Upcycled Paper Beehive Progress

For my upcycled artifact project, I am drawing inspiration from my Aesthetic Exploration on Non-Euclidean Art, which defies traditional rectangular geometry by distorting space into surreal, otherworldly perspectives. This exploration of warped and

unconventional forms will seamlessly merge with Bee-core—a nature-inspired sub-aesthetic that honors bees, honey, and ecological preservation. By intertwining these two aesthetics, I aim to create a visually striking and conceptually profound piece that embodies both mathematical abstraction and environmental consciousness.

To do this, I will use origami to fold a tessellated hexagonal pattern out of black paper, and warp it into a interesting shapes with negative curvature, embellishing this piece with gold to make the pattern pop and adhere to my aesthetic.

Materials Update:

So far, I have successfully sourced all the materials needed for this project, each element aligning with both the conceptual and aesthetic goals of my work.

• The paper comes from my personal art supplies collection, which I have curated over the years. This adds a personal and sentimental layer to the project, as these materials have accompanied me through various creative endeavors.
• I have a half bottle of paper cement acquired from Art Parts, a recycled art supplies store. This adhesive will help in constructing and reinforcing the delicate yet intricate forms I plan to create.
• Gold leaf scraps, also from Art Parts, will introduce a rich, organic quality to the piece given the scrape misshapenness.
• To further accentuate the golden tones, I have also obtained second hand powdered gold pigments, which will allow me to experiment with subtle metallic finishes, to ideally add more depth and dimension.

Fabrication Plan and Updates:

 

I have created a base pattern with modified angles from the original crease pattern design by developed by Herng Yi Cheng. This is one unit of the pattern that I can increase to make the pattern larger.

I recently consulted with professors Michael Rivera and Zack Weaver, both experts in their fields, about utilizing the BTU laser cutters to create precise crease lines in my paper rather than cutting through it. This approach would significantly streamline the folding process, making it both more efficient and precise. I will get the chance to experiment next week with this technique.

Next week, once the crease pattern has been lasered on the paper and I can begin folding.

In addition to the beehive, it has been my thought as well as the suggestion of others to add an origami bee to the sculpture.

After much searching I found a bee design that I liked by Tadashi Mori. The pattern was actually originally designed to be a wasp, however it looks well enough like a bee, and was one of my favorite designs that I came across.

Below is the video tutorial I will be following.

 

Citations:

[1] PromeAI, “Blender AI Tool,” PromeAI, accessed February 2, 2025, https://www.promeai.pro/blender

[2] Tadashi Mori. Origami Wasp. YouTube video, 20:37. January 10, 2024. https://youtu.be/eewG05yjL_k.

[3] OpenAI, Grammar Assistant ChatGPT (January 5, 2025), https://chat.openai.com.