15 October 2003
Yamaguchi's "Star"
What: Star
By: YAMAGUCHI Makoto
From: Enjoy Life with Practical Origami (in Japanese), Yamaguchi Makoto, ISBN 4816334041
Why: Although I was going for an "Autumn" theme, I thought it was late enough in the season that something vaguely Christmas-related might go over well for my workshop. This star is simplicity in itself - you fold three small squares in half diagonally, and then assemble (yes, with glue, sorry). You can use it flat on cards, or as a tag for gifts, or an ornament.
The really funny this about this star is that it looks like a normal, regular, five-pointed star. If you turn it sideways, though, you can see immediately that it's only a very rough approximation of the correct angles, and it looks quite "off." But when you view it upright, somehow the side-to-side symmetry overwhelms the lack of symmetry in the points, and you're fooled into thinking it's a proper star. Or something.
