STARS

Origami stars are great for any and every occasion. This one just happens to be Christmas.

progress

It snowed like the dickens today. The first fall of the year. It heaps the November ground like so much cotton. It reminds me, like every snowfall, that I am Canadian and unafraid of the cold and the ice. I wore an interesting scarf.

I wanted to tell you how my plans for this month have been holding up. So far, mostly within the first snow-less weeks of November, I have been surprisingly productive.

I have,
- read four graphic novels (Hellboy Vol. 1, Beowulf, Batman: Year One, and V for Vendetta)
- gotten straight A's in social studies
- researched several universities
- made origami dragons, stars, cranes, a dog, a rooster, and a snail
- started knitting/pearling a pomegranite scarf (for Lana)
- begun cleaning my room (which has so far involved the ridding of a sizable bag of useless junk)
- got halfway through the tiresome Moby Dick, via audiobook
- drank half a box of Zen tea

I have yet to,
- start the patchwork pillows
- start Dawn by Octavia E. Butler
- start my panel for the mural mosaic
- purchase a silver iPod Classic
- spray paint two mannequin heads (for my masks)
- finish The Stand (King) and I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream (Ellison)
- bake ginger bread cookies

books, tea, licorice, dragons

I did it!

At long last, I creased and twisted and folded paper until it took the shape of a tiny dragon that will stand up on its own --an event which had been a long-term goal of mine. It was thrilling to watch my little square of paper finally take this lizard-y shape, which had only crumpled and slipped into unrecognizable messes for me before. This small but satisfying achievement makes me feel like I am actually capable of folding more difficult things, which is my rather bold motivation to try an even harder pattern: the stand-alone eagle. Wish me luck!

origami atmosphere: The Black Keys, green tea, Capricorn black licorice

Guy Fawkes Day (and origami stars)

 

"Remember, remember the fifth of November, the gunpowder, treason, and plot. I can think of no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot."

Ah, Guy Fawkes Day. Time to read Alan Moore's V for Vendetta, put on my Guy Fawkes mask, and carry on the usual night rituals. What fun!

Also, I had been meaning to make a string of origami stars to hang from my ceiling, so yesterday I decided to finally fold them up. I used real origami paper with floral patterns, and I plan to attach them with copper-colored thread, eventually.

flapping cranes

Today I folded paper cranes. If you gently pull them apart and back again several times, the wings flap. Now they sit on the openings to my air-plant jars, on top of my bookshelf.

origami atmosphere: lemon ginger tea, Arctic Monkeys, natural light

2/30

November has 30 days. From what I've seen on a couple blogs I frequent, November is a special month. Therefore, I plan to make every one of these 30 days count for something (I have been looking for an excuse to be more productive and interesting, so this is as good a reason as any!)

So far, two November days have been used up on being sick, finishing one social studies course and starting another, finishing the first season of 24, knitting practice, reluctantly going to work, listening to Caribou, and eating a lot of fruit.

But for the rest of the days in this wintry, not-quite-Christmas month, I plan to:

-  fold an origami figure a day (or, if the pattern is difficult, every second/third day)
-  paint my square of a mural mosaic
-  make four patchwork pillowcases for the couch in my room
-  knit/pearl a scarf
-  read Stephen King, Harlan Ellison, H. G. Wells, and Octavia E. Butler
-  completely scour my room, getting rid of everything I don't need
-  make Christmas cards

This is my November.

goals for paper folding

origami Atlas Beetle, from Brian Chan's website

I have always been a huge origami nut. Though of late I haven't had as much time to create things as I would like, I still find myself thinking about paper stars and cranes and dragons...

When I was quite young, I received an origami book that was a little too advanced for my skill level at the time. Upon looking through it and finding myself awed by the difficult contents, I vowed to one day succeed in folding every figure in the book. Now, a decade later, I am quite close to accomplishing this seemingly insurmountable feat.

But just as I was beginning to feel like a skilled origami artist, I discovered the wonders of Brian Chan.

Brian Chan is a Japanese bloke with incredible skills. These include metalwork, drawing, origami... he's been appropriately called "the maker of anything." I agree. Just looking at what he's created out of paper gives me shivers!

So I have a new goal. Once I've mastered the origami book and accomplished my childhood dream, I will conquer Brian Chan creations -- the dream of an adult, indeed.