I’ve been doing a lot of “idea work” lately- also known as playing around and not doing anything seriously. Here’s some examples of work in progress, which I intend to keep developing into some new things. This came out of some explorations with complex 3D surfaces with non-convex edges in the shape of a zig-zag. This came out quite nicely but the large zig-zag shape made the paper curve into a circle… so I added some compression in the center, which made a corrugated pattern in the midst of it all. It’s sort of a strange mix between my normal tessellation techniques and origami corrugations, as done by Ray Schamp and Polly Verity. Working on completing this piece- it’s sort of a triptych, although it’s on one sheet of paper. Once I wrap it up I’ll be documenting the process via some instructional material to be posted on this site. I’ve been fascinated by “pleat explosions” after seeing the work of paper artist Jen Stark. I wanted to riff off her work, transposed into my …

So, I’ve been a fan of Coudal Partners for quite some time now- circling back to their site every time I dig through my bookmarks and then spending a day browsing through all the content and links they have. I recently learned from my friend Jeff Rutzky (happy birthday Jeff, by the way) that they’re not just a wonderful site, but this powerful and brilliant ad agency in Chicago. Oops. I suppose I should have figured that one out more quickly, especially when they were so nice to link to me way back in 2005. Live and learn, right? Well, Coudal had people sending in things to them all the time, unsolicited. You know how much fun it is to get packages you aren’t expecting, don’t you? It’s kind of like a grown-up version of Christmas, but without any family awkwardness or having to buy gifts for kids. It’s a tiny little moment of self-gratification as you tear into the Fedex box and wonder what sort of goodies are inside. They decided to expand on …

Count? Originally uploaded by cedison. Another completely stellar piece from origamista Christine Edison. Her work has continually improved- become both more complex and yet more simplified, as if she’s filtering out things to reveal only the beautiful interior framework that needs to remain. Needless to say I’m a huge fan of her work. She has some pieces on display in the upcoming Treasures of Origami Art exhibition at the Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art in Haifa, Israel; I’m also pleased to say that she has some artwork featured in the gallery section of my upcoming book. The real difficulty is that each new piece of hers that I see becomes my new favorite! Christine also has her own origami blog, if you’d like to keep an eye on what she’s up to. If you’re a flickrite, make sure you add her as a contact!

Today, I came across the most amazing paper artist on flickr- Yoshi, from Venezuela. Very much into the pleating and corrugating way of things, he has some marvelous pieces of work on display; please go and visit, and admire some of this work. He has this to say: I’m a self-taught guy who often works folding, drawing or cutting paper, which is my favorite and, almost, exclusive media. I’m practicing this since I was six years old (now I’m 29), first as a hobby, after my obsession with games where you win real money and, three years ago, as my way for living. Some of my sorts of inspiration are the geometrical patterns used for sacred decoration in India and the Islam world. In my work (paper folding, kiri-e and drawing) I have three fields of investigation: arts (mural decorations & photos), industrial design (lamps and other utilitary objects) and fashion (dresses and accessories), where arts are the most important, an the other two provide me with practice and some knowledge. South America truly has …

Bekah Gjerde Originally uploaded by lilzabubba. We just got back from NYC a few days ago; my wife Bekah just finished uploading the majority of our photos, if you’re inclined to take a look. It was a lot of fun, and we were able to meet up with many flickr folding friends, both old and new. I’m very thankful for such a great chance to meet so many of you in person! Some highlights that I enjoyed: (title shot) – Bekah’s kirigami artwork of the Sun and Water, assembled (or deconstructed?) in Jeff’s Harlem studio. 32 two-dollar bills, folded as a single sheet, by me: Some great work from Christine Edison: Brian Chan: Fantastic tessellated Romanesco cauliflower, again by Brian Chan: Pureland Tessellations by Goran Konjevod: Ray Schamp’s Corrugations: More beautiful tessellations and masks from Joel Cooper: Astonishing pieces from Polly Verity, our new folding friend from Scotland: And, of course, some photos from our visit to Jen Stark’s exhibition at the LMak Projects over in Williamsburg: (this last piece is my favorite!)