Rice bowls

Here we have a pair of rice bowls. These bowls are examples of "modular" or "unit origami", a style of origami in which many identical units are created and locked together via folding alone to create the final model. Two different (but similar) kinds of units were used in the creation of these bowls; each bowl consists of 3 of the first kind and 3 of the second kind.

Astute viewers may notice that the bowls are similar in pattern. They are actually from the same pattern; slight changes in the shaping folds of the units account for the difference in shape. The bowl on the left is clearly triangular. The bowl on the right is referred to by its designer as a "small dish" and has special properties. What are these properties? They will be revealed in next week's post.

Notice the interior spiral pattern of the bowls.


Each rice bowl was created from 6 sheets of 5-7/8" square origami paper. Each is approximately 2-1/2" deep and 5" to 5-1/4" wide. The bowls were designed by Tomoko Fuse. The folding pattern for both may be found in her book Unit Origami.