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May 6, 2005
It Ain't No Origami
Hello, my name is Corie and I am (choose one of the following):
- Easily entertained by impossible, detail-oriented and inevitably frustrating activities
-
Abnormally dedicated to accomplishing activities that have no bearing on real life
-
Wholly consumed by little things, particularly those activities that involve folding millions of tiny pieces of paper via directions written in Czech.
If you chose 1, 2, or 3 you have hit the nail on the head.
When my father sent me the link to Dirkon: The Paper Pinhole Camera, I thought, Why not? It involved using an exacto knife (a favorite activity of mine), making very precise, tiny cuts, folding things, and ultimately making a little toy camera that worked. What part of that description would I not enjoy?
I printed the camera parts at work on Tuesday, leaving off the directions page, as it was in Czech and I figured that I would not be able to understand them if I needed them, anyway. Last night, filled with an odd bout of nervous energy, I installed myself on the bed with my special surgical knife and a good metal ruler. I raised my blade to the paper, started to cut, and realized quickly that, despite my naieve intentions, I really could have used some directions.
I also needed glue...and some clear tape. And possibly an awl (which I found). And a working knowledge of dotted vs. solid line (which, in the land of paper folding, I believe translate to mountain and valley folds). But, most of all, I needed a working understanding of Czechoslovakian.
The Dirkon is the most difficult paper folding/gluing/taping project that I have ever encountered. After two hours of cutting, scoring, shoving tabs into non-existent openings, and resorting to electrical tape (I had no other kind, plus I figured that I would need electrical or gaffers tape, anyway, to keep out light leaks—that was before I discovered that there was NO WAY that I was creating a working camera), I came to grips with the fact that this was going to be a half ass venture...let's call it..."a test."
An hour and a half after that epiphany, I had stuck 3/4 of the parts together, the result of which resembled a fifth grader’s origami project. I gave up on making the camera functional, started taping pieces in odd places, just to get the thing to stick together, and accidentally cut off a small piece of my thumb.
It was a cute first try, however, and I would totally do it again. But first I just need to acquire some Slavic language skills.
Posted by callalillie at May 6, 2005 6:59 AM | Geek
The internet has many automatic translation utilities...
Posted by: peter sefton at May 6, 2005 8:31 AM
my dear, dear daughter... you suffer from a genetic malady, the result of which is that you don't RTFM. The pdf has three pages. The second and third are he cut outs and the Czech instructions. The FIRST is in English and contains (limited) English instructions. I think that, in your haste to flail about with an Xacto knife, you neglected to print or take along page one.
Posted by: bobtrancho at May 6, 2005 8:58 AM
oh no, i READ the english instructions. did you? it begins with "after you've glued all of the appropriate pieces together..." i needed instructions on HOW to put all the appropriate pieces together! the english instructions focused on making the pinhole work.
Posted by: corie at May 6, 2005 9:02 AM
i choose d or 4, all of the above.
Posted by: tien at May 6, 2005 9:55 AM
wow. that's so neat.
also, if you like awls, exactos, and paper(and string), you should try hand-binding books. it's addicting, productive, and fun.
Posted by: yp at May 6, 2005 10:55 AM
Okay, number one: there's no such thing as Czechoslovakian, not anymore anyway! that's a special pet peeve of mine that I claimed after living in Prague for 4 months.
and two, if you know anyone that speaks Polish, they'll probably be able to help you because they (meaning Poles) say that czech is just a dumbed-down version of Polish and they are very similar.
Have fun.
Posted by: Nancy at May 6, 2005 8:50 PM
I think we were separated at birth. I once spent nearly a month working nightly on this ferris wheel made of a thousand cut outs, oh, it was awful and wonderful, and who doesn't like ferris wheels? Then, mid-project I had to move, and it didn't survive well. I'm still bummed I can't find the book again!
Do excuse me, I have a camera to work on. Let me know if you find any more!
Posted by: deb at May 8, 2005 6:17 PM
Hey, at least it kept you busy for an evening without your honey! Whatever works... :-)
Posted by: carrster at May 8, 2005 9:45 PM
