The Origami Show

TOS: Episode 8 How to find origami friends with Katy Higgins

How many of you are solitary paper folders? I was for decades. Little did I realize there is an international community of origamists scattered all around the globe. Finding the ones in your local area, or even far away, was probably more challenging before the internet made it easy to not only discover each other but even fold together at live-streamed, national, and international origami conventions. This episode is about my first origami folding friend Katy Higgins. We have a few fun stories to share as well as suggestions and links in the show notes on Patreon about how to find your own group of folding friends. Also in the show notes are the many photos we promised to share during the interview: https://www.patreon.com/posts/52173089

TOS: Episode 7 Origami as Art The Japanese American Internment

Can art change the world? And is origami art? My answer to both questions is yes. While art won't solve all of the problems in the world it can make a difference. Often one viewer at a time. If you fold origami you have an opportunity to contribute to the way people perceive origami and the way it can be used to reach out to the community around you and beyond. This episode is about a trio of mobiles I made in 2017 that crossed over to an informative space my origami had never occupied before. The experience transformed my perception of the origami I make from beautiful things to something that could be speak loudly and connect and resonate with people in ways I'd never imagined. There are links to many of the historical points I share and photos of some of the things I talk about including the origami mobiles I made and the photo of my family held in the internment camp at Heart Mountain, WY. There's also a photo of Heart Mountain and the barracks in winter. Both are from my family's archive. There is a photo of the interior of one of the barracks and a map of the exclusion area as well as the location of the 10 internment camps located in the United States. https://www.patreon.com/posts/51930457

The Origami Show #6: Rebecca Giesking Art Supply Warehouse

Apologies for this episode being previously uploaded with a defect in the recording.  I corrected it later the same day but for those of you who have subscribed and received an automatic download the correction came too late. So if you weren't able to listen to it before, I hope re-uploading it solved any issues you had. I laughed when Rebecca Giesking told me her title at Art Supply Warehouse is the "Director of Fun." But I don't doubt for a second her job is fun. Working with creative people and being an artist herself her job sounds like a great way and place to spend your time while irresistibly surrounded by seemingly infinite art supplies. In this interview we discuss the difference between an arts and crafts shop and an art supply store, where to have lunch if you come spend an afternoon checking out Art Supply Warehouse, and Rebecca's interesting career path. We also discuss an upcoming live streamed, beginner level, origami class I'll be teaching for Art Supply Warehouse on May 22nd. Details will be in the show notes over on Patreon along with photos of many of the supplies we talked about and a little peek into Rebecca's creativity. https://www.patreon.com/posts/51116734/

The Origami Show #5: Jax @OrigamiAndMe

Jax (who is aka @origamiandme on Instagram [http://instagram.com/origamiandme]) became an accomplished origamist when he was seven years old and in the third grade. Last year. Some of his answers to the questions I asked had me LOL'ing because they weren't at all what I expected. He's bright, talented, has more than 26,000 Instagram followers as of April 30th, 2021, and as I told him several times, I think he's quite a courageous young fellow. He's taken on folding and designing models while learning to pronounce origami related words and designer's names that would make many people feel intimidated. We chat about things like Naruto, MC, Tanteidan, and crease patterns. All are explained in depth in the show notes on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/50697569/ [https://www.patreon.com/posts/50697569/] The Origami Show is sponsored by AITOH Company, purveyor of origami and Japanese papers.

The Origami Show #4: Small Business Fundamentals

One of the questions I’m most frequently asked is how did I turn my hobby of origami into a career? My reply: I made it happen. On today’s episode I’m going to share not only how I created Tinygami but will delve all the way back to when I first became self-employed in 1997. Since then I’ve gone from designing couture bridal veils and headpieces, to developing and designing custom websites, and now work as a professional miniature origamist and fledging podcaster. Do friends and family encourage you to sell what you make? The information I’m sharing can be applied to turning any hobby into a side business or full time career. These are business basics that are applicable beyond the scope of origami.   If you don't have an MBA but have toyed with idea of turning your hobby into a business please consider tuning in or sharing this episode. It's filled with information that may be valuable to you, a family member, or a friend. View bonus information and photos in the show notes at: https://www.patreon.com/posts/50459147/ The Origami Show is sponsored by AITOH Company, purveyor of origami and Japanese papers.