Very First Kusudama

According to Wikipedia, kusudama means "medicine ball" in Japanese, and the word was originally used to describe balls of flowers or herbs used as incense and tied together with string.

In modern day origami parlance, the term "kusudama" seems to be commonly used to describe any spherical modular origami structure where the units resemble flowers. The variations are endless. This particular kusudama is featured in Rick Beech's "Practical Illustrated Encyclopedia of Origami." The instructions for this kusudama states that, "This [is]...a very complicated model to assemble, and patience will be needed." It was probably a bit ambitious of me to try this so early on in my modular origami life - the units (of which there are 30) are tricky, and assembly is tough. But I am glad I persevered - the results were quite pleasing.

The book's instructions were great, but it would have been really helpful for the book to also note that during assembly, (a) a toothpick is incredibly helpful to guide the tabs into the pockets, and (b) putting the piece in a rounded bowl as you build up the sides of the sphere does wonders in helping you shape the final piece.

Finally, this was the first piece in which I made extensive use of tape on the inside of the piece to help keep units connected as I assembled. Purists will sneer at my use of tape, but for me, it was either that or shoot myself in the head out of frustration.