ISBN: 978-9659270002
Paperback, in color, English, 169 pages.
2018
For the origami community, he doesn’t need to be introduced, but for those who are starting out in this art, I can say he’s a very nice person, a dear friend and a talented and creative artist. He teaches his technique at international conventions, and his works in paper and metal are exhibited in galleries and museums around the world. Ladies and gentlemen, please meet Ilan Garibi!
Ilan is publishing his fourth book, but the first one about tessellations. This area of origami is fascinating for many of us, and, at the same time, a nightmare… a 120° pleat intersection, a 64-division triangle grid… what?? The first thing you think when you see those huge and amazing tessellations is “No, I can’t.” But with Origami Tessellations for Everyone you can!
Thanks to Ilan’s way of teaching – he goes directly to the point, in a simple and practical way – and the stunning hand-drawn illustrations by Franziska Schwarz, Origami Tessellations for Everyone is, indeed, for everyone.
Everything is very well explained in the introduction and chapter one: what is a tessellation, its types and how to built them. Do you know the difference between tessellation and corrugation? You can read it on page 12! And do you know the three basic steps to tessellate? Page 14! If you aren’t used to following diagrams, don’t worry, there is a guide to help you read the symbols, as well as many tips to make the grid and collapse the folds in a easy way. If you, like me, are afraid of the grid, calm down. Here we start with baby steps: a 3 by 3 grid for a single molecule. Summarizing, you will learn how to read diagrams and crease patterns, how to make a grid, to pre-crease and to collapse a tessellation, which tools can help you –yes, you can use tools besides the more important of them all: your hands – and what paper to use. By the way, Ilan has many fantastic review articles about paper in The Fold.
The book is divided into “families” with their own unique characteristics, starting from a single molecule to a complex variation. In chapter two we finally start to fold with the Cube Family, and it’s amazing when you realize that a little molecule pops up here and there on the paper, multiplying itself and becoming a field of cubes. It’s even more surprising when you see that field of cubes folded in metal and wood in tiny and delicate jewels.
Turn the pages, and with a simple change in the angles you will see the cubes become waves, the waves become bricks, that become quadilics, that become water bombs in a beautiful sequence of valley and mountain folds.
The Red Flower Family in chapter three shows how one can fold a real tessellation or a mosaic of different colors with the joint of single molecules. For those who think the book is for rookies, now it begins to become really serious with a good challenge: a 64 grid project! Can you do it?
Chapter four is filled with the Hood Family and their shapes resembling Spanish fans, gingko leaves and waves with their straight lines that seem to want to curve.
In the fifth chapter you can go one step further twisting the folds with the Twister Family. Different from other models, these twists are not flat, giving the tessellation a good volume. Now the play begins to get good!
And finally we come to the complex part. The beautiful Hilula opens chapter six with the Complex Family. The beautiful and curved Hilula! Curves! In a tessellation!
Here is also one of my favorite models in the book – Templar Garden – with its crosses that remind me of the cross of Malta.
Templar Garden; click on photo to enlarge
The Pineapple Family inspires the seventh and last chapter, with its zigzag shape. At this point you will have a very spiky work: a hard but gratifying work – a feast to the eyes – ending the book in a masterful way.
As you can see, the book is perfect for beginners as an ABC of the techniques with clear and simple explanations and for the expert too, with the development of the folds.
As Robert Lang wrote in the Introduction: “It really is a lovely book, and should be on everyone’s shelf”.
Editor's Note: Thanks to Ilan and Nicolas Terry's generosity, you can download chapter one and three of the book here.
Other books by Ilan Garibi
Ilan Garibi, David Hillel Goodman, Yossi Elran, The Paper Puzzle Book: All You Need Is Paper!(2018) ISBN: 978-9813202412
Ilan Garibi and David Hillel Goodman,The Tangram Puzzle Book: A New Approach To The Classic Pieces (2018) ISBN: 978-9813235205
Ilan Garibi and David Hillel Goodman, The Soma Puzzle Book: A New Approach To The Classic Pieces (2019)ISBN: 978-9813275942