 inch paper and nest it inside the 4 x 24 structure.

Three ways to twist the structure.

Sometimes I'm Jagged on the Inside

I have a new accordion folded sculpture to share with you today. A few days ago I was wondering what the Turkish Map Fold would look like if I used rectangular paper instead of square paper to fold it. Then I got to thinking about the fold for the insert I used in The Road to Spring and Companion Star. Could it also be folded with rectangular paper? The answer is yes, and it makes a very interesting asymmetrical shape. Next I wondered if there was a way to fold this new shape from an accordion folded sheet of paper so that the parts would be connected to each other. This was tricky and took some fiddling, but in the end I was able to create the sculpture you see below. Later in the day a name came to me and it is the title of this blog post.

Here are some pictures showing the folding process. Enjoy!

-Gina

Finished piece.

Single folded unit.

I taped together several single units to figure out where I needed to cut the accordion and make a continuous folded sculpture.

Step 1: accordion fold then fold diagonals. Then cut the paper as shown.

Step 2: Collapse the paper along the diagonals.

Step 3: Fold in the triangle sides. Notice how one side has a small triangle and the other side is larger, but they don't overlap. This creates the asymmetrical look.

Step 4: All the triangle sides are creased. Now just inside reverse fold all of them to create the final shape.

My New Obsession

If you follow my blog, you know I love maps. I collect vintage maps and atlases, map stencils, and books on map art. I recently bought some Ken Oliver Color Burst watercolors and was playing around with them as background elements and wanted to know how else I could use them. I perused You Tube and saw people using them on stencils. I immediately thought of my city map stencil collection. Here are the results for my favorite map, Paris. Each one is different and I love that you can get a positive and a negative from one application of the Color Burst.
Enjoy (I sure am)!

-Gina

Sprinkle on dry watercolors randomly.

Spray with water and watch the magic happen.

Lift off stencil and place clean watercolor paper over it.

Remove second paper and there is still color left on the stencil. You can color a paper towel with the leftovers and use it in mixed media projects.

Finished watercolor of Paris map and the negative.

Here's the first Paris watercolor I made. I like the different looks you can get with the same stencil.

'Tis the Season

I try to make holiday cards each year for friends and family, but I must be a dying breed as I seem to get fewer and fewer cards each year. I thought I would share some pictures of past cards and this year's as well. Enjoy.

-Gina

2008 Star Book Ornament/Card.

Cards from 2011-2014.

A selection of this year's cards. 

CAP Book

It's December and I have been so busy that this is the first time I am sitting down to blog in a month. I have been a member of San Diego Book Arts for 14 years and next year is our 20th anniversary as an art organization. To commemorate this achievement a group of 40 members got together several times this year to create a collaborative art project (CAP). Each person created a piece based on member Diane Gage's moon haiku. The art was photographed and reproduced on 9 x 12 paper to be bound into books for an exhibit celebrating the anniversary. I did not create an art work for the book, but was asked to bind a book as a fundraiser for the project. Below are images of my book in progress. I based the structure on Elizabeth Steiner's Moeraki Boulders, which is bound through the middle of the pages. I created binding strips from a second set of prints of the book so that there is interplay between the works and their companions. I hope you like the results as much as I do.

Enjoy.
-Gina

Pages with slits cut for the binding strips.

Sample binding strip.

Paper in Japan Part 2

Last week I shared my paper adventures in Kyoto. This week I want to introduce you to Tokyo's Origami Kaikan (Origami Center) which is a six floor building dedicated to all things origami. After perusing the lobby showroom of classes offered, I climbed the stairs to the second floor gallery where there was a wonderful display of armored cavalrymen. Then it was up to the third floor to soak up all of the papers. There were packaged origami squares in all colors and sizes as well as racks and flat files of large sheets of chiyogami paper. I spent quite a bit of time looking through them and only seeing one or two that I can get here in the States. As I was paying for my purchases the clerk informed me that the director, Kazuo Kobayashi would be down to do some demonstrations soon and would I like to stay. Of course I stayed and was entertained (despite not knowing any Japanese) for the better part of an hour while Sensei Kobayashi folded and cut many samples for the Year of the Monkey. He was a revelation to me as he didn't fold anything precisely nor did he look at what he was folding often. It was astonishing to see him create such beautiful results in such an imprecise manner. He kindly gave me the rose and leaf pictured below which took him about a minute to make, all the while chatting to the gathered crowd.

I eventually tore myself away from the demonstration and wandered up to the fourth floor where you can watch them paint paper and hang it to dry. The fifth and sixth floors are reserved for classes and as I wasn't signed up for any I skipped them. I left full of ideas and a renewed passion for origami.

I hope you enjoy the images below from this lovely paper destination in Tokyo.

-Gina

First floor display.

Displays on the way up to the gallery. The above "plant" is made entirely of folded cranes.

Calvary of folded paper in the second floor gallery.

Men dying paper mustard yellow and red on the fourth floor.

Monkey fold the Master taught us.

Rose and leaf Sensei Kobayashi gave me.

Book Arts and Paper in Japan

I recently took a trip to Japan, a paper lover's paradise. My husband and I spent a week in Kyoto visiting gardens, temples, shrines and other local sites. We also took a shinkansen or bullet train to Hiroshima to visit the Atomic Dome and Peace Park. I left one of my crane books, shown below at the Sadako memorial. Visiting Hiroshima was an incredibly moving experience.

Of course, the trip included visiting lots of paper shops. I went to Morita as well as Kira Karacho. Both are institutions in the Kyoto area where paper making has a very long history. Kira Karacho is a store founded by the a family of karakami makers that began in 1624. They produce traditional fusuma sliding doors and wallpaper, but Kira began this stationary store in 2004 as a way to reach new audiences. Antique wood blocks are used to print on washi paper.

It was while we were visiting the store for the second time that we noticed the small shopping arcade has a gallery on the third floor. It  showcases artwork by students at Kyoto Seika University. We stopped in and noticed some handmade books in a side area. At first, I thought they were for sale, but as I looked around I realized it was a book arts exhibit. My husband quipped that only I could stumble upon a book arts exhibit 6000 miles from home. It was small, but lovely with a good

variety of books. Please enjoy the images and this brief description of an indescribably wonderful trip to Japan.

-Gina

Crane book I made and left at the Peace Park memorial.

Sadako statue at the Hiroshima Peace Park.

The eternal flame with the Atomic Dome in the background, Hiroshima Peace Park.

Fusuma sliding doors in our Ryokan.

Examples of books at the b. only book 10 exhibit.

Information about the book artists (I assume).