22774343 origami bonsai electronic magazine volume 2 issue 1

8/21/2019 22774343 Origami Bonsai Electronic Magazine Volume 2 Issue 1

1/28

Volume2Issue1 January1,2010

Origami onsaiELECTRONIC MAGAZINEWehaveonlyjustbegun.

Inthisissue:

UpsideDown

Flower

ParasiticVines


2/28

OrigamiB

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Copyright2010,BenjaminJohnColeman,AllRightsReserved.

OrigamiBonsaiElectronicMagazineVol.2Issue1 Page3

OrigamiBonsaiElectronicMagazineCopyright2009,BenjaminJohnColeman,AllRightsReserved.

Thisis

acollaborative,

quarterly

production

so

your

stories

and

suggestions

are

an

integralpartofthispublicationssuccess. Pleasesubmitarticlesandinputvia

emailto:

[email protected]

Foradvertisingratesandinformation,pleaseclickthelinkabove. Ourcurrent

circulationisapproximately10,000readers,howeverthisdocumentwillremain

ontheinternetintotheforeseeablefuture,soactuallongtermreadershipis

moresignificantthantheexistingnumberofsubscribers.

OrigamiBonsaiisaregisteredtrademarkofBenjaminJohnColeman.

JoinUs!ClickhereformoreInformationonOrigamiBonsaibooks.
http://www.origamibonsai.org/books.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/books.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/books.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/books.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/books.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/books.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/books.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/books.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/books.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/books.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/books.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/books.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/books.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/books.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/books.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/books.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/books.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/books.htmlhttp://www.youtube.com/origamibonsaiforum#p/u/5/G5HsCyOWzsIhttp://www.youtube.com/origamibonsaiforum#p/a/u/2/dyPc4T0V8E0http://www.origamibonsai.org/books.html


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FrequentlyAskedQuestions

WhatisOrigamiBonsai?

OrigamiBonsaiisanewartformdevelopedoverthepastthreeyearsbyartist,authorand

inventorBenjamin

John

Coleman.

Origami

flowers

and

leaves

are

attached

to

branches

to

form

dramatic,visuallycomplexsculptures. Thesesculpturesareeitherfreestanding(canbeplaced

ontopoftables),orwallhanging(attachtowallswithahook).

OrigamiBonsaiisrevolutionary. Forthefirsttimeorigamienthusiastscanassembletheirwork

intosculptures. Thesesculpturesareappealingandhavebothartisticandcommercialvalue.

Whileitcouldbearguedthatorigamiisacraftandnotanartform,itisclearthatOrigami

Bonsaiisanartformascolor,shape,andplantinteractionscanbeusedtoconveythoughts,

meaningsandevenemotions.

Wedonotattempttoduplicatenature,asthiswouldbeimpossible. Insteadwemimicnature

andusenaturalformsasinspirationforourworks. Theworldofplantsseemschaoticand

complex,anditisinhumannaturetotrytoaddordertothatworld. However,itisthatchaos

thatisthesourceofmuchofthebeautyofourwork. OrigamiBonsaiartistsaspiretoexpress

thischaosinacoherentmannerintheirwork,usingittoconveyamessage,orsimplytocreate

somethingbeautiful.

WhatisMakigami?

BenjaminJohn

Coleman

invented

Makigami

to

complement

Origami

Bonsai.

It

allows

artists

to

maketrees(networksofbranches)frompaper. MakigamimeansrollpaperinJapanese.

Newspaperissaturatedinasolutionandthenrolled,muchlikethesnakesyourolledasa

childfromclay. ThesewetMakigamistripsarethenattachedtocylindersandallowedtodry.

Whendry,thesolutionthestripswererolledinactsasglue. Theresultantpaperproductisstiff,

durable,andeasytoworkwith. RecentadvancesinMakigamihaveledtotheabilitytomake

itemslikebonsaiplanters,jewelry,andotheritemsfromthematerial.

Doyouusewiresinsidethebranches?

No.

Origami

Bonsai

is

about

testing

the

limits

of

paper

as

a

medium

(material)

and

about

discoveringnewapplicationsforpaperinourwork.

Whatisthedifferencebetweenwww.OrigamiBonsai.org andwww.Benagami.com?

Benagami.comisawebsitefeaturingtheworkofBenjaminJohnColeman. OrigamiBonsai.org

isawebsitededicatedtofurtherdevelopingOrigamiBonsai. AtOrigamiBonsai.orgyouwill
http://www.origamibonsai.org/http://www.origamibonsai.org/http://www.benagami.com/http://www.benagami.com/http://www.origamibonsai.org/


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findthelatesttechniquesandfoldingdiagrams,andcansubmityourideastobeincludedon

thesite.

HowdoIgetstartedmakingOrigamiBonsai?

All

you

need

to

begin

is

some

small

squares

of

paper.

If

you

would

like

to

build

a

sculpture

you

willneedeithertheprintedbookOrigamiBonsai(TuttlePublishing,availableinApril2010)

orAdvancedOrigamiBonsaianelectronicbookavailablethroughwww.Scribd.comoronDVD

orCDonwww.Etsy.com. Thereisaclickableadvertisementforthisbookonthesecondpageof

thisdocumentthatwilltakeyoudirectlytothebooks.

WhatisthedifferencebetweenthebooksOrigamiBonsai,AdvancedOrigamiBonsai,and

OrigamiBonsaiAccessories?

OrigamiBonsaiisthefirstbookintheseries. ItispublishedbyTuttlePublishingandwillbe

availableinbookstoresinAprilof2010. Thebookteacheshowtofoldmanyvarietiesof

flowersandleavesandthenassembletheflowersandleavesontorealtreebranches. Thisis

largelyanorigamibook.

AdvancedOrigamiBonsaiisthesecondbookintheseries. Itwaspublishedelectronicallyon

June1,2009. Itteacheshowtofoldafewdifferenttypesofflowersandleaves,butmore

importantly,itteacheshowtomakebranchesfrompaperusingtheMakigamitechnique.

Whilethereissomeorigamiinthisbook,itismostlyaboutMakigami.

OrigamiBonsaiAccessories

isthethirdbookinthe

seriesandisstillinthe

researchanddesignphase.

Thisbookteacheshowto

makebonsaiplanters,

jewelry,andotheritems

frompaper. Itwillbe

entirelyMakigami.
http://www.scribd.com/http://www.scribd.com/http://www.etsy.com/http://www.origamibonsai.org/galleries.htmlhttp://www.etsy.com/http://www.scribd.com/


6/28



OrigamiBonsaiUpdate January1,2010

byBenjaminJohnColemanBiodegradableAutoParts

TheG20recentlymetinPittsburg,Pennsylvaniain

theUnitedStates. Oneofthemanychantsshouted

byprotestorsoutsidethemeetingswas

biodegradableautoparts. Thischantmademe

smile,becauseIveoftenthoughtofmakingan

automobilefromMakigami.

AMakigamiautomobilewouldbelight,durable,and

biodegradable,makingittheultimategreen

machine.However

because

Makigami

uses

moisture

asacatalystforbiodegradation,usingthismaterial

forautomotiveproductionisprobablynotagood

idea. Biodegradationofsomethinglikeacarmade

fromMakigamiandexposedtotheelementsis

unpredictable. Anintensiveautopartrecycling

initiativemightbemoreappropriate.

VaryingNewsprintWeights

Mostnewspapersusethesameweightofpaperfortheirentirepublication. Recently,

somenewspapersstartedmixingweights. Forexample,pagesprintedinblackandwhite

willbeaheavierweightthanthoseprintedincolor. Iassumetheyredoingthistosave

money,howeveritmightalsobethattheyreusingmorethanonetypeofpress,andthat

thesedifferentpressesrequiredifferentweightsofpaper.

Itishardtotellthedifferenceinweightwhenthepaperisdry,butitbecomesapparent

whenusedforMakigami. Onesheetwillrollproperly,andthenextwillbehavelikewet

toilettissue

adisaster.

If

youre

getting

mixed

results

like

this

you

will

need

to

identify

whichsheetsofyourlocalnewspaperareusable,andwhicharenot.
http://www.etsy.com/search_results.php?search_type=handmade&search_query=origami+bonsai


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NewHighDefinitionFoldingVideos

Ihavebeguntoreleasenewfoldingvideosinhighdefinition. Thesevideosareofmuch

greaterclaritytheolderones,andhavebeenoptimizedforYouTube,sotheyappearmuch

larger

on

the

typical

computer

screen.

I

would

like

to

update

the

older

videos,

but

YouTubehasnoprovisionfordoingupdates. Thismeansthatlinksinthebookandfrom

otherwebsiteswouldnolongerfunction. Becauseofthis,oldervideoswillnotbe

updatedtohighdefinition.

OrigamiBonsaiAccessories

ThethirdbookintheOrigamiBonsaiseriesisproceedingwell. Ivedevelopedsomenew

planterswhichwillbeincludedwiththebook. BelowaresomepicturesofwhatIm

callingFractalWaveplanters,becausetheymimictheshapeofoceanwavesandare

surprisinglyeasytomake.

BenColeman


8/28

OrigamiB

Folding

byBenja

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flowerbe

pattern.

andflow

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requirest

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9/28



UpsideDownFlowerFolding

Instructions

Clickontheimageatlefttowatchvideo

instructions

for

folding,

or

follow

the

diagrams

below:

1. Startwithasquareofpaper. Ifyouwanttopaintyour

flower,thepapershouldbepaintedwithflowercoloron

bothsideswithasmallpatchofleafcolorononeside.

2. Foldandunfoldthesquarehorizontallyandvertically

andthenflipyoursquare.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yYQLyPhL_M


10/28



3. Nowfoldandunfoldyoursquarediagonallyas

shown.

4. Foldandunfoldeachcornertothecenter. Dothisforall

fourcornersandthenflipyoursquare.

5. Foldandunfoldthetopandbottomedgesto

thecenter.


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6. Nowfoldandunfoldtheverticalsidestothecenter.

7. Pushthecenterpointsoftheoutsideedgestowardsthemiddleofthesquare. ThesquarewillcollapseintotheBasicFlowerFormII. (YoumaywanttowatchthevideoonPage9forclarificationofthisstep.)

8. Thisisanexplodedviewofwhatyourmodelshouldlooklike. Thethickhorizontalandverticallinesareedgesofpaper.


12/28



Clickhere

for

more

information

on

the

first

massproducedorigamiflower!
http://www.origamibonsai.org/instantflowers.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/instantflowers.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/instantflowers.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/instantflowers.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/instantflowers.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/instantflowers.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/instantflowers.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/instantflowers.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/instantflowers.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/instantflowers.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/instantflowers.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/instantflowers.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/instantflowers.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/instantflowers.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/instantflowers.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/instantflowers.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/instantflowers.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/instantflowers.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/instantflowers.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/instantflowers.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/instantflowers.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/instantflowers.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/instantflowers.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/instantflowers.htmlhttp://www.origamibonsai.org/instantflowers.html


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9. Pulleachofthecornersatthecenterofyour

modelto

the

outside

while

folding

the

inner

pleatsonthelineindicated. Itisimportantthat

youdonotfoldthetoppleatofpaper.

10. Yourmodelshouldlooklikethis.

11. Insertyourindexfingerintooneofthepetals

andthenpushitinandtowardsthecenter.


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12.Push

each

petal

in

the

same

manner.

13. Shapetheflowerbypullingeachofthelittletabs

atthebottomoutward.

Thecompletedflower.


15/28



ParasiticVines

Bydefinition,aparasiteisanorganismthatbenefits

fromarelationshipwithitshost,whileatthesame

timethehostsufferssomedetrimentfromthe

parasite. Innaturemostvinesareconsidered

parasites. Becausetheyhavenarrowstems,theyare

unabletogainmuchheightontheirown,butthey

areabletogrowquickly,sotheyveevolvedan

insidioustechniqueforobtaininglight. Insteadof

growingthickerstemstheyclimbtreesbycoiling

aroundthem,muchlikeasnakewould.

Ifleftunchecked,avinewillgrowtothetopofatree,

sproutleaves,andblocksunlightthatwouldnormally

reachthetree. Asthehosttreecontinuestogrow,

vinesthatarewrappedtootightlyarounditstrunk

begintochokeit. Ifthevinedoesntbreak,thetree

willdieandeventuallyfall. Thisendsupkillingboth

plants,soitsinthevinesbestinteresttokeepthe

treealive.

Onyournextwalkkeepaneyeoutforparasiticvinestheyreincrediblyinteresting. Theyalmostseem

to

have

some

intelligence;

an

odd

pattern

of

growth

that

is

hard

to

model,

and

the

ability

to

overcome

obstacles. TheprojectsI

illustrateonthefollowingpages

areforOrigamiBonsaiartists

thathaveabitofexperience.

Workingwithnarrowstripsof

Makigamicanbefrustrating,but

theresultsarewellworthit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nfIT34fB6c


16/28



1. Iamgoingtoaddaparasiticvinetothis

sculpture. Thefirststepistowrapthesculptures

planterinaplasticbagtoprotectitfrompaintor

gluesplatter.

2. Tearoffsomestripsofmaskingtapeapproximately

fourincheslong,andthentearthosestripsinhalf

lengthwise. Usethetapetocreateapatharoundyour

sculpturewhichthevinewillfollow.


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Heresthepathmyparasiticvinewillfollow. Myvine

willconsistofamainstemgrowingoutoftheplanter,

windingupandaroundthemainstemofthetree,and

thensplittingintotwoshootswhichthenwindintwo

directionsouttotheedgesofthesculpture.

3. Icutfourlongpiecesofnewsprinttocreateonethick

stemandtwothinones. Ialsocutsixshorterpiecesof

newsprinttocreatesixshoots(oryoucanthinkofthem

asbranchtips).

IusetheMakigamitechniquetorolltwolongpiecesof

newsprintintoonethickstem.

Irolltheothertwolongpiecesofnewsprintintosingle,

narrowerstems.

Irolltheshortpiecesofnewsprintandthenattachthem

ingroupsofthreetoamoldbeingsuretowindthemin

oppositedirections.


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4. Moldthewet,longerMakigamistripsyoumadeinStep3alongthepathcreatedbythemaskingtape

instep1.

a) Startatthebottomofthesculpture,tapingthethickestendofthethickerstriptothetreetrunkand

thenwrappingitaroundfollowingthetapepath. Nowtapethelooseendtothenearestbranchor

trunkontheexistingsculpture.

b) TapethethickendofoneoftheotherMakigamistripstothetreeoverlappingtheMakigamistrip

youattachedin(a). Thenwrapthestripfollowingthemaskingtapepath,andtapethelooseendtoits

acorrespondingbranchontheexistingsculpture.

c) Dothesamewiththethird,lastpieceofMakigami.


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5.Allow

the

Makigami

vine

segments

to

dry.

Oncedry,cuttheoverlappingpiecesandglue

themtogether.

6. Cutandglueshootstothevinestem

structure. Alsoglueshootstotheendsofthe

vines.

Thesculptureshownwillhavelargeupside

downflowersattachedtothevine,soIvealso

gluedarcshapedpiecesofMakigamitoit.


20/28



7. Paintyourvinewithitsfirstcoatofpaint. Inthis

exampleImusingyellow. Tocreatearealistic

lookingvine

that

has

abright

yellow

green

color,

I

paintmyvinewithaninitialcoatofyellow(mixed

withglueinaccordancewiththebookAdvanced

OrigamiBonsai)followedbyacoatofgreenmixed

withglue.

8. Removethemaskingtapefrombeneaththe

vine.

9. Paintthevinewithafinalcoatofpaintandglue.

Ifyouusethesamecolorforthefinalcoatofthevinethatyouusedforthefinalcoatontheexistingsculptureyoullhavealotlesstouchupworktodo.


21/28



Hereis

my

sculpture

with

its

parasitic

vine.

The

vine

is

ready

to

haveleavesandflowersattached. PleaserefertoAdvanced

OrigamiBonsaiforfinalassemblyinstructions.

Atleftisthe

completedsculpture

withaflowering

parasiticvine.


22/28


http://www.etsy.com/search_results.php?search_type=handmade&search_query=makigami+accessories


23/28



OrigamiBonsaiwithVines

ThissculpturewasbuiltjustafterIinventedtheMakigamitechnique. Theprimaryplantisarealtree

branch,onlythevineisMakigami.

IcallthesculptureatrightArrestedDevelopment. The

vineinthissculpturehaswrappeditselfsotightlyaround

thetreethatthetreedied.


24/28



Thissculpturealsoappearsonthecoverofthismagazine. Ithasavinewithtenleafsizes.


25/28



Thissculpturehasavinewithleavesintensizes.


26/28



Thevineonthissculpturehas

leavesinfivesizes. Thevinealso

hasclustersofredberries.


27/28

OrigamiB

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click

list

for

Click here for a list of available sculptures.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Benagamihttp://www.etsy.com/shop/Benagami


28/28


Thissculptureincludesavinethatwrapsaroundthetreeandthentheplanter.

22774343 origami bonsai electronic magazine volume 2 issue 1

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