I stumbled on a paragraph about the Enso (Zen circle) in a book this morning, and it was like coming home. Pretty funny that my blog is called “Making Circles”, and Enso weren’t even on my radar. I’ve used circular forms so much in my work, and have tried to figure out what it is about the circle that I am drawn to. The Enso completely makes sense to me, and in a way reaffirms circle-making for me. I like the idea of letting my hand do the work without my mind getting in the way (similar to folding the 1000 cranes). Although they are traditionally painted, I made this one on our walk today.
Folding 1000 cranes is said to insure a long and peaceful life. So one day a week, as part of my daily project, I will make 10 cranes. At this rate, it will take me 2 years to complete the 1000 cranes. If I stick to it, it’s totally doable! I figure it’s a good exercise in discipline, it’s meditative, and it will give me the chance to profoundly know the act of folding the crane, so that I no longer think about it, but rather my hands simply take over. By the sixth crane I made today, I had memorized the pattern. In addition to origami paper, I’m re-using paper from our recycling bin, which is a nice way to put the paper to use, and also adds a nice texture to the crane’s surface.
For posterity’s sake, I thought I should make a self-portrait this morning. I’m looking pretty tired. Not surprising since I haven’t slept much in the 12 weeks since our son Noah was born!
This is an origami parrot mobile made with one sheet of origami paper, one small paper clip, and some thread. This turned out to be an interesting photography exercise as well. Since it is overcast out, I couldn’t get the cast shadows I would have liked…
I made a little accordion book with cut-out cats. While it’s not as slick as I would have liked, it was my first time making a tiny accordion cut-out like this.(Although I do remember making snowflakes in grade school!)
Today, I made a series of watercolor and ink drawings that fit into a Jila mint box given to me on our Qantas flight from Oz to the States. There are 21 drawings (plus a legend explaining each one) about first discovering Jila mints.
