What a Wonderful Origami World!

Our December, end of the year WCOG meeting, complete with the annual library tree decorating.

The Three Little Origami Pigs

While using Technorati to browse for origami blogs, I came across
this cute idea.






So last night I folded one;






































then today, I filmed the following:




(Diagrams for the first photo models can be found in NOA #315- created by Ms. Chiyo Fukuoka).

Operation: Peace Crane

About a week ago, the OFF-topic post regarding Fallujah and white phosphorus made it's way onto the O-List. An Italian film has stirred up the moonbats(and the not-so-moonbatty) into believing our soldiers used a chemical weapon in the battle to wrest Fallujah free from the clutches of terrorist insurgents and foreign fighters. I challenged the poster on it, off list. An admin weighed in with the expected "lay off politics" warning. Then someone else posted, and I read more into his post than was there. So even though I knew better, I went off on a mini-rant of my own. Since then, I had re-read the post and made my apology to the person I flamed. But the off-topic stimulated agreement that political expression in origami is acceptable, as long as it relates back to origami.

This brings us to this past weekend. I was invited once again to Japan Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Last year, Yami, Joe and I teamed up with fellow WCOG members, Phyllis Snyder and Fumi Wakao. This year, Yami, Joe and I were given free tables to help Rafu Shimpo promote peace cranes and get visitors to the Expo to help fold tsuru and tack them onto a giant 8 foot crane that volunteers had built. Problem with getting people to stop long enough to fold a tsuru is that many wanted to keep their crane. And then there was also this problem: I ended up being by myself. Joe and Yami both contacted me the day before the Festival to let me know that they were sick. Both were suffering from the kind of ailments that come with old age. Joe did want me to pick up a bunch of giveaways that he had folded; so Saturday morning, I drove out to Gardena to his house; then swung by my storage place to pick up my own origami stuff before making it out to the Expo. It was so crowded in the West Hall, that I parked in South Hall and made quite a trek. 3 car-trips that had me sweating and my back and arms feeling like they would break.

I was pretty busy non-stop...sometimes teaching 3 different models all at once. I still like the multi-piece flower with pipe cleaner, as it's a project that doesn't need hands-on instructing the entire time. And any new arrivals to my table can just jump in any time. I can also delegate people to teach it to new arrivals when I'm pre-occupied already. It's that simple.

I was happy to see some of my friends make it down: Kirsten and her family; Cathleen; coworker Sara; Oliva and family; the VNSO crew; a client of mine, Stacey, and her family (that's her daughter Malaika at the end with the eyes popping out of her head when the Robert Neale $butterfly comes to life. That's also her hiding behind her dad, Neil toward the end).

Heading into the Expo and still fuming over the white phosphorus conspiracists...I printed out some camouflage patterns from Operation Peace Crane, as well as Esseltine's Kamiflage (click here for his new link). And as a subtle political statement, I folded some tsuru out of this paper and added them to the giant crane. (I also did a couple out of the American flag; the printing was created by John Andrisan).

I've tried to keep my politics and origami separate. This video does touch upon politics, but not in an overt fashion. It is neither pro-war/anti-peace, nor pro-Bush/anti-Bush, nor siding with a political party. I also didn't want this video to be about the war in Iraq and the Greater War on Terrorism; but one that is about war in the general sense. As the mission statement says on Operation Peace Crane,

Normally, origami cranes are folded using colorful origami paper, and traditional patterns. We hereby propose a new movement by spreading the crane with camouflage patterns of military around the world. Using the camouflage on the cranes represents the irony of war and peace that are inherent in our society, as if one cannot exist without the other. Today, we must confront the stark reality that the military complex is a worldwide industry, sponsored by the government (not to mention tax payers), which in turn supports the lifestyles of the unassuming public.

I chose the quotes I included at the end of the video very carefully; and what I did want to get across politically, is a positive message that is pro-peace, pro-military, and pro-victory. And that is a message that I hope all Americans can get behind and stand together on.

Aquarium of the Pacific Autumn Festival 2005

The adorable girl in the video is one of my dear and delightful gymnasts, Emily:

WCOG Meeting Oct 8, 2005

wcThis wasn't my first choice in music, because it is very slow (not as slow as the Barry Manilow version); but, hey! It has October in its name. I was actually hoping to include a fun, Halloween themed music, but no one brought any Halloween origami; too early in the month, I suppose. We also had a lighter turnout than we've had in a while, perhaps due to this Saturday, not feeling like the 2nd Saturday of the month.

WCOG (9/11) Tribute Meeting

California State University Long Beach Origami Festival2005

You can see photos from previous years in one of my old yahoo photo albums. Kudos to Alison Redfoot for her tireless work in putting this together every year. I must say, our free lunch was the best lunch...ever!

Saturday in the Library Dungeon (July WCOG Meeting)

OUSA Convention June 24-27, 2005

"I've Been to OUSA, Man!":




"Wander My Friends...Into the Fold":

WCOG June Meeting 2005

"Shut Up and Fold" (WCOG May meeting)

Lessons in Origami

I taught a few workshops back in April for a Charter school, culminating in a silent auction, including donated pieces.

Cherry Blossom Festival, Monterey Park, California April 16-17, 2005

The Monterey Park Cherry Blossom Festival was the first cultural festival I had ever done. This was probably around 2001. This is also where I met Kathern Inouye who has done much in her 80+ years to promote Japanese and Japanese-American culture. She was my contact source for the Festival, and subsequently, every other festival I have done. A very remarkable, endearing, and generous woman. Yami and Joe have joined me these last couple of years. I think we had one of our best festivals ever. It included 2 on-stage performances. Subsequently, this is one of my favorite videos, ever. It's long, but I have always loved this song. A friend of mine, Kenichi, used to street perform in Little Tokyo's Japanese Village Plaza; and I first heard the Okinawan song, "Hana" from him. He'd always perform it for me whenever I saw him out there.




I had this idea to have volunteers from the audience have a quickfold contest: Whoever could fold a banger and make it >bang<>

WCOG April Meeting

Pasadena Cherry Blossom Festival 2005

"I Crease the Line" (WCOG March Meeting)

"Year of the Butterfly" (Chinese New Year Festival)

Matsuri Festival in Phoenix, Arizona

I was invited out to teach at the Matsuri Festival, in Phoenix. Hopefully this video captures some of the fun. It was nice to see familiar faces from my past OUSA Convention visits.

WCOG February Meeting

Two videos for this month. The first one has Phu Tran teaching his rose:



It really is quite gorgeous. He has several different variations, all based off of the Kawasaki twist-fold method, but quite original in how he has given his rose the illusion of additional petals. The calyx and leaves are interlocked into the stem; and the calyx itself locks into the rose by incorporating a spearhead-shaped insertion-tip.

I brought two of my gymnasts to this meeting:

WCOG 01-08-2005 New Beginnings & Top Fun

I split January's meeting into two different videos:





Here's the second video, "Top Fun":




(Cartoon by Lar deSouza)

"Folding in the New Year"