Creator
Max Hulme
United Kingdom
About Max
Max Hulme was a prominent figure in the origami community known for his innovative and detailed designs.
Background and Career
Max’s interest in origami began in the late 1960s, and he quickly became a significant figure in the British origami scene. His passion for the art was partly inspired by meeting origami master Akira Yoshizawa in 1972 at the Cobden Hotel in Birmingham.
He was actively involved in the British Origami Society (BOS) for almost 50 years, contributing regularly to their magazines, booklets, model collections, conventions, and exhibitions. He has produced diagrams for almost all of his many hundreds of models for BOS, and his designs have appeared in various origami publications globally.
Notable Works and Innovations
One of the subjects he returned to repeatedly was chess sets and chess boards, producing 12 sets in total from geometric themes to historic sets. He successfully strove to produce a chessboard from a single un-cut square producing multi piece boards along the journey. His 64 cm square chessboard folds down to an 8 cm board.
Another notable design is his Jack in the Box, crafted during a 1976 BOS exhibition. This model, made from a 2x1 rectangle, utilizes a combination of one-eighth and one-sixth divisions and is admired for its economical use of paper and perfect color changes. The model is both an action figure and a sturdy piece due to the strengthened hinge within the box.
Max is well known for his intricate vehicle designs, including his open topped London Omnibus. Made from a 6x1 rectangle, it features a spiral staircase and distinct seats on the top deck. His use of colored foil paper allowed him to create various vehicles like the WWII Spitfire fighter and Stuka planes, Bugatti, steam traction engine, steam engines and rolling stock He has produced two vesions of Stevenson’s Rocket.
He also developed a series of highly detailed insects using rectangles folded into waterbomb bases, creating slim legs, antennae, and wings were are featured in Eric Kenneway’s “Origami Paperfolding for Fun” (1980), which included his spider and fly.
In 2003, Hulme was a key figure in a Guinness World Record attempt for the longest origami train, collaborating with the National Railway Museum and BOS. The project involved creating 1,550 trucks and a new Stephenson’s Rocket loco design.
In response to a BOS challenge to produce a multipiece mosaic of Picasso’s Eye Max developed what later became known as the pixel unit, a modular origami piece that could be strongly locked on all sides and joined together. The ‘Eye’ was constructed by Max and others at the BOS 40th anniversary convention from 100s of units to make a display 2m x 4m. Max continued to explore the possibilities of the unit and his first 3D model was of an unlikely subject that he could think of – a modular (Indian) elephant with tusks. Over the next 18 years, he continued to produce models using the pixel unit frequently mixing units of different starting proportions to achieve his 3D models and only venturing into geometric forms infrequently. He has a large number of animals, birds, hats, and some unusual subjects like a Luna Landing Caft, mythical and prehistoric creatures, and, of course, a chess set and board. Sadly, less than half of Max’s pixel models have been diagrammed to date.
Influence and Teaching
Max was an excellent teacher with a quiet and patient teaching style, which has inspired many origami enthusiasts. His approach to origami is methodical and analytical, often resulting in models that are both visually appealing and mechanically sound. His legacy includes both his unique creations and the influence he has had on the origami community at large.
Publications
Max Hulme’s work has been featured in several publications, including:
“Origami - Arte del Piegare la Carta”, by Renzo Zanoni.
”Origami Handbook”, by Daniel G. Mason.
BOS booklets - “Max Hulme - Selected Works 1973-1979”, illustrated by Dave Venables* and “Max Hulme - Selected Works - A Second Selection”.
His work can be found in most BOS model collections from the mid-1980s to 2020
Links
David Brill’s website -
Have Paper, Will Travel blog - https://havepaperwilltravel.blogspot.com/
Background and Career
Max’s interest in origami began in the late 1960s, and he quickly became a significant figure in the British origami scene. His passion for the art was partly inspired by meeting origami master Akira Yoshizawa in 1972 at the Cobden Hotel in Birmingham.
He was actively involved in the British Origami Society (BOS) for almost 50 years, contributing regularly to their magazines, booklets, model collections, conventions, and exhibitions. He has produced diagrams for almost all of his many hundreds of models for BOS, and his designs have appeared in various origami publications globally.
Notable Works and Innovations
One of the subjects he returned to repeatedly was chess sets and chess boards, producing 12 sets in total from geometric themes to historic sets. He successfully strove to produce a chessboard from a single un-cut square producing multi piece boards along the journey. His 64 cm square chessboard folds down to an 8 cm board.
Another notable design is his Jack in the Box, crafted during a 1976 BOS exhibition. This model, made from a 2x1 rectangle, utilizes a combination of one-eighth and one-sixth divisions and is admired for its economical use of paper and perfect color changes. The model is both an action figure and a sturdy piece due to the strengthened hinge within the box.
Max is well known for his intricate vehicle designs, including his open topped London Omnibus. Made from a 6x1 rectangle, it features a spiral staircase and distinct seats on the top deck. His use of colored foil paper allowed him to create various vehicles like the WWII Spitfire fighter and Stuka planes, Bugatti, steam traction engine, steam engines and rolling stock He has produced two vesions of Stevenson’s Rocket.
He also developed a series of highly detailed insects using rectangles folded into waterbomb bases, creating slim legs, antennae, and wings were are featured in Eric Kenneway’s “Origami Paperfolding for Fun” (1980), which included his spider and fly.
In 2003, Hulme was a key figure in a Guinness World Record attempt for the longest origami train, collaborating with the National Railway Museum and BOS. The project involved creating 1,550 trucks and a new Stephenson’s Rocket loco design.
In response to a BOS challenge to produce a multipiece mosaic of Picasso’s Eye Max developed what later became known as the pixel unit, a modular origami piece that could be strongly locked on all sides and joined together. The ‘Eye’ was constructed by Max and others at the BOS 40th anniversary convention from 100s of units to make a display 2m x 4m. Max continued to explore the possibilities of the unit and his first 3D model was of an unlikely subject that he could think of – a modular (Indian) elephant with tusks. Over the next 18 years, he continued to produce models using the pixel unit frequently mixing units of different starting proportions to achieve his 3D models and only venturing into geometric forms infrequently. He has a large number of animals, birds, hats, and some unusual subjects like a Luna Landing Caft, mythical and prehistoric creatures, and, of course, a chess set and board. Sadly, less than half of Max’s pixel models have been diagrammed to date.
Influence and Teaching
Max was an excellent teacher with a quiet and patient teaching style, which has inspired many origami enthusiasts. His approach to origami is methodical and analytical, often resulting in models that are both visually appealing and mechanically sound. His legacy includes both his unique creations and the influence he has had on the origami community at large.
Publications
Max Hulme’s work has been featured in several publications, including:
“Origami - Arte del Piegare la Carta”, by Renzo Zanoni.
”Origami Handbook”, by Daniel G. Mason.
BOS booklets - “Max Hulme - Selected Works 1973-1979”, illustrated by Dave Venables* and “Max Hulme - Selected Works - A Second Selection”.
His work can be found in most BOS model collections from the mid-1980s to 2020
Links
David Brill’s website -
Have Paper, Will Travel blog - https://havepaperwilltravel.blogspot.com/