Joy Hsiao
I am a math teacher, an avid origami folder, and am finishing up a
year-long pastry and baking program at a culinary school. I wanted to
explore and expand on the materials used to make origami, and the use
of edible materials was a natural extension of my newly acquired
skills.
A typical five-interlocking-tetrahedra is a modular origami made
with 30 pieces of 1x3 rectangular paper. It can be a challenge to
assemble the pieces. The use of edible materials presents
additional challenges. Wafer paper cracks easily during folding
and dissolves when an adhesive is applied. The royal icing used to
glue together gum paste units takes many hours to dry. Therefore,
drying each newly added modular piece required various temporary
structural support and endless patience. Modular units made with
tempered chocolate connect quickly; however, each modular piece
had to be cast in a homemade mold and painstakingly shaved to
shape in a cold room before assembled.