Origami Tessellations: Awe-Inspiring Geometric Designs [Paperback]

Eric Gjerde (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2008

Eric Gjerde demonstrates 25 of his favorite tessellations and turns them into projects for newcomers as well as experienced origamists. With step-by-step instructions, illustrated crease patterns, and how-to photos, you'll learn to create these wonderful designs yourself. Eric's first book covers the fundamentals of origami tessellations, provides history, and describes simple beginning techniques with detailed illustrations and photographs. An extensive gallery showcases tessellations folded by the world's leading origami fine artists---inspiring you to experiment, innovate, and eventually create your own unique designs.

Editorial Reviews

Review

… It is surprising and challenging to see which variety of ornaments can be generated this way out of one single sheet of paper. The procedures are explained step by step and allow to reproduce these interesting planar ornaments. … The surprising and wonderful results are worth the effort. I really enjoyed this exercise … [the book] can be recommended to whoever is interested in the field of planar ornaments and its connection to origami.
—O. Roschel, International Mathematical News (IMN), December 2010

In this gorgeous book, Eric Gjerde has presented clear, easy-to-follow instructions that introduce the reader to the incredible beauty and diversity of origami tessellations.
—Robert J. Lang, June 2008

Here [Gjerde] demonstrates 25 of his favorite designs that use tessellations, geometric patterns that can repeat forever, to make paper surfaces of intricate pleats and folds. For most learners, he says, there is a moment of epiphany after which it all makes sense and they can never go back. Beginning and experienced origamists are welcome.
—Reference & Research Book News, May 2009

If Eric Gjerde’s new book Origami Tessellations: Awe-Inspiring Geometric Designs needed an alternative title, it might be: Origami: It’s not just for kids any more! Of course origami has never been just for kids, but this book should convince you that you can create some great art using origami techniques. . . . The projects are graded as beginner, intermediate and advanced, but 'beginner' should be interpreted as someone who has previous experience with origami or a strong interest in learning about it, because even the simplest projects include a lot of steps and demand precise folding. But for someone who enjoys doing origami and wants to try some complex projects, the directions are very clear and the photographs of the finished work should serve as an inspiration. 
—Sarah Boslaugh, MAA Online, June 2009

Gjerde’s [book] is as much an art book and is a feast for the eyes on every page . . . It is not standard origami, nor indeed standard tessellation. It takes tessellations into three dimensions and then back into two . . . All pieces are from a single piece of paper, prefolded into the grids. You would not think so when, for example, you have a result that looks like woven strips of tape or a triangular weaving reminiscent of M.C. Escher. 
—John Sharp, The London Mathematical Society Newsletter , May 2009

Origami tesselations in this book means paper folding by repeating special patterns. Explicit instructions are given how to obtain a large variety of origami tesselations of great beauty and difficulty. The results are interesting geometric figures which - however - are presented from an intuitive point of view. ... Several of these origami tesselations are comparable with patterns on a tile floor or the Islamic artwork at the Alhambra in Spain. The reader is invited and inspired for [his or her] own experiments and ideas, especially for creating [his or her] own patterns in the sense of origami tesselations.
—Gertraud Ehrig, Zentralblatt MATH, September 2009

This richly illustrated and easy-to-read handbook is an excellent resource for origami hobbyists. Images from the text could also be used to support classroom discussions of symmetry, tessellation, and multicultural mathematics. ... This book is a valuable resource for origami enthusiasts and anyone with an interest in tessellation-based art.
—Heidi Burgiel, Mathematics Teacher, October 2009

About the Author

When asked by his parents what he wanted to be when he grew up, five-year-old Eric Gjerde replied, "a paperologist." Throughout his childhood and adolescence he enjoyed paper crafts and origami. After preparing for a technology career, Eric kept looking for an artistic outlet to balance his creative side with his professional life. He returned to his childhood love of paper and discovered a deeper appreciation for the beauty of origami by exploring and researching new areas of folding--including the geometric art of origami tessellations. He currently balances dual careers as a technology professional and as an artist in Minneapolis.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: A K Peters/CRC Press (December 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568814518
• ISBN-13: 978-1568814513
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,715 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #9 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Math Games

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book, March 1, 2009

By 

B. Parker (Seattle WA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Origami Tessellations: Awe-Inspiring Geometric Designs (Paperback)

Wonderful book if you are interested in origami tessellations. The book's layout is excellent with many ideas to get you started but not so many so that you feel overwhelmed.
Just watch out if you are expecting such origami tessellations to be similar to conventional origami - they actually aren't, but they are not very difficult to learn, and they are fascinating, especially if you are the type that likes modular origami and are interested in the geometry and patterns.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Utterly invaluable -- Tessellations 101, February 21, 2009

By 

Janis Cortese (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Origami Tessellations: Awe-Inspiring Geometric Designs (Paperback)

This book is a great primer on the principles of the most gorgeously abstract discipline in origami -- tessellations, repeated patterns in paperfolding that result in a flat planar surface. The pictures are wonderful and illustrate many of the basic ideas, and the directions are clear and will give anyone the grounding they need to branch off on their own and design new tessellations based on the building blocks this volume teaches. The instructions are also clear, and Gjerde is careful to warn the newbie about any pitfalls particular to a diagram.

I can recommend this book to anyone -- but just make sure to purchase some mulberry paper before you open the book, because your fingers will start to itch the minute you finish it!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for your library, April 6, 2009

By 

T. Yau - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Origami Tessellations: Awe-Inspiring Geometric Designs (Paperback)

Eric Gjerde has been impressing the origami world for years with his amazing tessellations. This is a wonderful book. It covers the whole range of designs, from ones you could pick up in minutes to excitingly-complex ones. For the beginner, the instructions are clear and the photos are gorgeous. If you're an experienced folder, there are designs that will keep you busy for hours watching the design evolve. As an added bonus, it's an excellent resource when your friends ask you to teach them how you folded it.