Monday 24 January 2011

Story Arc 4: Aerodynamic Bird



This is really a story about the pace of origami design and thought.

Last year I held a demonstration where I showed a group of varying ages and abilities some of my designs through a step by step instructional course. As with all these things participating in the performance denies any objective understanding of how it went. Suffice to say I was left with a sense of inept fumbling on my part.

There were to moments which really stuck in my mind.
Firstly; the boy who got bored and made up a great flea design of his own while waiting for me to teach him how to do a scorpion was truly humbling.
Secondly; one of the other boys quite reasonably asked if the bird I was folding could fly. Now the more mature audience quickly poo pooed the idea that it should and we carried on as if the question had never happened. The kid was right. Why not. We make paper planes that look nothing like planes but they fly. That is their job! Oh, from the mouths of babes grrrr.

So six or so months later while playing with the new base I have been working on I made this bird. I Have to admit that the look is a bit chunky but when I made it from a 21x21 cm (squared up a4) sheet it was aerodynamically sound!!!

My sister and I tested it of the roof of my studio building. It flew! A bit wonky like any paper plane but it flew.

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