Origami
How this came to be:
As a student, you use paper to take notes; but as a real-life person, you find something entertaining to do instead. Bringing in video games gets them confiscated, as with Legos, toys, or anything that isn't a school supply. Options are limited: you can doodle, you can attempt to make weapons out of rubberbands and pens, or you can stare out the window, thinking about the universe as you space out (though you risk being seen as catatonic). On a really boring day, you can follow along in the book, but that's pretty rare.
In school, paper was just something you have a ton of: notebooks, homework, tests, scratch paper, graph paper, looseleaf paper, books...etc (...and paper scampy!). your desk and backpack are essentially paper storage facilities.
It's not a secret that paper is extremely versatile. You use paper to pay for stuff, write on; hell, you wipe your butt with paper! Therefore, as the smart student you are, you can think of clever ways to put your excess supply of paper to use in class. Draw a comic strip. Crumple it up into a ball and throw it at Pete (Pete sucks!), make one of those fortune teller thingies, or make a paper airplane and test fly it down the hall while you "go to the bathroom".
But a lot of those things are short-lived. A ball of paper gets one throw, a comic strip gets really tedious, a fortune teller is rigged if you only use even numbered colors and numbers, and how differently can you fold a paper airplane that makes it better than the classic model? It's too bad you can't fold paper to look like real airplanes... can you imagine? Forget airplaines, what about folding paper to look like a spaceship or an X-Wing!?
Wait...
You can? ...What? ...Ori-ga-mi? That Asian thing little kids do when they make paper birds? ...Paper airplanes count as Origami? ...Wait, so not only are there hundreds of animals besides the standard crane, but there's also a ton of Star Wars-themed Origami!? ...Ok, well it's not like you can just print out step-by-step instructions from the internet, right? I mean, you gotta be an old wise person who has folded paper since he was 4 years old, a tradition dating back to his ancestors for centuries, right? ...No? ...Well, I guess I can try it, it's not like I don't have huge amounts of time every day I need to fill with something to do until recess...
So I did that: starting easy with the animals and finally folding my way through to X-wings! Then, I went more complex: dragons, flowers, an A-wing...etc. It's really fun once you get the hang of it!
In high school, I learned about "Modular Origami", which is where you fold a bunch of little shapes and fit them together to make cool stars and shapes and stuff! After a long drought of lost interest in paper-folding, I became hooked all over again, using Post-its to add color to the shapes!
During my second year of college, I learned about 3D Modular Origami. Tat is where you fold hundreds of little sheets of paper and put them togeth to make large, intricate designs! So, instead of snacking whilst watching Youtube/Netflix, I cut and folded tons and tons of paper. Then, I started to create my own original pieces...
So, here they are... in some form of glory! I don't have room for them, so the pieces get a picture taken and then collect dust/fall apart because I do not use glue and don't have room to store them. I have more to show, but I need better pictures of them, so check back for more Origami! (what I am saying is that this isn't all I got!) Also, I learned that frames (namely, thin shadowboxes) are pretty pricey and don't come in many shapes and sizes. Combined with the lack of adhesive and the fragileness of paper, my origami pieces do not enjoy the longevity they deserve, so until I become rich enough to properly preserve the models, I only got the pictures for now...
The bad news is that most of my work needs to be recreated. Also, I need to find a way to keep the pieces together. But on the up side, I can recreate all of my pieces pretty quickly, so long as I stockpile all the little components.
If you are interested, I am 1) open to suggestions, and 2) I am willing to sell my pieces of Origami. That is what the "Contact" page is for. Otherwise, enjoy the pictures I have put up and will continue to add to. Eventually, I may even write up about how I came to create the pieces you see above.
As of now, I will only put up pictures of my original pieces. Remember, I cut, fold, and inspect each and every piece of paper and I put the model together without instructions and without glue! Pieces that wear and tear get replaced (for they are not worthy!). Lastly, each sheet of A4 (8.5" x 11") paper produces 32 pieces, but each model requires hundreds of pieces.
Enjoy!