I'm on Top of the World...Spinning...Down on Creation....

11-27-2009

Manpei Arai's spinning top is my favorite origami giveaway model!

I've been doing origami at festivals and events to entertain folk for over a decade now.  Strongly influenced by Joe Hamamoto's example of prefolding models to hand out to the masses, I always come well-stocked on spinning tops.  It's one of those things that is easier to give than to teach in a festival setting where you are trying to bring the joy of origami to as many people as possible- which usually means teaching models that are simple and quick, rather than time-consumingly and frustratingly complex for raw beginners to get through.


To expedite my time, I start out with a stack of 3-5 sheets and fold up to the base before separating the layers.  You can see an example of this here.  (If you can't get the video to play, go to the YouTube version).


True story:  I once folded about 12 of these with my eyes shut, while having my teeth worked on at the dentist's.