It’s Official, The Braid Has Moved!

I am pleased to announce that The Braid has moved and has now a new name:
ORIGAMI SPIRIT
Please update your bookmarks with the new address:
http://www.origamispirit.com

At this new address I will continue writing about origami –in English and Spanish, sharing my enthusiasm for paper folding in the same spirit as I have on The Braid.

Writing at The Braid has been rewarding in many ways including the formation of friendships with people around the world for whom paper folding is also a passion.

This move has been possible with the valuable assistance of John Sutton, my great advisor of all things web (My Web Advisor).

Thank you very much for your visits to The Braid and for sharing your experiences. I look forward to seeing you over at ORIGAMI SPIRIT.

Creative Use of Origami for Place Cards

Recently, my family celebrated  my parent’s golden anniversary.  Since I wanted origami to be present on this occasion, I asked for ideas to a group of friends with whom I communicate through an Internet origami mailing list.
Hans-Werner Guth (Germany) sent me a very nice idea of his creation…

[Read the whole post now at ORIGAMI SPIRIT]

Román Díaz, Special Guest at Origami USA 2010

This year, much to the pride of Latin Americans, we had Román Díaz (Uruguay) as a special guest at the Origami USA convention in New York City. He is the first person ever from Latin America to be invited as a special guest to this origami event.

I have been following the progress of Román’s artistic origami work since the beginning of the decade, and it was a great pleasure to finally meet him in person and have the opportunity of folding paper at the same table! Here I show the flower that Román  taught to Fernando Villarruel and me.

Román is a prolific and self-taught  (in the full sense of the word) origami artist, who has created a large range of origami models to suit all tastes: from the simplest such as flowers and frogs to the most complex, such as bulls and unicorns. Here are some samples of the models he exhibited at the convention.

Román has created his own origami vocabulary, which makes his work unique and original. He published his first book, Origami for Interpreters, some years ago and has just published his second book, Origami Essence. Through these books, origami practitioners can go beyond being visual fans of Román’s wide range of work, and become participants of his ingenious and elegant folding processes.

Here I show photos taken at the Origami USA 2010 convention where I highlighted the presence of Román Díaz as well as other participants who came from Latin America, including Noelia Ávila (Argentina), Luz de Pessoa (Brazil) and Fernando Villarruel (Mexico).

Leyla Torres, Lus de Pessoa, Noelia Ávila

Román Díaz

Leyla Torres, Lus de Pessoa, Gay Merrill Gross

Lus de Pessoa

Román Díaz, Leyla Torres

Leyla Torres, Román Díaz, Noelia Ávila

Román Díaz, Tricia Tait, Gay Merrill Gross

Fernando Villaruel (right-foreground)

Román Díaz

A Cloud of Origami Words

I’ve been playing not with origami paper but with origami words.

This cloud of origami words  was created in  WORDLE, the website of Jonathan Feinberg. I encourage you to create your own word cloud. And it doesn’t have to be a cloud of origami words. You can use love words, soccer world cup words, cooking words, gardening words, recycling words…  anything!

Enjoy!

Still Untouched

The subject of this card refers to the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. I am contributing this original card-size mixed-media art to raise funds for institutions that work to help the wildlife victims in the Gulf of Mexico. For more information please visit the blog Ripple by Kelly Light.

Origami model : “Seagull” Created by Simon Andersen.  Diagrams for this seagull are found in the website of Hans Dybkjær (Denmark)

A Dragonfly Exploring Some Other Gardens

These days I have not been folding paper or writing about origami in here. At the moment I am a dragonfly exploring some other gardens. Feel free to explore this blog and enjoy older posts and links to diagrams. Drop me a note or comment if you would like. I always read and try to respond. May the spirit of playfulness be always with you!

Inflatable Origami Swan

Since my friend Roman Diaz  showed me the photos of this inflatable origami swan, one of his creations, I was looking forward to folding it. Recently, he  published the diagrams in his wonderful book “Origami Essence”. Although I don’t own this book yet, I finally had the opportunity to fold this swan in particular.

The folding sequence is elegant, and here I post the result  with great satisfaction. The model is meant to be duo-color, but I folded it using onion skin paper, which is white on both sides.

May 14, 2010 update: I bought my copy of Origami Essence. I love it! Do not hesitate to buy it. It’s worth every penny.

Modular Origami Stars as Holiday Ornaments

Click here and visit Origami Spirit, where you will find variations and instructions on how to fold these origami stars.

F • E • L • I • Z •••N • A • V • I • D • A • D

100 Origami Sightings in One Place

I came across a site featuring links to one hundred products inspired by origami. Among those products is this soft, absorbent 2-ply tissue, which promises to “convert even the most stalwart crumpler.”

Here is the link to the online store where this origami toilet paper is sold although at this time is SOLD OUT 

—

Update: Diana Lee has sent me a link to  Amazon, where this origami toilet paper can be purchased.

Dear Santa Claus

I usually don’t like to bother you with Christmas wishes because I know that you must be overwhelmed receiving requests from paper folders all over the world.

This year will be an exception though. I do have a wish for the coming Christmas.

I’d like to receive a book called Origami Essence written by  Román Díaz, a good friend of mine and a great origami master.

For your convenience, here I send you a link to the site of Nicolas Terry (France) which is the only place you can purchase it.

The book is full of great models, from simple to complex, but I am especially interested in inflatable models like the ones in the photographs below.

I will be very happy if you leave a copy of this great book under my tree. And I will be much happier if you bring a copy of this book to all the readers of my blog.

Cheers,

Leyla

PS. I promise you I will recycle all the gift  wrapping paper into a ton of origami models!

A Bit of Origami Silence

If you have something to say, then say it. If not, enjoy the silence while it lasts. The noise will return soon enough.

Quoted from IGNORE EVERYBODY, and 39 other keys to creativity. Author -Hugh McLeod

Photo © Leyla Torres

Here and Now

This entry has to do with origami

only to the extent that it is about a square,

but not a square of paper, but one of time.

My recent birthday

was a square of seven sevens:

FORTY-NINE

I am at the same distance of being twenty-eight

as I was when I was seven

and as I am today of being seventy.

Looking at such  chunks of time,

it shrinks.

Life seems to be just a blink.

I realize in bewilderment

that this is the first week

of my fiftieth year,

- mi año CINCUENTA.

A Wise Soul advises me to do away

with this habit of keeping numbers.

I will pay attention!

I have decided

to focus on the “Here and Now”.

I must keep no count

and forever live in the present moment…

SIN-CUENTA.

A message from a pair of folding hands

On several occasions in past years I have suffered from pain in my shoulders or my hands. Two years back, when I had a painful wrist that kept me from work for several weeks, I found a book titled  The Divided Mind: The Epidemic of Mindbody Disorders,  written by Dr. John E. Sarno, who presently practices medicine at New York University Medical Center. He describes what he has called Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS), or pain caused by emotional stress.

Following the recommendations in his book, my wrist pain disappeared then, and I could resume working. Thanks to Sarno’s theories, many people

Origami for (and by) the People

I believe that many practitioners of origami, just like me,  like to leave  origami models in public places for someone to find them.
In the Fitful The Flog, a blog by Philip Chapman-BellOrigami, he invites us to play with the concept of leaving paper models at public places and document it with photographs. The game consists of the following:

• Fold an origami model.
• Leave it in a public place.
• Take a photo at that site.
• Become a member of flickr.
• Upload the picture on the flickr “Origami for the People” group.

The only rule only rule they have is that you geotag your photo before you add it to the group. This allows people to see the contributions on a map.

Last Saturday, while waiting for my husband who was racing up to the summit of Mount Washington (NH) on his bicycle, I left one of my  origami hens on the summit sign, took a photo and put it in the flickr group. You may  locate it here on the map.

I love the idea and, being from Latin America, I’d love to see many tagged photos of origami left in public places of Latin America!

A Jewel in a Paper Bag

One afternoon, when I was about four years,  my mother came from the university where she was studying and handed  me a paper bag. It weighed very little. What would be inside? A candy? A small little toy? I opened it with curiosity and saw a huge black insect.

“It is a walking pin” my mom explained to me. She took it out of the bag and placed it on my sweater like a fine jewel. I observed it as it crawled on my chest and my arm. I grabbed it carefully from its firm body and looked underneath, its slender legs moving and trying to grasp the nothingness in the air. It tickled when it walked on my hand. I played a long time with my walking pin and finally, at bedtime, I left it on a chair in the dining room. The next day I went to play with my pin and, of course, it had walked away.

Thanks Ro for the black beetle and for this warm memory!

The origami beetle, shown in the first photo, is another model whose process is not too intricate, but the result is very effective. I particularly liked one of the last folds to shape and give volume to the wings.

Photos © Leyla Torres. Model created by Greg Bubniak. Folded by Leyla Torres.
Diagrams: Origami Kit For Dummies by Nick Robinson.
Crease Pattern: Polish page Origami.art.pl