Honeycomb, and my own flower design?

Honeycomb Design

I saw this lovely honeycomb design on the Origami USA site (this site has lots of nice designs, but no diagrams) and I just had to try it myself! It looked complicated, but it was not too difficult to guess how to get started on it. And after a few hours of manic folding, including a trial run, here is the end result!

Design by Kenneth KawamuraPaper: Hexagon (32cm) cut from a sheet of banana paper (55cm x 67cm)
Final size: 14cm across
Folding time: 4 hours
Diagram: none


 
This it the bottom view of the honeycomb design. It is not as interesting as the top view, but you can get some more ideas about how the design works.

The design requires a hexagonal grid of 32x32x32, so I cheated and printed an A4 sheet with a grid generated from this very useful site.

Just to give you an idea of how much paper is used, of the 1536 small triangles in the grid, only 36 are visible (in the shape of 6 hexagons of 6 triangles each). The rest of the paper becomes vertical, wrapped around the hexagons in the nice spiral pattern.




Once I finished my trial with an A4 sheet, I had to find the right paper which was large enough, and could also take a lot of handling.

I decided to use a large sheet of banana paper which is very thin and crisp, and can handle lots of creasing. And this model does need lots of pre-creasing, so using the right kind of paper becomes more important.



My own Flower design?

(Krishna's?) Flower

Bottom of the flower

I came up with this design a couple of days ago while trying to reverse engineer another new design. I need to check if anyone can identify if something like this has been done before. Otherwise I can claim to be the designer, and possibly give it a name too! If you think of an appropriate name for this, tell me!


Paper: Square of colour copy paper (from A4)
Finished model: 7cm x 7cm x 6cm
Folding time: 10 minutes
Diagram: not yet!

Piramide Settima


Design by Francisco Guarnieri
Diagram here.

It is a clever design to convert four squares into a pyramid. You make one side of the square "disappear" by folding it on itself, resulting in a triangle.

Back to Origami

After all the cycling, I am back with some new Origami models this week.
Enjoy! 




Modular Ball
Design by Fumiaki Kawahata
Paper: 6 squares.
Links to diagram here.

This is a simple design of pleating, with two bends for the lock. The 6 peices lock together in the typical three-dimensional design used for most cubic designs.

Andrea's Rose
Design by J C Nolan
Paper: 28cm x 28cm handmade paper
Final size: 14cm x 14cm
Video and diagram here.

This is one of those recursive designs where after each level, the remaining paper becomes smaller. Also the folding involves some sort of "decreeping", i.e. reversing of folds to bring the remaining paper up to the front, to make the next level possible.

I chose handmade paper with some string embedded in it, which was not a great choice. I wanted to call it Andrea's "Hairy" Rose because of all the strings poking out. I finally had to trim them to make it look prsentable!



Janet Yelle's Prism Star
Design by Janet Yelle
Paper:  18 x 8 rectangle (leftover from making a square from A4 copy paper)

I had made this many years ago and had forgotten about it. The design can be easily figured out from the picture. It is basically a set of waterbomb bases on either side of the central strip of mountain and valley folds.

I think that it can be done with 18 x 10 rectangle to provide overlap in the other direction as well.







XYZmbe
Design: Nick Robinson
Paper: 6 squares
Diagram here.

This model really needs a duo coloured paper, so I will try again and update the picture.




Coming Up!

With the school summer vacation coming up, I may be doing a few more Origami sessions. Currently I am scheduled to do one for Rainbow Club/Library In Malleswaram itself next week. This will be for small children, so I really have to think about what I am going to teach!

Go MAD Cycling Tour to Gudalur - Day 4

Day 4, March 10th, 45kms

Chikyelchatti to Gudalur, via Bandipura and Mudumalai

We got up, had the jaggery tea made by the hosts, said our good byes, and rode off in the cold morning air. 

The sky was overcast, and it was a nice time to ride before the heat got started.

 

I rode Nishita's MTB until Bandipura, may be for about 5 kms. It was really tough work, especially once we hit a proper road. I guess that the road bike takes less than half the effort compared to an MTB on a good road!

After some tea and buns, we rode through Bandipura and Mudumalai Tiger Reserves.

On the way, we spotted an adult elephant with two children very close to the road, but didn't stop to take pictures as I was on a bicycle! 

Just before the Mudumalai gate, I saw a peacock in full majesty, but it was a little far.

We had a couple of punctures as we reached Theppakadu, so it took some time to fix. We then rode on the Thorapalli, where we had Masala Dosa ready and waiting for us! As it was my wife's birthday, I asked the whole group to sing and wish her on her birthday on the mobile phone speaker.

We were a little late already, so we quickly rode on to Gudalur, which was about 7 kms away. We got to Gudalur town, which was full of weekend traffic. 

As we turned the last corner, we were pleasantly surprised to see lots of children waiting for us. The kids welcomed us by throwing flowers, whistling, shouting and hugging, The "captain", Nishita, was garlanded.

There was a small session at the school where we were introduced, and presented with a medal (a tiny cycle)! The kids sang their folk songs to entertain us. Stan showed a slide show of selected pictures from the ride, and also a couple of videos.

After lunch, we did a small Origami session with some of the kids and teachers, which was a lot of fun. The kids enjoyed making the variety of newspaper hats, and had their picture taken in them.

After some rest, we went to Stan and Mari Thekaekara's house for dinner. They are founders of ACCORD, and have been working with the adivasis of Gudalur since the 1980's. They live up on a hill, in a lovely house. We had a great dinner, and also did a debrief on the whole ride.

Day 5, Drive back to Bangalore

On Sunday morning, I went around for a walk and saw the hospital run by ASHWINI. After breakfast, we went back to the school and packed all the 13 bicycles into the pickup for the trip back to Bangalore. We then drove back to Bangalore via Mysore, and got home in time for dinner.

Read More

Day 1, Fireflies to Malavalli

Day 2 , Malavalli to Chamarajanagar

Day 3, Chamarajanagar to Chikyelchatti

Day 4, Chikyelchatti to Gudalur

Non-Profit Organizations working at Gudalur

VIDYODAYA

http://www.adivasi.net/vidyodaya.php

The Vidyodaya school currently caters to about 100 children in Gudalur, which is a small town. They have an option now to build a school much closer to some of the villages, which would make it possible to reach many more children. The funds we are raising go towards purchase of the land for the new school. 

OTHER ORGANIZATIONS

It was quite inspiring to see all the people who are working on various issues at Gudalur. These are some of the non-profit organizations, all working together in the Gudalur area. I did not have enough time to really understand a lot about each of them during my short time at Gudalur.

ACCORD - the umbrella organization at Gudalur, working on Adivasi issues.

AMS (adivasi munnetra sangham) - the main organization of the adivasis themselves, which runs most of the organizations.

Ashwini - runs the hospital at Gudalur.

Just Change - produces tea, spices, soap, etc. and sells them direct to consumers such as fisherfolk at Nagapattinam. Also provides support and training for similar community initiatives.

Shola Trust - works on environmental issues in Nilgiris, including wildlife.

Go MAD  - Go Make a Difference, set up to organize the cycle ride.

Learn more about all these at http://www.adivasi.net

Photos

More photos can be seen on Picasa . There are 5 albums, arranged by day.

Go MAD Cycling Tour to Gudalur - Day 3

Go MAD Cycling Tour to Gudalur  - near Chikyelchatti

Day 3: March 9th, 50kms

Chamarajanagar to Chikyelchatti 

  

We got some tea by the roadside and started off from Chamarajanagar at dawn. We continued on NH209 up to Terkanambi, where we took a side road towards Bachahalli. Had the usual heavy breakfast, and continued on the road which varied from dirt to partially paved. I managed to keep my road bike out of trouble until we hit a long and steep downhill dull of loose rock, where it was hard to keep the speed under control. Soon I had my first puncture, as expected, and fixed it. I was back on the road in 17 minutes, and caught up with the rest at the next stop. 

There was one scary moment when I was focusing so much on the road surface that I didn't notice an old woman with a bullock on a rope, with the rope pulled tight across the road! At the last minute, she dropped the rope, and I escaped! 

Later the road became completely uneven, full of large stones, and I had my second puncture. Since it was only a few more minutes to Chikyelchatti, I decided to take a ride in the support vehicle. After a minute, I swapped places with Nishita and rode her MTB for the rest of the way. It was my first real off-road ride, and it was scary sometimes on the downhills! That the bike was a few sizes too small did not help either.

Meanwhile a couple of other bikes too had punctures, so we all had to wait for them to get ready.








Meanwhile some forest guards showed us a couple of wild elephants up on the hill, and we all tried to take pictures and to show others where they were!

Can you spot the elephants?

Finally we rode downhill to Subbanna's heritage home at Chikyelchatti. I took a small tumble at one place, but it was at a very slow speed, so no damage was done.

We were going to stay at Subbanna's house whose family is supposed to be there for over 300 years, at Chikailchatti, just outside Bandipura. An NGO called Junglescapes is helping poor farmers like Subbanna to conserve the forest ecology in a sustainable way. There is a huge tree in front of the house which is more than 100 year old.

There was also a little water in the stream, where we could see lots of birds, including the Paradise Flycatcher. We also found a dead bird, which turned out to be a juvenile woodpecker.

The Green Hotel folks cooked us lunch, and went back to Mysore. We all really appreciated their cooking, and thanked them.

Meanwhile, many of us helped to move an old cart which was lying in the front of the house, to a place at the back. We didn't realize how heavy it was, and it took all the strength of about 15 of us to move it.

In the evening we went for a drive through Bandipura, and spotted grey mongoose, peacocks, jungle fowl, wild boar, and lots of deer.

On the way back, we heard that a large tusker and a gaur were sighted in Chikyelchatti, so we had to be very careful.

Madhu, Nishita and our host, Subbanna

Later we had a moonlit traditional dinner with Ragi Mudda, chapatis, and majjige made by the hosts. It was the first time I had ragi mudde, and it took some time to figure out how to eat it.

Then we pitched the tents, and spent some time at the campfire.

Stan getting ready to entertain us at the camp fire

Priya, who joined us at Bandipura in the evening, sang some songs, and Stan entertained us with his inimitable skills. Unfortunately many of the folks had already gone to bed in the house. The rest of us slept comfortably in the tents. Now that we were in the foothills, it got quite cool at night.

Read More

Day 1, Fireflies to Malavalli

Day 2 , Malavalli to Chamarajanagar

Day 3, Chamarajanagar to Chikyelchatti

Day 4, Chikyelchatti to Gudalur

Non-Profit Organizations working at Gudalur

VIDYODAYA

http://www.adivasi.net/vidyodaya.php

The Vidyodaya school currently caters to about 100 children in Gudalur, which is a small town. They have an option now to build a school much closer to some of the villages, which would make it possible to reach many more children. The funds we are raising go towards purchase of the land for the new school. 

OTHER ORGANIZATIONS

It was quite inspiring to see all the people who are working on various issues at Gudalur. These are some of the non-profit organizations, all working together in the Gudalur area. I did not have enough time to really understand a lot about each of them during my short time at Gudalur.

ACCORD - the umbrella organization at Gudalur, working on Adivasi issues.

AMS (adivasi munnetra sangham) - the main organization of the adivasis themselves, which runs most of the organizations.

Ashwini - runs the hospital at Gudalur.

Just Change - produces tea, spices, soap, etc. and sells them direct to consumers such as fisherfolk at Nagapattinam. Also provides support and training for similar community initiatives.

Shola Trust - works on environmental issues in Nilgiris, including wildlife.

Go MAD  - Go Make a Difference, set up to organize the cycle ride.

Learn more about all these at http://www.adivasi.net

Photos

More photos can be seen on Picasa . There are 5 albums, arranged by day.

Go MAD Cycling Tour to Gudalur - Day 2

Go MAD Cycling Tour to Gudalur - just after crossing the Kaveri river

Day 2, March 8th, 80kms

Malavalli to Chamarajanagar

We got up early as usual, packed our stuff, and got on our bicycles at dawn. The support staff managed to get us coffee and tea, so we didn't have to make a stop for that. 

Overnight, Dr Mahesh (an Ayurvedic doctor who divides his time between Gudalur and Bangalore) joined us on his bike, so we now had additional support.

He biked up and down, between the front and tail support vehicles, and kept the riders supplied with fluids and energy. He even got us fresh sugarcane juice from the roadside jaggery units!

As we were very close to the Kaveri river, there were lots of water bodies on the road side, and we found lots of birds.

Painted Storks

Heritage home (built in 1923)

After the hot afternoon experience of Day 1, we decided to try and finish most of the riding before lunch, so we rode over 30 kms before breakfast, which was again very filling and tasty. We had a long way to go before hitting Chamarajanagar, so we had lot of breaks, including one at this beautiful old building.



We found someone was staying  there, and even got invited to see inside. It was a traditional house with a nice courtyard and a lovely wooden ceiling. It would make a nice eco-resort one day.

We had a late lunch in a field, just short of our destination, and took rest for a while. Dr Mahesh provided some massage to some of the riders. 

Meanwhile some of the others were busy fixing punctures. I, Nikhil, Naveen and Stephen were generally kept busy during the breaks with punctures and minor repairs.

We rode the remaining distance to Chamarajanagar, where we were staying at KNN Lodge. 

All along the  route, it was heartening to see that bicycles are very much a part of rural life. People use them for personal transportation as well as to carry all kind of goods.

Non-recreational use of bicycles

Non-recreational use of bicycles

  

RLHP, Mysore (Rural Literacy and Health Programme)
rlhpmysore.org

After freshening up, we went to visit a  slum improvement project about one km away. The organization RLHP is working on preventing child marriages here as well as education and health.

Stan doing his magic show

I showed the kids and others how to make Newspaper Hats, with the help of the other GoMAD riders, and the kids really enjoyed it. Stan then entertained them with some magic, and the kids performed a skit on child marriage. 

Later we had a simple moonlit dinner prepared by them, and went to sleep at the lodge.

Read More

Day 1, Fireflies to Malavalli

Day 2, Malavalli to Chamarajanagar

Day 3, Chamarajanagar to Chikyelchatti

Day 4, Chikyelchatti to Gudalur

Non-Profit Organizations working at Gudalur

VIDYODAYA

http://www.adivasi.net/vidyodaya.php

The Vidyodaya school currently caters to about 100 children in Gudalur, which is a small town. They have an option now to build a school much closer to some of the villages, which would make it possible to reach many more children. The funds we are raising go towards purchase of the land for the new school. 

OTHER ORGANIZATIONS

It was quite inspiring to see all the people who are working on various issues at Gudalur. These are some of the non-profit organizations, all working together in the Gudalur area. I did not have enough time to really understand a lot about each of them during my short time at Gudalur.

ACCORD - the umbrella organization at Gudalur, working on Adivasi issues.

AMS (adivasi munnetra sangham) - the main organization of the adivasis themselves, which runs most of the organizations.

Ashwini - runs the hospital at Gudalur.

Just Change - produces tea, spices, soap, etc. and sells them direct to consumers such as fisherfolk at Nagapattinam. Also provides support and training for similar community initiatives.

Shola Trust - works on environmental issues in Nilgiris, including wildlife.

Go MAD  - Go Make a Difference, set up to organize the cycle ride.

Learn more about all these at http://www.adivasi.net

Photos

More photos can be seen on Picasa . There are 5 albums, arranged by day.