Happy Pride Month

Paper Moon never misses an opportunity to celebrate! Happy Pride Month to the LGBTQIA+ community and their allies! Most countries still have a long way to go, some longer than other, but great things are happening more and more often and quickly. Y'all rock!

Here is a little paper tribute.

 

 

 

The little box people are based on Jo Nakashima's Origami Groom, Little Girl, and Little Boy. The "gender" symbols are my own design. Hopefully I'll get around to making a tutorial on how to make letters, numbers and symbols using a very simple technique.

Crane Mandala

The Chinese Zodiac: An Origami Story

Now that we've celebrate, rested, and adjusted our brains to the new year (well, sort of. I just dated a check "January 2013"), it's time to get back to work. I don't believe in New Year's resolutions, because if you were going to do it, it would not require all the theatrics and fanfare, would it? But I have concocted some new origami projects for 2014. To kick it off, I have summoned forth the twelve animals of the zodiac in a glorious procession to tell us the story of the Chinese Zodiac.

Origami Buddha in zen meditation
by Claudio Maranta

One day, God, Buddha, or the Wizard, whichever you prefer, invited the animals to a banquet. During the feast, they would decide which twelve animals would become the signs of the zodiac.

Origami Cat Tutorial

The Rat and the Cat were very excited. They decided they would go early to secure their places. The Cat made the Rat promise to wake him in time for the banquet. (If you are not bothered by the fact that the animals can talk but find it odd that the rat is bigger than the cat, then...too bad.)

Cat Nap by Philip Shulz

But the next day, in a fit of squeaky excitement, the Rat forgot his promise and rushed off to the banquet, leaving the Cat asleep. By the time he woke up, it was already too late, for twelve animals had arrived before him, and the Cat was excluded from the zodiac.

So there were the twelve animals for the twelve zodiac signs, and the lineup was complete. Buddha announced to the animals that there would be a race across the river to determine the order of the twelve signs. 

When the signal was given, the animals all rushed to the river. Each wanted to be the first to make it across, probably not realizing that after a few millenia it really wouldn't matter whose year came first in the cycle. 

Right before they set out, the Rat jumped up onto the back of the Cow (or Ox if you prefer) unnoticed by anyone. That's right, I said unnoticed.

They all ran and jumped into the river and swam as fast as they could. As the race was nearing its end, the Cow was ahead of all of them and was almost at the finish. Even though there was like, a flying dragon in the race. But whatever. 

An Unexpected Blog Post

Please excuse the lameness of the title. I just couldn't resist.

The Hobbit was released in theaters this week, and I have yet to see it. I have been waiting for this movie all year, and it's finally here! Pete, please don't disappoint me.
In honor of the occasion, I made some origami.

“By some curious chance one morning long ago in the quiet of the world, when there was less noise and more green, and the hobbits were still numerous and prosperous, and Bilbo Baggins was standing at his door after breakfast smoking an enormous long wooden pipe that reached nearly down to his woolly toes (neatly brushed) – Gandalf came by.”

Here are some Goblins to start us off on our adventure.

And their trusty mounts. I think it's very interesting how wolves are evil in Tolkien and in C. S. Lewis as well.

Sting is glowing blue to signal danger.

And of course, no adventure would be complete without a giant spider.

Fortunately, the Eagles will always come to the rescue.

And then behold Smaug, the fiery worm guarding his hoard.

  

But where is Gandalf? This wizard always has a funny way of popping up when you least expect.

Initially, I wanted to make the awesome origami wizard by Satoshi Kamiya, but to my shame, I had to give up halfway through. Wrong paper, terrible tutorial, and, well, turns out, I am diagram-illiterate. I have the worst time reading those things. I might try again some day. I got the crease pattern alright, but then the assembly was something else entirely. By the end of my two-hour attempt, I was so tired and disheartened, I had trouble folding even this, like, 5-step wizard. I have brought dishonor upon myself.

And although these rings do not figure in The Hobbit, I thought they deserved a mention. Three Rings for the Elven-kings under sky: Vilya (the Sapphire/Blue Ring of Air),  Nenya (the Red Ring of Fire), and Galadriel's Narya (the White Ring of Water).

These ring designs are very basic, but fun nevertheless. 

If all goes well, I am going to see the movie tomorrow! There was a special screening on Tuesday for a charity called Himaya against child abuse here in Beirut, but my friends couldn't make it. They used the age-old excuse: I have to work (Pfft.)