Phyllis Snyder

March 13, 2010, WCOG at Pico Library

I got word through Beverly Baudino that Phyllis Snyder passed away at around 7pm, February 27th:

She was in Torrance Memorial Hospital and suffering from several compilations. Her pneumonia with 3 blood clots in the esophagus made it difficult to swallow and breath. She was a real trooper and tried till the end. Her family was with her.

I learned a lot from Phyllis over the past decade that I've known her and the WCOG.

Around 2001/2002, when Herman Lau's $ flower-in-a-pot was not as commonly known, she was the one WCOG member who had kept notes (when Lau had taught it to members years earlier) and was able to refresh her memory enough to teach it to those of us who were in search of it like the Holy Grail of moneyfolds, at the time. (Later, Herman Lau went out of his way to teach it to me "correctly"- he said everyone was getting the proportions wrong- so I could teach it at OUSA).

Phyllis also introduced me to the angel designed by her friend, Louise Cooper, and derived from the Neil Elias angel.

Phyllis always loved the way I fold Montroll's horse and would repeatedly ask me to fold the head so she could watch and learn how I got it to be 3D.

Over the years, I've worked with her at festivals and kept company at WCOG meetings; and have enjoyed sharing and learning from her. She had a wealth of experience and knowledge and a generous spirit to share it all.

Phyllis will be greatly missed. More to come later.

February 20, 2009 Phyllis with a napkin rose folded and given to her by Won Park

Also blogging:

Origami Mommy's Blog

Joseph Wu on Studio 4 TV

When Usagi Yojimbo Crosses Paths with Origami

I believe I've posted on this before (too lazy to dig through the archives, at the moment)...

Story:

This four-page story opens with Usagi coming to a mountain inn. He notices a patron sitting at a table folding a tsuru (crane), who explains he does this to remember the many he has killed. He claims to be an assassin. Usagi orders a meal and decides to stay away from the assassin. However, after the assassin finishes folding the tsuru, he call's Usagi by name and puts it on Usagi's table before leaving the inn. Usagi is surprised the assassin knows his name. After Usagi finishes his meal and leaves the inn, the assassin accosts him on the road outside. He reveals he was hired by Yamanaka the seaweed merchant to slay Usagi for driving him out of business. A duel ensues, and Usagi strikes down the assassin and then tosses down the folded tsuru as the assassin gives out his dying breath.

Watch "Tsuru".

Happy Chinese New Hare!

I was randomly flipping through pages in Vicente Palacios' "Origami from Around the World" when I woke up this morning; and Yoshihide Momotani's rabbit caught my attention, folded from a 2 x 1 rectangle. So I decided to adapt it to the dollar bill and it sorta worked. Folded two of these this morning right before seeing my client, while sitting in the car (first one is on the right, 2nd attempt is on the left).

Well, I would have been surprised if no one else had thought of it before me.

Better set of diagrams in Steve and Megumi Biddle's The New Origami.