How-To Make A Geometric Paper Wall Hanging

how-to make a 3d geometric paper wall hanging

By Sarah Foley

Table of Contents pg 3-4

Introduction

pg 5-6

about origami

pg 9-14

instructions

pg 15-18

1

inspiration

2

3

Introduction Moving into a new apatment in your 20’s is hard. Trying to decorate the apartment fit for a designer is even harder. But today with our easy 3D geometric paper wall hanging, we’ll find that it’s mostly fun!

I’ve always enjoyed 3D sculptures, as well as arts and crafts. This project we are about to embark on is the perfect combination of the two!

Our 3D geometric paper wall hanging derives from the art of origami. In case you want to sound smart at your next get together, here is some interesting history of origami and information about where your sweet decor project originated from.

4

Origin of Origami

Traditional Origami

We know very little about the origin of origami.

Both Japanese and European had their origami when Japan closed its border.

The origami in two regions were fairly independent. The Meiji Restoration and following exchange between Japan and Europe caused fusion of East and West origami.

Some say origami originated in China around 2000 years ago. There is thought that origami started right after the invention of paper, for which we have no evidence.

The oldest unequivocal document of origami is a short poem composed

by Ihara Saikaku in 1680. It reads: Rosei-ga yume-no cho-wa orisue (The butterflies in Rosei’s dream would be origami.) Origami was included in the manners of the samurai class which was passed down. One of the oldest origami books in the world dates back to 1797.

But origami is not “Japanese” art.

The European book, “Tractatus de Sphaera Mundi,” which was written

by Johannes de Sacrobosco (John of Holywood) in 13th century showcased an image of a unique origami boat.

The models of European classic origami were based on creases of 45 degrees, whereas Japanese models were based on those of 22.5 degrees.

They used only square or rectangular paper without very much judgement on folds or cuts. European and Japanese classic origami were so different that they seem to have developed independently.

5

In traditional origami, the models are passed down from hand to hand, from generation to generation. And they change their shapes and titles frequently. The children, as well as adults, often make variations or even improvise new models. But in today’s origami education, pupils just follow the sequence as taught. So teachers tend to misunderstand that origami is mere imitation, and exclude it from their education.

In Europe, they did not use the word origami until 1950s. Origami was called “papierfalten” in German and “paper folding” in English.

When Japan imported Fröbelian origami, they were translated to “shoshi,” “tatamigami,” or “kamitatami” at the kindergarten, and to “origami-zaiku” or “origami” at the primary schools. But these words did not spread out of the educational system. In Spanish, “pajarita” means not only origami bird but also origami in general.

Traditional origami has been born and brought up in the cultural

exchange between East and West.

It is not a Japanese original culture but intrinsically a hybrid of Japan and Europe. Although it is most popular in Japan, it has been inherited in Europe, the Americas, China, and so forth since 19th century or the early 20th.

Modern Origami In traditional origami, the folding sequences and titles are passed down as something anonymous, not as something made up by a specific person. Modern origami, which started in 20th century, is based on the completely different paradigm. The folding sequences of modern origami are regarded as “models” “designed” by “origami creators.”

In modern origami, the creativity is attributed to the designers, and the appreciation to the folders. They prefer the models which have not only good final shapes but also good sequences. In addition, they put importance on reproducibility of the model, that is, folders are supposed to make the same shape as intended by the designer.

The diagrams, which represent the folding sequence of a model, are important in modern origami, as they represent the model itself.

They are supposed to show the entire sequence. We have similar kind of representation in Japanese classic origami, but they do not describe the entire sequence.

study of the crease pattern has been made since 1980s, and it paved the way for the invention of new bases.

Now the meaning of the base has become completely different.

In the modern origami, some emphasize the aspect of origami as the puzzle reproducing the shapes of objects under a certain rule. The most common rule is to fold one sheet of square paper without cutting or glueing.

Maekawa Jun and Peter Engel independently started such mathematical origami. Both of them noticed that the crease patterns of established bases consist of particular triangles and rectangles. They divided a crease pattern into these “atoms,” and rearrange them to make new crease patterns. In other words, they designed new models before they fold them.

Behind the rule, there is an implicit premise that origami models should be folded with origami paper. They make a point of easiness of origami, that is, we need nothing but origami paper to do origami. Thus, a model made of more than one sheet of paper is regarded as good when it is made of sheets in the same size and can be assembled without glue.

Mathematical Origami We often apply the first part of a certain model’s sequence and design different origami models.

Consequently, many models have some halfway shapes in common.

Such halfway shapes are called bases when they are arranged according to the geometrical analysis.

When we fold a base and unfold it, we get a crease pattern. Geometrical

The aspect of origami as the puzzle is more and more emphasized in mathematical origami. That is, they compete in designing realistic or complex models under the rule of one sheet of square with no cut.

In addition, they regard the crease pattern as an important part of the model besides the final shape and the sequence.

geometrical shapes such as the square or the rectangle, and the folds to mere geometrical manipulations.

If we reflect on Japanese classical origami, we cannot say that origami consists in only geometry. Moreover, the point of ceremonial origami is not to make the shapes but to express folder’s sincerity.

The works of artistic origami are folded paper. So, the creativity is attributed to both the designers and folders, and the appreciation to the viewers. The sequences or the crease patterns themselves are not the object of appreciation. In addition, there is no reproducibility in artistic origami, because the same sequence produce the different works with different types of paper or different folders.

- Excerpts from Hatori Koshiro

Artistic Origami The word “origami” consists of oru (to fold) and kami (paper.) So, origami is paper folding. However, those who emphasize the aspect of origami as the puzzle tend to dismiss that. They reduce the paper to mere

6

Let’s Get 7

Started!

8

INSTRUCTIONS In this step-by-step, we will be making a diamond shape that joins two pyramid shapes together. There are a few different ways of making paper pyramids to create 3D geometric wall art with. I chose this style, because I love the way the fold where the two pyramids conjoin creates a really sleek effect. It also saves time by making two at once, along with not having to glue as much.

STEP 1 Decide what colors you want to incorporate in your wall design, and buy cardstock of that color. There is a wide array of oragami stock paper at craft stores that you can choose from. It will cut some time off to start with Oragami squares, so if it is availble to you, great! If not, that’s okay! Keep in mind, if you are wanting to have variating sizes of triangles, snag some different sized squares while you’re at it.

Today, I will be working with a plain white 8 1/2 in x 11 in cardstock printer paper for those of you who want to keep it cheap and simple. We will need to start from a square for our folding, so we can cut 2 1/2 inches off the bottom of the printer paper to achieve the right dimensions.

For easier cutting, I would suggest using a ruled paper trimmer, but a simple ruler and scissors will do the trick.

Just make sure your trimmings are smooth and exact.

STEP 2 After cutting your square, we will fold the paper in half horizontally and then vertically to create four even sections as seen above. To make the edges crisper, run your fingernail or a hard object such as a ruler along the edges of the fold as you go.

9

STEP 4 Fold the long rectangle in half, crispen the edge, and unfold.

Next, take a corner of the long rectangle and fold it diagonally to meet the middle fold that you just created. This should look like the image shown above. Do this to all four corners of the rectangle. Great job!

STEP 3 Next, fold the bottom section halfway up the original square. or meet the middle fold you created in the last step. Then, bring the top of the square down to meet the edge of the bottom fold. Crispen both folds you just made. This will leave you with a long rectangle to work with. Your square should now look like the picture shown above.

10

STEP 5 Your paper should now look like the image below. The diagonal folds have created four little triangle flaps on the inside. Now, we will take the flap on the top left corner and tuck it under the long top fold, so it is not longer visible, as shown in diagram 2. We will do this for the opposite diagonally adjacent flap (bottom right). Your paper should now look like the image in diagram 3.

1.

2.

11

3.

STEP 6

4.

Now, we will get to the tricky part. First, we will bend the two corners together, with the middle section folding in, as seen in diagram 4. You should be able to flip the paper around and see the 3D pyramid beginning to form.

In order to hold the structure in place, we will now need to tuck the loose flap (shown in pink in diagrams 4 & 5) under the bigger flap on the right. Flip the paper around to reveal the smooth part of the structure. Your pryamid will lock together like image number 6. The two big folds should now pop out and stick together without you having to holding them.

We will now repeat the above steps with the opposite side of the rectangle. After forming the two connecting pyramids, your 3D structure should emerge as the image on the following page.

5.

6.

12

13

STEP 7 Now that we have made our pyramid structure, we will need to make several to be able to build our design. Since I will be sticking to using the same sized diamonds for the whole piece, my design will be joining together in a pattern like the image below.

For this tutorial, I will be creating a hexagonal mandala. For some people it’s easier to draw out what shape you want first, so you have a diagram to go by for placing. Or, if you’re like me, you can just play around with different patterns once you get all our diamonds made.

STEP 8 Once you have constructed all of your 3D pyramid diamonds and planned out what design you want them to create together, it is time to lay it all out. We will need a posterboard and some heavy duty glue (I suggest a hot glue gun) to join them all together. First, arrange the papers on top of the posterboard in the fashion that you like.

Next, pick each diamond up, one at a time, apply glue to the back, and press it back down in the position it was in.

Do this until each diamond has been glued, and wait for them to dry. After they have dried, you can use scissors or a box cutter to cut the excess poster board off from around the edges, and VOILA! Now, you can hang your wall art with some double sided foam tape anywhere you please.

14

now display your beautiful work for all to see 15

16

17

18