Kusudama
2017-2023

This page covers kusudama made between 2017 - 2023.

Large Cherry Ball

Date: 11/03/2023
From: The Greatest Dream Origami - 究極の夢折り紙
By: Toshikazu Kawasaki - 川崎敏和
Model: The President's Cherry Ball - 大統領の玉桜
Paper: 15cm x 7.5cm origami paper (30 sheets)

Using standard (15cm) paper makes this ball very large. I'm not sure if it's due to its size or paper (or a combination of both) but the ball has a surprising amount of springiness that makes it fun to squish (gently). I'm less fond of the white backside showing, though,

The President's Cherry Balls

Date: 10/xx/2023
From: The Greatest Dream Origami - 究極の夢折り紙
By: Toshikazu Kawasaki - 川崎敏和
Model: The President's Cherry Ball - 大統領の玉桜
Paper: 3.75cm x 7.5cm pink Tant, white and pink cherry blossom washi paper (30 sheets per ball)

At first glance, this is like the ball made from the Sakura Ball kit, but the method for petal shaping and for connecting each piece is rather different. Even though the paper is 3.75cm x 7.5cm, the ball is quite dense due to the difference in petal shaping. The center of each blossom is also more complex due to the difference in connection method. Due to that, the solid color ball is more consistent but the multi-colored ball can have some unique patterns.

Pink tant, 5 pieces assembled

Pink tant, 10 pieces assembled

Pink tant, roughly halfway assembled

Pink tant, roughly 2/3 assembled, inside view

Pink tant, roughly 2/3 assembled, outside view

Pink tant, fully assembled, top lit

Pink tant, fully assembled, back lit

Pink tant, fully assembled, held

Pink and white cherry blossom paper, 1/3 assembled

Pink and white cherry blossom paper, 2/3 assembled, inside view

Pink and white cherry blossom paper, fully assembled

Plum Blossom Ball

Date: 10/20/2023
From: Sakura Ball kit
Paper: ~10cm x 7.5cm Plum origami paper (30 sheets)

I am not very good at using guillotine-style paper cutters, so the sheet sizes were not very consistent. The petals are much wider and flatter due to the paper proportions.

There's very little difference between cherry and plum blossoms, but the paper is plum blossom based, hence the name.

Spikey Rainbow Ball

Date: 9/27/2023
Unit: Basic Tomoko Fuse unit
Model: Basic spiked pentakis dodecahedron
Paper: 15cm clear colored plastic sheets (60 sheets, 8 colors)

This final iteration of the rainbow kusudama was too large to fit on my lampshade.

Tape is used to secure the model as the plastic sheets don't have enough friction to hold itself together otherwise.

Top lit

Back lit with darker colors showing

Back lit with lighter colors showing

Spiked units arranged in stacks by color, 8 colors total

Spiked units arranged in rainbow order

Red Green Ball

Date: 09/01/2023
From: Brain Training Unit Origami - 脳を鍛えるユニット折り紙
By: Mio Tsugawa - つがわみお
Model: Cow hitch - ひばり結び
Paper: 7.5cm green and red patterned washi paper (6 patterns, 30 sheets)

The colors are very Christmas-y.

Black and White Spike Ball

Date: 12/12/2022
Unit: Basic Tomoko Fuse unit
Model: Basic spiked pentakis dodecahedron
Paper: 15cm monochromatic patterned wax paper (60 sheets, 8 patterns)

The monochrome paper, with its translucent texture, was too cool not to build a ball with. Unfortunately, the wax paper was too slippery and the model fell apart a few months later.

Crane Balls

Date: 10/xx/2022
From: Crane Origami - 鶴のおりがみ
By: Tomoko Fuse - 布施知子
Model: Double-sided Sonobe - 両面そのべ
Paper: 15cm and 7.5cm x 15cm floral and polka dot origami paper (30 sheets of each size)

These balls fit a crane unit into a base unit to make this clever combination of two classic models.

A primarily pastel blue and yellow crane ball, with polka dotted cranes over floral base units

A pastel blue, pink, and yellow crane ball with floral cranes over polka dotted base units

Polka Dot Cherry Blossom Ball

Date: 07/05/2022
From: Sakura Ball kit
Paper: 7.5cm x 3.75cm polka dot origami paper (30 sheets)

The narrower paper used (from cutting 7.5cm paper in half) makes the petals longer and the ball less dense than the Sakura Ball kit version.

Sakura Ball Kit

Date: 07/04/2022
From: Sakura Ball kit - 桜玉
Paper: ~4cm x 7.5cm pink aurora pre-cut paper (30 sheets)

This kit came with instructions and pre-cut paper to make a cherry blossom ball. I used some pink embroidery thread to add a little streamer at the bottom and a hanger at the top.

Roughly halfway assembled.

Fully assembled with a pink streamer attached.

Tomoko Fuse Kusudama collection

Date: 5-6/xx/2020
From: First-time Folder's Kusudama Origami - はじめてでも組めるくす玉おりがみ
By: Tomoko Fuse - 布施知子
Model: Various unit types, spiked pentakis dodecahedron
Paper: 7.5cm, 4cm (various colors) (60 sheets per ball)

During the early months of the pandemic, I made a whole bunch of spiked pentakis balls using a variety of paper colors and sizes for a whole bunch of different takes.

White ball with blue highlights made from 7.5cm paper

Dark and light pink ball with white highlights made from 4cm paper, held

Dark and light pink ball with white highlights made from 4cm paper

Yellow kusudama 1/3rd assembled

Yellow kusudama halfway assembled, with a view of the interior

Yellow kusudama made from 7.5cm paper, fully assembled and held

80's vaporware ball

Date: 01/26/2020
From: First-time Folder's Kusudama Origami - はじめてでも組めるくす玉おりがみ
By: Tomoko Fuse - 布施知子
Model: Spiked pentakis dodecahedron
Paper: 15cm (various patterns) (60 sheets per ball)

The saturated colors and wacky 80's patterns of this paper made a vibrant, vaporware-themed kusudama.

Pastel kusudama

Date: 10/xx/2018
Paper: 25cm pastel origami paper (30 sheets)

This pastel kusudama with white belts provides a calming model.

Nested kusudama

Date: 03/13/2018
Paper: 25cm, 15cm, 7.5cm (30 sheets per layer)

Three kusudama with varying sizes were made. Since this style allows you to see into the interior, they were layered inside of each other for a nested model.

The middle ball, with the smallest ball nested inside

The ball on my desk at the office, with a mug for scale

Metal and Paper Structures

Date: 10/xx/2017
Paper: 7.5cm, 15cm sheets (30 sheets per ball)

The office had these metal structures of the same geometry as 30-unit kusudama, so I took two of my kusudama and put them inside, Embroidery thread was used to keep the balls suspended.