Home > Book Reviews > Origami to Astonish and Amuse
Origami to Astonish and Amuse
By Jeremy Shafer
Published: 2001 by St. Martin's Griffin
Pages: 251
Binding: Paperback
Language: English
ISBN: 0312254040
Buy from: Amazon.com
Overall Impression
Jeremy Shafer is one of my favorite creators. His ideas are so original! And the execution is great. This book
is a hefty showcase of his work, containing around 80 models.
Scattered throughout the book are "Thoughts behind the fold" segments, containing Jeremy's insights about the
design and uses for the model.
The diagrams are excellent (and fun to read!), and there's a B&W photo for every model.
The Models
| Model | Notes | Photo (Click for a larger image) |
|---|---|---|
Origami Action |
||
| Baby bird | A very cute action model | |
| Exploding envelope | An envelope that can be opened in a flash | |
| Blinking eyes | Cool action fold | |
| Magic flap | An illusion |
 Folded by Gilad Ayalon |
| Magic cube | An optical illusion |
 Folded by Gilad Ayalon |
| Clapping hands | Very nice |
 Folded by Gilad Ayalon |
| Waxing and waning | Excellent - an origami representation of all stages of the moon in one model! |
 Folded by Gilad Ayalon |
| Two interlocking rings | 2 rings from 1 square. Very nice |
 Folded by Gabriel Vong |
| Two permanently interlocking rings | Same as the above - but with a lock | |
| Chocolate covered ant | A 2D ant folded in a preliminary fold - cute |
 Folded by Nicolas Terry |
| Gremlin | A nice mask with blinking eyes and opening and closing mouth |
 Folded by Gilad Ayalon |
| Crazy-Mouthed gremlin | Same as the above - different mouth | |
| Surfer on a wave | Simply fantastic |
|
| Glancer | A mask with moving eyes |
 Folded by Gabriel Vong |
| Mr. Smiley | A storytelling model - about a smiley face that changes | |
| Squishy blob | Er... |
 Folded by Gilad Ayalon |
| Piano playing pop-up card | It's a hand, and it's playing a piano! Excellent | |
| Tyrannosaurus - yapping, clapping, tapping, flapping | A nice action dinosaur model | |
| Venus fly-trap | A toothy plane that opens and closes | |
| Frog tongue | From a rectangle - a jumping model | |
| Heart attack | From a rectangle - a variation of the frog tongue, with a heart on the end | |
| Nail clipper | Fantastic, it looks just like a nail clipper, and it moves like one, too |
 Folded by Gabriel Vong |
| Swiss army knife | Another fantastic model - with all tools being able to fold inside and out |
 Folded by Gabriel Vong |
| Flasher | Folds small and flashes big! | |
| Flasher supreme | A flasher variation | |
| Flasher big bang | Another variation | |
| Flasher hat | Another variation that you can wear on your head... | |
| Flasher Marble maze | Another variation | |
| Flasher labyrinth | And another | |
| Labyrinth walker | A maze that folds into a human shape | |
| Dromenon labyrinth walker | Another one | |
| Slithering snake skin | A pleated from - from a $ bill | |
Symbols and Signs, and Stunning Designs |
||
| Preshrunk blue jeans | Simple and nice | |
| Smiling frowning George | A classic $ bill effect | |
| Kite letterhead | Nice and simple | |
| Men's suit | Very nice |
 Folded by Gilad Ayalon |
| Iso area swan | Cute |
 Folded by Gabriel Vong |
| Wine glass | A 2D wine glass | |
| Peace sign | Very nice |
 Folded by Gabriel Vong |
| Multiple rippling deltoid design | ||
| Musical notes | Very nice |
 Folded by Gabriel Vong |
| Dancers | Very nice - can be set to different poses |
|
| Dragon | A variations pr Robert Neale's dragon | |
| Rocking horse | Cute | |
| Menorah | A very nice Menorah relief | |
| Crab | Excellent | |
| Yin Yang | Double sided - excellent |
 Folded by Gilad Ayalon |
| Star of David | A woven star from a square - fantastic | |
| Spider web | A nice relief |
 Folded by Yuval Atlas |
| Pyramid | From a $ bill |
 Folded by Gilad Ayalon |
| Eagle | From a $ bill - balances on the pyramid | |
| Cuboid | 6 connected cubes from a $ bill | |
| Eight interlocking rings | All from 1 square! Amazing |
 Folded by Gabriel Vong |
Models from the Heart |
||
| Butterfly heart card | Simple | |
| Cubist heart card | Simple - angled hearts | |
| Window heart card | ||
| Blintz envelope | ||
| Envelope | Useful | |
| Off the wallet | A very useful wallet with many pockets | |
| Bird of peace pop-up card |
 Folded by Gilad Ayalon |
|
| Diamond Heart ring | Nice | |
| Peace ring | A ring with the peace symbol |
 Folded by Gilad Ayalon |
| Crane envelope | An envelope with a crane | |
| Beating heart card | Cute action card |
 Folded by Gilad Ayalon |
| Star of peace | A star with 4 cranes |
 Folded by Gabriel Vong |
| Interlocking diamond heart rings | 2 rings from 1 square | |
| Present box | A box complete with a ribbon | |
Origami for the almost deranged |
||
| Origami square | Er... It's a square - without cutting! | |
| Transvestite puppet | A puppet that changes its face | |
| BARF bag | A bag | |
| Unfortunate Bungee jumper | Cool 2D person | |
| Folder | From a rectangle - just 1 fold... | |
| Strobe light | Spinning toy | |
| Duck - invisible | Only the super-intelligent can see it... | |
| Jack-O-lantern | Folded from a... T-shirt | |
| Upside down heart | ||
| "Who's staring at my rump?" | An elephant from behind - nice |
 Folded by Origami Okiba |
| Walking boat | The traditional boat... With legs... | |
| Clogged artery | Strange... | |
| Unopenable envelope | ||
| Folding the blintz base | Very cool... Escher-esque fold - 4 hands folding themselves |
 Folded by Gilad Ayalon |
| Folding the square base | 2 hands folding the preliminary base |
 Folded by Gabriel Vong |
| Folding the flapping bird | 4 hands folding the bird | |
| Man swatter | Excellent - a swatted person... Comes with a magic trick routine |
|
| Unfortunate suitor | Fantastic - a person squashed by a lady's shoe... | |
| Carbon atom | A very small model | |
| Monolithic rubblestone boulder | Ultra complex | |
| Running car | Gets great reactions |
|
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