A blogsite not for me to bloviate; but for me to share my origami videos with the origami community. I am affiliated with the Westcoast Origami Guild, Pacific Ocean Paperfolders, Origami Paperfolders of San Diego, Origami USA, and the Origami Interest Group (Origami-L/O-List).
I arrived around 2pm (starts at 1pm) and was the last to leave, aside from Marti's friend Margot.
Brought a show-and-tell item:
I taught Marti and Jim Cowling Peter Keller's star puff box from a hexagon. I also began working on the feathered crane (finished it at home).
Photo from Ginger
As usual, I swung through Gardena to pick up dinner- chili hot dog over rice and spam musubi. Don't know the name of the place- advertises as Hawaiian. Their spam musubi is delicious because they sprinkle furikake on them.
I have not been to one, all year, I think. And Joe hasn't been to one even longer than that.
So it was with great joy that we were able to attend yesterday's meet up.
After dropping Joe off, I picked up dinner from one of the many Japanese food eateries littering Gardena. At Tokyo Central, I found these (did not buy any):
Sheep Created by Jun MAEKAWA Folded by Michael Sanders 10” x 10” commercial kami Diagram source: Genuine Origami, Tanteidan Convention Book #8
Alexander Lam talked me into folding this model yesterday, just as I was ready to leave the meeting at Marti's. I hid the horns so as to bear resemblance to the one in the movie.
I'm still curious to know if the production sought and received permission from Maekawa. Perhaps it's in the closing credits?
Small turn out at Marti's yesterday. I could count the number of folders on one hand.
Marti, herself, was out of town, visiting Japan.
I perused (as I usually do) some of the books I don't have, in Marti's vast origami book collection:
Folded various dividers (OUSA Convention book 2012) for the traditional masu box after folding Kasahara's "happy box" from a recent issue of NOA, brought by Hisako (I finally figured out how to renew my own subscription through the internet. For years, I used to receive my issues through Kinokuniya- no longer).
After the meeting, I swung by Marukai to pick up bacon fried rice and fruit for Yami. Saw this at the checkout:
Notice the sign at the top and then the "WARNING" sign on the right? Mixed messages, anyone?!
Yami doesn't answer his phone so there's no planning ahead and warning him beforehand.
He was very receptive and responsive yesterday. He's not always like that these days and I'm not sure if it's due to any personality changes related to his stroke(s), his current situation, medication, sugar, or just plain mood.
Pam Miike did a beautiful job with organizing Yami's cards and origami gifts he received through the mail by OUSA & worldwide origami friends and well-wishers. She put them all into books.
I arrived in the middle of his dinner (which I thought looked yum!); and he eagerly devoured the bacon fried rice. Left him a small bowl of grapes as he said he couldn't finish all the ones I brought.
I will eventually post photos and/or video from Yami's birthday party at the end of last month.
Chris Alexander made a surprise appearance at Marti's, today (while she was away in Florida at a puzzle convention). Last time he was seen by the local folding community was at John Andrisan's funeral services (which I missed).
Coincidentally, I came with the goal in mind of folding Ángel Morollón's Vader from Pajarita magazine #134. I did a trial run last night with linen paper. The one I folded at the meeting was out of mulberry foil paper- maybe around a 15" square?
Chris entertained us with the story of how he came to obtain permission rights to publishing his Star Wars origami book; and meeting George Lucas. It was a 12 year journey with twists and turns. Over 4 million dollars have been made on Alexander's book (of which he gets 1% royalties- Chris says he's gotten around $36,000).
It was a light turnout with a few mainstays away teaching origami at a public event. Jared Needle came, however.
Light turnout, this month. Host Marty herself was out traveling.
David Donahue had a nice flapping-ear elephant model. Around 2006 or 2007, I beta-tested the Dumbo action model that Sy Chen was working on while at OUSA. Just the other day, I also saw this flapping-eared elephant on FB. It's always been a cool concept.
Tried to fold and launch this rocket, using a straw and wasn't too successful.
There are other rocket designs, similar to this (you can find a lot of vids on YouTube)- really, you can make up your own waterbomb base variant.
Akiko Yamanashi's Kabuto Box with fancy kabuto nesting inside.
It was a medium turnout.
Joe Hamamoto had to stay home and take it easy because he's been tired from dialysis. While at the hospital, he's been entertaining people there with his origami.
Yami suffered a mild stroke last Monday and was in the hospital for 3 days. He, too, decided to take it easy and did not come to meeting.
Highlight was having Cathy Wilimzig visit, from Phoenix. I've known her through OUSA Conventions and Matsuri Festival in Phoenix, with their folding group.
Always fun at origami kai 1st Sunday @ Marti's!
Posted by Takashi Iwamoto on Monday, June 8, 2015
Pam taught this rose (she sticks Hershey kisses inside like a container)
This post covers Carol Stevens' 5th Sunday meeting; and Marti's 1st Sunday.
Even though I never saw John Andrisan do a lot of new folding at meetings (it seemed like he mostly came for the company; and for any opportunity to teach the laFosse F14 Tomcat), it felt strange for him not to be at either of these meetings. He was always there.
I brought along with me, the two living legends, Yami and Joe. We also had a special guest, Rosemary Browne visiting from Canada.
Rosemary meeting Yami for the first time
I also had a family bring their son Matthew, who's into magic and subsequently has gotten interested in paperfolding. I coach his little sister in gymnastics.
Alex suggested I use math to figure out the proportion for the lid in this hexagonal version of Angel Blanco's box. But it only took me 3 trial-and-error attempts to play with it, to get the model I was after.
I met Susumu NAKAJIMA at OUSA one year (2005?). That was the year his Mickey Mouse ears/hat was popular (he brought large sheets of black/red duo kami and was selling packets of them). He was kind enough to snail mail me directions to that model and a fish he designed- I don't even recall asking him to do this.
Jared Needle behind a bottle of beer, behind a model of his labrador
I didn't get to Garden Grove until 3:30pm (fortunately, few left on time, at 4pm, staying much longer, past time), due to work obligations. It was Jared Needle's first time at Marty's.
Ron Fujioka traded out a few fresh dollar bills with the serial number "1701...", for folding dollar Enterprises. He had acquired around $400 singles initially with that number, having remembered someone searching for such a number (that someone being Fred Upton, who learned to fold Won's Enterprise). Apparently when he told Fred about it, the bank was out of them by the time Fred made it down to that bank.
At Marti's last Sunday, Ron Fujioka brought a stack of bank bill $ that he had been holding onto for Fred Upton for 2 years. Why? Because Fred had put out a request for anyone with bills that held the numbers "1701" in its serial- the same as the serial number on the various Enterprises.
So Fred taught Won Park's version of the Enterprise last Sunday. Fred figured it out from Won's descriptions and from some help Won gave him back when he made a visit out to Los Angeles.
