Book Arts:
Turkish Map Fold
Cathy Koos
(All photos courtesy C Koos)
Sometimes called a shepherd’s purse or exploding book, a Turkish Map Fold is a fun addition to your journal or notebook, or stand-alone as a surprise book. Sometimes in my travel journals, I will include a blank sheet of watercolor paper employing this folding method with just a roughly sketched map of the area of travel. As the trip ensues, I will record the location and a tiny thumbnail watercolor of a tourist attraction, a’ la The Lord of the Rings series. By trip’s end, I have a fully painted map of my adventures and explorations.
Originally intended to fold a map, I also use this in place of a greeting card when I want to give more than just a card. This was a Mother’s Day card for my mom a few years ago.
Kids are delighted with these paper surprises, as well. You can glue multiple shepherd’s purses together to make a spectacular explosion of tiny squares and triangles. This little book was for a friend’s four-year-old tri-lingual grandchild:
With a few more folds as in the Hungarian map fold, you can have an even more intricate end product that resembles a lotus.
Here are a few nice and clear tutorials: