The Origami Forum

A couple of us in the Nashville Origami Club are kicking around the idea of doing an origami 365 project next year. Taking the idea of a 365 photo project (http://365project.org/) and applying it to origami.

The basic idea is to fold at least one unique model every day for the entire year. We are planing to start on Jan. 1, 2011. The rules we are considering are below:

1. You should fold at least one model every day.
2. You should take a picture of the model.
3. The picture should be posted publicly. (We will probably create a group on flickr, although that's not obligatory.)
4. You should not repeat models. (It is up to the folder how strict that is. e.g. is folding the same thing wet and dry different? are different assemblies of the same unit different? are two different designs of the same subject different? It is up to you.)
5. Models that take multiple days count on the day they are completed, including modulars. (They can be folded over the course of multiple days, but other models would need to be folded on those days too.)
6. Origami "purity" rules are up to the participant.

A 365 project may seem daunting for some, so an alternative 52 week challenge is also an option. The same basic rules would apply, except that one model a week is the target. Of course, anyone is welcome to adopt whatever set of rules they want. It would also be interesting to see someone folding the same model every day for a year (or even a month).

Right now, with two months until we will start, we are just collecting ideas and working out the details.

Are any of you interested or have suggestions?

thanks,
malachi

count me in on this

Sounds like fun, with the only restriction that free flickr accounts are limited to 200 pictures so someone would need to open up two free accounts or buy a pro account to display all the pictures on flickr, otherwise nice idea.

I know that a lot of people here have Flickr accounts, so a group might be a good idea.
Accounts are free, but as Anna points out, only the 200 most recent photos are viewable on your photostream.

However, once you post a photo to a group, it remains visible in the group's "pool" even after you have 200 photos.
So a group would allow people to have their photos viewable in some form.

From Flickr's FAQ;

"If you have fewer than 200 photos, we display them all. If you have more than 200 photos, only the most recent 200 are displayed.

Your photos are not removed from Flickr, only from the list of your photos. If you blogged a photo and it no longer appears in your list, it will still appear on your blog, and the photo's Flickr page will still work just fine."

The group would also be a good way for everyone to keep track of what everyone has folded on that day, without having to keep track of everyone's photostreams individually. Especially if others (like myself) use their photostream for things other than origami.
You can also limit the group to allow only one photo per person per day, to allow everyone's photos an equal chance to be seen.
Although, if one or more persons misses a day, or they can't upload everyday, then they would need to post a few photos at once, so perhaps a more lenient restriction (or none at all) would work better.

In case it wasn't obvious, I'd be very interested in doing this. It'll be very interesting to see how everyone approaches it, and to see how long everyone manages to go - I've tried, unsuccessfully, to do 2 separate 365s before.

I also like the idea of the 52-week thing instead, and the idea of folding the same model everyday for a year. It'd certainly be interesting to see how much, if any, the model changes over time. I might even attempt this, if I can find a suitable model; something that's not too easy, but which can be comfortably folded everyday. Preferably not something that needs special paper, either.

Anyway, it's a great idea overall. Hopefully a lot of people will take part.

Yes, I'm aware of the free account limitation on flickr. That will probably just be one option for participation. I favor it because it has a lot of nice tools and a lot of folders are there already, but any photo sharing mechanism should work. Really this is about challenging yourself, community is just a nice side benefit.

I have created a flickr group. If you want to participate on flickr, go ahead and request to join.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/origami365/

Well, a Flickr pro account is only $25 (USD) a year for an account. It is a really handy thing to have, too, so if you would be doing any other photo sharing it would probably be worth it.

This project sounds really, really, really cool. I have been looking into other crap art projects lately, and the idea sounds very interesting. I might try the design a week one. I think a design a day is a stretch, especially with complex origami! Origami is great, but who wants to be designing/folding for 5 hours a day???

Part of the draw for me is that I will be forced to revisit simpler models.

This sounds interesting, especially the fold the same model every day for a month. I think it would also be interesting to fold the same subject everyday for a month, but with multiple models; Especially if there are only 5 or so models so they get cycled, and it would be interesting to see how they change as a group. I may take up the month challenge. The 365 is just to much and I have no where to put all the models...

i kind of already do this, i just dont take pictures