MIURA FOLD WORKSHOP

At the Saturday April 12 workshop and book exchange Melissa Brown taught us the Miura Fold used by NASA for their solar displays. The fold enables an astronaut to open a small folded packet by holding the two opposite corners and simply pulling in opposite directions without having to unfold multiple times. It is also a handy way to fold a map because it refolds into its original shape easily.

Melissa supplied each of us with maps cut to 8 ½” x 11” to work with so that all of the folded paper looked the same. First we folded the page into an accordion fold with 5 panels. Using an odd number made things easier. After the first folds we had an accordion folded piece of paper that was 11” long and about 1 ¾” wide. Melissa used a huge piece of paper so that we could see what she was doing as she was walking around the room. Since we all used the same paper, there wasn't much variation to see.  

If you take the top left corner and the bottom right corner 
and pull them in opposite directions, the paper opens wide.

We progressed to fold the long accordion at not quite 90º degrees from the long side. The last step was to open the paper and refold yet again. There is no way to explain without lots of drawings and even more words. You can download a PDF file from the International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics at https://ijpam.eu/contents/2012-79-2/8/8.pdf. Not only do you get instructions, you also receive a bit of history.

We didn't discuss how to use these in books. If you have any ideas please let us know.

Melissa told us not to bring a ruler but then she told us to make a five panel fold without the ruler. She showed us a method of using an accordion folded piece of paper that results in equidistant folds that can be applied to your project to divide it into five sections. You can use the equidistant markings on a ruler without actually using math (for example, 8 ½” paper divided by 5 equals 1.7” per colum or 1 and 11.2/16ths). Again, words cannot fully explain the process. The NORBAG Compendium of Project Pages, Volume II, page 53 shows us how to do this. 

Remember the Piano Hinge Accordion Book March workshop? We didn’t finish many of our books and a few people brought them in for display this month. Here are the pictures.

There is an opening in the cover to continue the feel of this structure made with windows.

This is a paste paper technique on acetate.

Nature bits and pieces

Decorative threads

CELEBRATE EARTH DAY

HAPPY EARTH DAY 2019!!

Now on display in the kiosk inside the Humboldt County Library are 26 nature themed books created by members of the North Redwoods Book Arts Guild. Peggy Marrs water colored plants and animals and bound them into a lovely book. Dolores Guffey used her marbling technique on corrugated paper, die cut into tree shapes and placed them in the accordion folds of a book with nature quotes. Bobbie Hayes created a flag book based on nature walks along the Hikshari’ Trail. Lynne Gurnee created Mylar windowed views of nature in a piano hinge accordion book. Michele Kamprath used autumn colors and dry leaves to print on black and white papers in a flora book. Edith Fuller, in Oregon, made a beautiful book with painted nature prints by a local artist. Carole Maurer, in Pennsylvania, hand lettered a whirligig book, The Mosquito, and reminded us that the mosquito is Alaska’s unofficial state bird. And that describes a few of the beautiful books that celebrate our wondrous earth. 

From the Earth Day website: In nature, nothing exists alone. - Rachel Carson, 1962

CHRISTMAS IN APRIL?

Our member from York, England, Margaret Beech, knows how to plan ahead. Her motto is "it's never too early to make a start". She recently sent photos of her progress working on holiday cards for the December exchange. She decided to write down how many stages are involved in the making of one card...multiplied by at least thirty for the exchange. So far there are 17 stages including the signature. At a certain point she'll go into production line methods which will speed things up, but it's a while before she has a finished card. She writes "it's always easy to make one card, but I need to keep in mind how easy (or not) that will be to scale up". Here's a sneak preview of Margaret's holiday card...now get busy on yours!

Planning ahead for the coming year of exchanges can begin as early as November when the new themes will be revealed. While some people work best under pressure, others need to plan ahead without a deadline looming. Of course some themes remain the same each year such as Valentine cards in February, Project Page or ideas from the compendiums in May, and the holiday cards in December. But once the new themes are released, consider choosing your favorite (no matter what month it is scheduled) and begin work. It will feel good to be "ahead of the schedule" and perhaps it will even help to inspire you for your next book, maybe the one that has the most difficult theme.

Thank you Margaret for sharing your progress on your holiday cards and for being an inspiration for so many aspects of book art.

MIURA FOLD WORKSHOP

The April workshop will feature Melissa Brown teaching an origami fold that is used by NASA. Although we won't be deploying solar arrays, we will learn how to transform an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of paper into a flat, compact 1" x 4" packet. This fold is named for its inventor, Japanese astrophysicist Koryo Miura.

Bring a pencil and your favorite bone folder, but ditch the ruler. Melissa will teach us how to use a piece of paper to divide our project into even sections. No measuring (whew!).

If you want to decorate your project, feel free to bring pens, pencils, etc., but that's extracurricular. 

Tools to bring:

• Pencil
• Bone folder
• Optional: materials to decorate your project

Melissa will supply:

• Paper and written instructions

When?   Saturday, April 13 at noon

Where?  Eureka Methodist Church at Del Norte & F Streets

RSVP?    Yes, by April 10 to Melissa (contact information in the newsletter)

Cost?     50 cents