Origami Thoughts

Warning: This is my equivalent to navel-gazing. Don't expect much; I am not, either.

I often stare at one of my model in almost-daydream. Sometimes, I hum something appropriate, such as a snippet from the ''Top Gun'' soundtrack for the jet, or something iconic for the ''Star Wars'' pieces.

Most of the time, I marvel at the insanity that must be required to create something as intricate as this. Yes, there is some form of madness afoot in these models. Some require rather advanced folds (such as sink folds, or multiple tabs in a single pocket.) Others just require hundreds of the same simple module -- the lunacy in those is not the complexity of each model, but of how they interlock.

For example, the Death Star model is still under construction, but it is approximately two feet in diameter. I'm sure it weighs more than a pound. After all, it's using 28# stock, and 500 sheets of 17'' x 22'' of that weighs 28 pounds. Each module uses an 8.5'' square, and there are at least 500 of them in that model.

The TIE Fighter requires 60-degree folds to fom the hexagonal wings. Thanks to a friend's suggestion to brace the inside with a bulkhead piece, it has narrower struts, allowing the signature ball cockpit to stand out. Some of thse strut folds require 1/3 folds.

The 1/3 width folds I just eyeball, but the 60-degree ones are too early, serve as too much the foundation for the model and are repeated too much. Those, I devised a way to procedurally approximate the right angle.

The struts, in addition to having the requisite tapering, also serve as three-dimension braces to the hexagonal wings. Due to a slight difference between half an angle and half the width of one of the sides of a right triangle, there is a little bit of cruft which serves as filleting to support and brace the strut perpendicular to the wing.

Sometimes, I unfold one of the models and try to figure out which spot on the sheet of paper corresponds to what part of the model.

Why all the self-lauding? I think part of it is asking myself how much of the folds are happy coincidence, how many are subconscious design, and how much is active intent? That question stems from the core one: what sort of mind can do this?

Today, a waiter at a restaurant commented on my X-Wing, so I gave it to him, as I did with almost all others I've made. This one recipient was a fellow origami enthusiast and quickly set about trying to replicate it, but without much success. After I made a TIE Fighter to give him a matching set, I showed him how to make the first model.

Upon working on his sheet, I realized the difference in our folds. No, I don't mean the quality of the fold. I think, if we both worked on the same stock with the same model and same amount of experience, he would be able to tell which sheet he folded, and I could do the same for mine. Folding his sheet just felt different.

If there's a point to this post, it's this:

In what (or whom) we invest ourselves, we will find a reflection of what comprises us. Every piece of work bears its maker's distinctive nuance. Our lives and the artifacts we leave behind are no exception.