PCOC 2023 Class Descriptions/Advisories

Here is a practical fold: a box with a hinged lid that closes shut. This is a challenging model, but if you have folded similar models of mine (like the Encyclopedia Origamica) then this will be easier.

This class will focus on understanding and interpreting the CP created by Antonio Chavez Armas based on Eric Joisel's Pangolin. This class will focus on understanding the CP for folding the pelt of the pangolin and will not be concerned with completing the model to full form as it takes up to 16 hours to finish the pelt. The goal is for the students to be able to leave the class with the skills and resources to complete the model on their own.

I will be providing the oversize paper needed for this model, as well as a handout of the CP with links to online instructional videos.

Entertain the kids with these delightful folded paper puppets with googly eyes. We will make five different models from "Folding Paper Puppets" by Lillian Oppenheimer and Shari Lewis: Whale, Eating Bird, Chatterbox, Cat, and Snap Dragon. All are made with simple folds that are familiar to you.

A sea turtle. The final folds are 3D, and there are some complex swivel-folds (to make the front legs) and narrow folds that require precision.

The ideas of Fred Rohm and Neal Elias inspired this action model. It is best made from heavy-weight ‘springy’ paper plain on one side but brightly coloured on the other. A 2ft by 1ft rectangle will produce a box with a 2” side.

A game fish with some distinctive features. This design contains some difficult steps and tricky paper arrangement, please ensure you are familiar with complex maneuvers before attempting this class.

This is one of three versions of marigold, designed by Toshikazu Kawasaki. It makes a nice decoration for Días de los Muertos (Nov 1&2, all saints and all souls days, also known as Days of the Dead).

It is rated high intermediate because of some technical folding steps towards the end that are more for skilled folders. Like many other Kawasaki models, the successful result is quite satisfying.

If you are a friend or a fan of late Janessa Munt, I invite you to offer your folded marigold on the Día de Muertos altar that I have set up at the event.

This is a 3D pot. Most of it can be folded flat, with it made 3D at the end. However, you must fold precisely, or the 3D-ing at the end may "explode" the pot.

This was one of Laura's Kruskal's favorite crowns, made from her famous Canoe Module. Wendy will teach an undiagrammed technique for making this model. A rainbow of paper colors will be provided in two sizes. To make a crown from the letter paper takes 10 modules. To make a crown from one-quarter of letter size takes 20-24 modules depending on your head size. Students can complete the letter-paper crown in class. The crown from smaller paper requires a bit of glue-- but it's worth it! No glue is needed for the Letter size. See photos! Bring your own gluesticks!

Fold a parliament of cute and plump owls to celebrate the spooky season and Autumn season!
The folding sequence is straightforward with a couple of squash folds towards the end.
We will fold an Owl from 15 cm (~6 inch) kami in class. If time permits we can fold a smaller owl from 7.5 cm (~3 in) kami. This owl shows both sides of the paper.
15 cm sheet yields about 7.5 cm (3 inch) tall x 9 cm (3.5 in) wide owl
7.5 cm sheet yields about 3.75 cm (1.5 inch) tall x 4.5 cm (1.75 in) wide owl
Suitable papers include: duo Momigami with gold foil; thicker matte gold on one side and plain white on the other.

The Prismatic is a modular model that has a secret: it will 'bloom' into a wonderful, curved shape!

The starlight is a 3-D star made from a hexagon that can be lit up with an LED light. Tessellation techniques are used to fold it so strong paper is needed. Hexagons of heavier Canson paper (that we will use to fold an 8th triangle grid in class) will be provided. I will also provide LED pins so you can experience the glow!

Documents trace the trouble-wit back to early eighteenth century France where street performers would manipulate a paper concertina, transforming it into an array of shapes, unfolding hidden pleats to dazzle the crowd with increasingly complex forms. Learn to fold this amazing magicians prop and perhaps dazzle others with your paper performance!

Dove of peace
Angel

This model is really fun to fold and the 8-piece octogon has a nice puffy look. Lots of opportunity for making great color combinations with duo paper.

8 unit modular star

First we will make a pentagon. Then we will make a rose based on the crane base. Students should be familiar with crane base and sinks.
The book is old. A diagram of the pentagon version is not in the book. I developed it myself.

Crease Pattern Workshop: Tips and Tricks for Solving High-Intermediate Crease Patterns. Setting you on your way to solving complex crease patterns! This workshop is the gateway for folders who want to learn how to fold basic box pleat crease patterns. Come to learn how to fold a complex origami Warrior from a crease pattern.

I'll show how to fold curved lines over a set of pleats. The technique allows "drawing" by creating lines and curves while leaving the pleated sheet mostly flat.

Just in time for Halloween! This a dollar fold which utilizes some of the features printed on the dollar bill. In particular, half of the big O and half of the big E on the green side of the bill form Jack's face. Plus, there is enough material left over in the back to form a stand for the model.

We will fold several projects that can be used as greeting cards or small gift books. These will include an accordion book and pop-out map folds. Scrap book style paper will be provided. Glue will be used to attach covers.

Learn to fold this flat fish model. There are intermediate folding techniques such as swivel fold, squash fold, and closed sink. If you are comfortable with such steps, you will enjoy this class!

A beautiful gift box from two squares of paper.
One unit slips inside part of the other to form a perfect heart.

In this session, I will introduce a new fold simulation language that can distill the many kinds of creases and folds, such as squash, petal, crimp, rabbit ear, inside & outside reverse folds into just 3 commands (fold, crease, turnover) and a handful of specifying keywords and values. I will go over some math, insights and findings discovered in making this Origami Simulator and Creator. An open discussion and Q/A will follow.

We’ll learn some models appropriate for jewelry, and then build earrings, etc. to use those models. I’ll have some inexpensive tools available for purchase, or you can just share the ones I provide.

This delightful modular is very simple to fold, and not too difficult to connect. It works with all kinds of paper, lots of different sizes, and many applications (jewelry, picture frames, ornaments, etc.).

This book is made up of two covers, a spine, some number of inside pages and one more connector than inside page. They all start out folded the same way. There are simple variations to each type of module. The book will be half/ the width and half the length of the starting rectangles or squares. The thickness of the book depends on how many inside pages are included. Assembly is easy too.

Create the most stunning magic ball with just half a letter-sized paper! In this class, I will teach you how to make a unique and interesting ball in about 45 minutes.

Learn to fold a Peace Dove, created by Alice Grey, and pictured in "The Origami Handbook" by Rick Beech.
This model can be made in 12 steps involving mountain and valley folds, inside reverse folds, and a simple squash fold. It is easy but satisfying, and makes a great ornament. With one small modification, you can add reverse-side color to some edges.

Learn how to fold an origami box with a simple locking mechanism. But beware: when you open it, a snake will come out to bite your finger! Use this prank toy to amuse your friends or just to store your treasures. Video demonstration: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxRgzo0ptnH

This simple skull appears in Kunihiko Kasahara's 1967 classic, "Creative Origami". Includes a slight variation to achieve a color change for the nostrils.

I'll be teaching a squirrel of my own design. The complex scale allows a nice 3-D effect. Acorns not provided.

Create this fun origami game, where the objective is to flip the other person’s tile! This game is very popular in Korea, and was used in the popular TV show Squid Games.

If origami cranes worked out…

This Crane Envelope is designed by Minako Ishibashi. Folded from one sheet of square.

I will do a live origami design demonstration of a random subject suggested by class participants. I will go through my design process as well as encourage class participants to design and/or fold alongside me.

This is an 8-piece modular best folded with 3" - 4" duo paper.

Folding concentric accordion pleats results in a shape that collapses into a approximation (called a Hypar, by Bauhaus architects who folded it in the early 20th Century) of a saddle shaped surface (a manifold mathematicians call a hyperbolic paraboloid). A cycle of four edges traces out a Hamilton Cycle of a tetrahedron's edges. Thus, a square-based hypar fits well inside a tetrahedral frame. We will make a frame from 6 of the late Francis Ow's 60-degree modular unit (a version of which is the same tetrahedron used five times in the Five Intersecting Tetrahedra model by Tom Hull, though assembling that 30-unit model is outside the scope of this class). One square sheet is needed for a square-based hypar, plus three more squares of the same size (to each be cut in half) for the 6-unit tetrahedral frame. 15cm kami works well, as does 75mm kami with sufficient precision. Sturdier paper (such as printer paper cut into four equal squares) will hold the form better, but is not required.

This spooky decoration was 'carved' a few weeks ago. I created this model to celebrate PCOC and Halloween. It even has a built in stand for display!

Origami flowers are beautiful! Put them together in a bouquet and make your loved ones happy.
One square sheet of paper is needed per flower. Stems will be provided.

A detailed manta ray from the waterbomb base. Rated high intermediate because of one tricky step. 10-inch paper is recommended and will be provided, but 6-inch is completely fine.

This class teaches you how fold a variation of Taiko Niwa's peacock model, which ncludes a color change on the body. We will folding with 6.75" double-sided paper.

The rat and bug hat are two of the 17 hats diagramed in my second book "Advanced Origami Hats and Gifts", published by Nicolas Terry in 2022. They have approximately 30 folds each. Folders should be comfortable with putting corners on edge midpoints and creasing only the part of the resulting fold line that crosses a paper edge. Large paper will be provided. Yes, you can wear these! There are some locking folds and opportunities to decorate your hat.

Master this classic model and impress your friends. Jan will teach this 6-piece modular using Alice Gray’s foolproof method for getting a perfectly neat model using some simple precreases. Jan will guide you through the slightly tricky assembly and lock. The star makes a great gift for the holidays!

Presentation about folding origami polyhedra from a single sheet, including general principles, design techniques, advanced folding ideas, and numerous examples with photographs and crease patterns.

Origami Memories author Jason Schneider will teach a previously unreleased flower from his spiral flower series called "Crocus"

One square of paper, we will turn it into an octagon

Origami Memories author Jason Schneider will teach the Warbler, an intermediate-level bird from his book!