Monday, April 28, 2008

Featured Orikane Practitionaire Jon Tucker




Name
Jon Tucker

Years Practicing
I am 19 and have been folding for about 11 years. I have been designing for about 3 years.

Favorite Fold

My favorite fold is the Blackdevil Angler by Robert Lang and diagrammed in Origami Sea Life by Lang and Montroll. It is not orikane, but I have always been amazed by this model. The simple base that Lang uses and the clever techniques he uses to get all of those teeth are incredible to me. It is a blast to fold, even though there are some nasty sinks typical of Lang at the end. I have been folding (and loving) this model since before I could even do all of the steps.

Influences
I have mainly been influenced by Robert Lang. I grew up folding and learning from Origami Sea Life, and I still love that book. Peter Engel's book Origami from Angelfish to Zen also was influential for me. I was mainly attracted to the intuitive bases used in the designs from those two books. Lang used the bird base for his Hermit Crab and shells, and variations of the blintz frog base were used for Lang's Angler and Engel's Octopus and Squid. I like when a design just 'feels' right, and Lang in particular has developed some great bases that are very suitable for the subject being folded.

Intuitive and efficient bases are very important for origami, and in particular orikane. I think that when you are folding with paper like a small, thick dollar especially that you must find the best and simplest way to fold something. When a good, simple folding sequence is found a model just tends to feel right and look good, too.

More recently I have been influenced by Satoshi Kamiya and Eric Joisel. Kamiya is simply an amazing folder-his precision as a folder and a designer are matched by few, if any. Joisel breathes life into paper. No other folder that I have seen can fold with as much vitality as Joisel can. His masks are so expressive and everything he folds is detailed, yet full of life. He is unique in that he folds with complexity yet never allows any bit of that complexity obscure his true artistry: the emotion and life in everything he folds.

Ethos
Moderation in all things-over-complexity and over-simplicity will not yield good results. Art is life-what we fold is ourselves, emotion, humanity, and the world.

Location
I was born and raised and currently reside in central Ohio. I am now attending college at the University of Akron and majoring in Music Education.

Message To Beginners
Join the origami community. The Origami Forum (http://www.thekhans.me.uk/forum/index.php) is a great place to get involved. That and many other forums are a great way to interact with, share with, and learn from other origamists literally across the world. Also try to attend a convention in your area (country). I attended the OUSA convention in 2007 and was blown away. I was not involved in the origami community until about a year ago and it would have been great for me to have been involved sooner. Remember: fold fold fold practice practice practice! If you want it, it will come.

Jon is an incredibly clever and talented man. We urge you to go and visit his excellent and inspirational gallery.

Jon's Gallery

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