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ruby-
throated
humming-
bird
Designed by Michael G. LaFosse
In New England, the most common hummingbird is the ruby-throated
hummingbird, so I was already familiar with them from backyard feeders.
In 1997, ! was fortunate to be able to live at the Arizona-Sonora Desert
‘Museum in Tucson, for an artist-in-residence program that led to my
creation of a museum full of origami animals and plants of the desert.
Hummingbirds are abundant in Arizona, and | enjoyed this opportunity to
study dozens of them up close, in a walk-in aviary. The greatest challenge
with this model is discovering the correct posture. We can’t see the wings
ofa hovering hummingbird, but we definitely see the bird's unique
posture as silhouetted from the side. Your origami model should capture
the essence of this tiny yet powerful bird, capable of kicking into high
gear in an instant.
68 PAPER SUGGESTIONS
‘The male ruby-throated hummingbird
is made from paper that is green on
one side, red on the other; the female
uses paper that is green on one side,
white on the other, since her throat is
white, not red, Now that there are so
many sparkly papers commercially
available, it is fun to try this model
with different materials to make differ-
ent species. | have developed a special
handmade paper for this bird, but
since bright red colored pulps are
éifficult to produce without using toxic
pigments, we often apply a red acrylic
paint to the back of the shimmering
green handmade paper. We can mix
the acrylic paints to adjust the color
and hue while mixing in mica for shim-
mer, but commercially available
pearlescent or iridescent acrylics are
also suitable. A 6-inch (15-cm) square
will produce a hummingbird 4 inches
Go.cm long.
“Oo
5. Tum the model over.
RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD
1. Begin with the red side up, Valley-fold 2. Fold up the bottom comer tothe pinch
edge to edge, bath ways, Mountain-fld mark.
comer ta corner, both ways. Fold the
bottom corner up and make a pinch mark.
A
Bc
3. Use the crease pattern to bring comers
‘A,B, and C together atthe bottom.
4. Petabfold up.
7. Bring top flaps back down, one on
each side.
6. Petabfold up.
6 ADVANCED ORIGAMI
vs
8. Reorient the paper flaps: upperleftfolds 9 Bring the front and back Raps up. 10. Mountain-fld along the middle of the
lover tothe right; ower-right folds over to right front corner of the diamond shape
the left. ‘and move it tothe center. Repeat behind.
This isthe tll paper.
t & Bx
11. Fold both sides down, 12. Open the center ofthe tall paper 113. Pull open the tall paper.
¥
toward you and flatten it. Move the bottom
back ayer to make the shape symmetrical.
nA
14, Sink the indicated area and close the 15. Turn over. 16. Open out the indicated layers.
tail paper. RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD
*
>
17, Pull out the center layers to inside 418. Fold the tall half 19. Mountain-fold along the middle ofthe
reverse-fld a flared section of th tal right front corner ofthe hal-ciamond
feathers shape and move it to the center. Repeat
‘behind. Ths is the head paper.
>
>
20. Outside-reverse-fold. 21. Bring out the layers ftom beneath, 22. Fold up on each side.
Y
i
23, Swivel the red throat layer backas 24, Sink the top front paper onthe bill to
the top edge is brought down, Narrow the ‘narrow the point. 25. Top view ofthe bill. Compress the sides
each wing by folding the leading edges ‘ofthe bill by pinching inthe indicated
backward. valley folds. ADVANCED ORIGAMI
mA A
26. Fold each side ofthe bill down to make 27. Mountain fold the indicated comer 28. Mountain-fold the indicated corner
it slender. behind. Repeat on the other side. down. Repeat on the other side.
29. Pleat the wings with alternating moun- 31, The finished Ruby-Throated
tains and valleys. Hummingbird.
+30. Narrow the cheek by folding the cuter
flaps down. Pinch the back of the body,
near the underside of the tail, to fatten anc
shape it.The body will plump and become
mote graceful.
72
