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Origami to Astonish and Amuse
 
 
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Origami to Astonish and Amuse [Paperback]

Jeremy Shafer (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)

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Book Description

July 6, 2001
Imagine folding a piece of paper into nail clippers that really work, or a Swiss Army knife that actually opens, or a surfer on a wave that crashes when the surfer is slid forward...There's no need to imagine-this is for real!

In Origami to Astonish and Amuse Jeremy Shafer has taken the art of paper folding in an entirely new direction. Filled with hundreds of entertaining models and folding ideas, ranging from amazingly simple to ridiculously complex, this is origami at its most fun and creative.

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Origami to Astonish and Amuse + Origami Ooh La La!  Action Origami for Performance and Play + Origami in Action : Paper Toys That Fly, Flap, Gobble, and Inflate
Price For All Three: $49.21

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A brilliant and bizarre take on art and life." --Peter Engel, author of Folding the Universe

About the Author

Jeremy Shafer has been folding for fifteen years and has created hundreds of original models, each folded from one piece of paper, without cutting. He has been published in major origami journals in the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom, and has exhibited his work at seven OrigamiUSA conventions. He is a member of the Friends of Origami Center of America and is the editor of the BARF (Bay Area Rapid Folders) newsletter. He lives in Berkeley, California.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (July 6, 2001)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0312254040
  • ISBN-13: 978-0312254049
  • Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #85,465 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hi, I'm Jeremy Shafer, Author of "Origami to Astonish and Amuse"

and "Origami Ooh La La": https://www.createspace.com/3523026

I also go by "Jeremy the Juggler" and I earn a living entertaining at county fairs, libraries, schools, birthday parties, etc. You can see more about that by visiting my website: www.jeremyevents.com

In addition to origami and juggling, I am also an avid unicyclist (especially unicycle basketball) and handwhistler (I handwhistle while riding the unicycle!). I also love salsa dancing, improvising on the piano, beatboxing, and singing Mariachi (but not all at the same time!)

 

Customer Reviews

30 Reviews
5 star:
 (23)
4 star:
 (6)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (30 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Really good work plus really funny work, July 6, 2001
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Origami to Astonish and Amuse (Paperback)
It worths the long wait. This is the only origami book make you laugh to tears.

All models here are folded from a single square, no cut. The author emphasize this philosophy, and wrote a quite clear essay about it and encourge the folder-reader to become designer.

Followed are a lot of wonderful models. Besides the very excellent models "Swiss knife", "Nail clipper", etc, and extraordanary models: man swapper, man on the surf, eight interwine ring, eagle balanced on the tip of the mountain (both folded from dollar bill) etc, there are many funny models:

An elephant from behind (so only butts and tail, and tip of nose), a walking man(when spread and flatten the whole paper, the creases become a labyrinth.) One I appreciated most is the "Origami square", fold as followes: Take a Square paper, rotate and rotate and rotate and flip and rotate and rotate, then VOILA, the origami square completes. (I got angry and very happy at the same time when I read this). Moreover, a invisible duck, a car with tires replaced by 4 legs....

The author is so versatile and desperately funny, joyous atmosphere prevails the whole book. Highly recommended.

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34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Astonishing and amuse definitely!, July 4, 2001
This review is from: Origami to Astonish and Amuse (Paperback)
The title is rather apt. I was suitably astonish and amused by the origami subjects within. If I have to choose one word to descibe the book, it would be "quirky".

For those who have been purchasing origami books and getting the usual stuff and would like some unusual subjects, this is definitely the book!

Within the book is divided into 4 main sections: 1) Origami Action (32 models) 2) Symbols, Signs & Stunning Designs (21 models), 3) Models from the Heart (15 models) and 4) Origami for the Almost Deranged (21 models). Most of the subject matters cannot be found elsewhere, in any other origami books.

I find the general format and presentation of the book rather unusual too, rather refreshing. Throughout the book, for every models, there is a section "Thoughts behind the fold". This allows you to get into the mind of the author and possibly ideas for creating your own models.

There are so many models that I am unable to list all of them. Among my favourites are a workable Swiss Army Knife, a nail clipper and slithering snake skin! There are also a lot of action models and this suits me very well as I like action models.

The general complexity ranges from simple to complex. On a range of 1 to 5, with simple (1) and complex (5), I find that most of the models fall in the range of 2. Do not let this fool you, simple models can be very effective and fun to fold too. The final result is astonishing and amusing, much more so that some complex models.

I like to mention too that I had fun with the running car, hey!, running on legs, not wheels! Then you will be taught how to fold the carbon atom that even a rocket scientist could not fold. Do not forget to try folding the invisible duck too! It's a riot!

Hey! as I am already almost deranged, folding from the book maintained me in the same deranged condition. Perhaps all you almost deranged origami enthusiasts would like to group together and form the ADOES (Almost Deranged Origami Enthusiasts Society).

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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Origami to Astonish and Amuse, August 9, 2002
By 
Carlos Garcia Macias (Naucalpan, Edo Mex Mexico) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Origami to Astonish and Amuse (Paperback)
I was surprised for a great Origami book that includes excellent models for different skills (23 simple, 8 low-intermediate, 20 intermediate, 12 high-intermediate and 26 complex, in total 89, and not 400 as is written in the cover) and different interests:
Action Models, from beginners (Baby Bird, Men's Suit), intermediate (clapping hands), high intermediate (surfer on a wave), to complex (nail clippers), and in other areas like Symbols and Signs (some billfolds, a pyramid and a balancing eagle that poses at the top of the pyramid), Heart-related origami (Cards, envelopes) and others (like a square base with hands that folded it -a la Escher-).
The book includes tips and ideas to fold variations for the models.
If you are interested in Origami to entertain children and adults, or making not traditional models, this is the book.
I recommended specially for intermediate to expert folders.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
If you were an original model which would you rather be, a sad stationary model that has to sit idle on a display shelf getting dusty and neglected,or a happy action model that frequently gets to frolic in the hands of a folder and give moving performances that astonish and amuse. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Thoughts Behind the Folds, Square Base, Waterbomb Base, Bird Base, Valley-fold Valley-fold, Swiss Army Knife, Two Interlocking Rings, Heart Attack, Kite Base, Man Swatter, Folding the Blintz Base, Star of David, Crane Envelope, Monolithic Rubblestone Boulder, Venus Flytrap, Beating Heart Card, Chocolate-Covered Ant, Diamond Heart Ring, Two Permanently Interlocking Rings, Waxing Waning Moon, Balancing Eagle, Bar Technique, Father's Day, Love Envelope, Pinwheel Base
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