I had lunch today at the National Building Museum which gave me a chance to shoot another fisheye photo. While there, I discovered that the annual Festival of Origami Architecture is tomorrow from 10am - 4:30pm. Alas, I already made plans and once again can't go.

Origami architecture is the art of crafting pop-up sculptures out of a single piece of paper with only cuts and folds. The patterns are designed from scratch, and the most complex can take years of thinking. The last photo shows a greeting card that opens to reveal a dimensional model of the U.S. Capitol. This particular example is mass-produced by a laser cutter, but true origami artists cut their pieces by hand. You're not likely to make it to this festival, but you can download free PDF patterns from the Baud & Bui web site to try on your own.

And noting to myself: Symphony In Steel - Ironworkers and the Walt Disney Concert Hall is showing through August 22.

- mike lee - washington, dc