Following the recent British Origami Society AGM, I’ve been elected as their first web officer (boo!) and also their President for the next three years (yay!)
Category Archives: people
Philip Noble
Paper-folders with long memories will remember Philip Noble, inventor of the “flexi-cube”. I spent a few days with him in Scotland and have kept in intermittent touch over the years.
I was delighted when he launched a website, celebrating a few of his many interest, including string games and bubbles! Check it out, lots to see and do 😉
Flapping birds in Barcelona
I was sat folding at the train station by Barcelona airport when a curious child came to watch, so I quickly made her a flapping bird. Such simple pleasures make life so special…
How we find reasons to fail…
Most of us with less folding ability than we’d like find reasons to justify our modest efforts – “I’m not patient”, “Life’s too hard”, “I’m not artistic”, “the diagrams are not clear” and even the old classic, “the paper’s not square!”. I suspect a lot of it is down to confidence and being prepared to put the hours in to refine our techniques.
Now and again, you learn about an individual who puts things in their proper perspective, for example Saburo Kase. Kase lost his eyesight at elementary school, but it didn’t stop him from becoming a gifted teacher and creator of origami. I was lucky enough to attend one of his classes at the COET and he was so calm and confident. At one point, his translator asked “Mr Kase asks if anyone has problems”. One eprson did and handed his model to Kase, who calmly and nonchalently unfolded the last step, corrected it and gave it back.
Ian Harrison RIP
Ian died on 30th August, aged 74 and had been fighting cancer for several years. His son Mark writes: “His condition had been largely without pain, but he was very tired for extended periods of time. His death was peaceful which I think is all one can hope for at this stage.” His funeral took place in Daresbury, where he had lived for the last 4 years.
I knew Ian from his earliest days in the BOS, since we both were regular attendees at the North-West mini meetings in Hazel Grove. Ian was an articulate and intelligent folder, befitting his career in adult education. He favoured geometric designs, latterly working creatively in the field of 60 degree twist folds and tessellations. He was endlessly patient when teaching his designs and rarely showed any signs of frustration with less able students such as myself!
He was a very private man and it was hard to get to know him, or to learn anything about his private life, but his commitment to origami and the BOS cannot be doubted. For many years he was our Supplies Secretary and delighted in presenting a wide range of papers. Many of these he sourced himself as large rolls, then cut them down to (perfect!) squares and packaged them for sale to members. Even now, probably 10 years since he stepped down, you can still find his packs for sale and they still show a sensitive choice of folding material.
He sat on the BOS Council for many years and in 2009 was awarded the Sidney French Medal for his devoted services to the Society. He attended many conventions and was an “ever present” during the 10 years of my annual meetings in Wentworth. He always had something to teach, but never sought any kind of attention or acclaim for his work. He knew a great deal about geometry and was happy to share his knowledge. I remember once asking him why two folded corners came together in a sequence and he gave me a withering look and said “well, they have to”!
Here is a design of his that I drew up but which was never published.
Heide Karst RIP
I’m sorry to hear that Heide has left us at the age of 80. I met her several times at Origami Deutschland conventions and she was always friendly and courteous. She gave me (and others) a tour of Bonn on one occasion.
She was heavily involved in ELFA (Envelope and Letter Folding Association).
Iris, sadly missed
I’ve just finished the sorting out of Iris’ origami archives, a very sad task, although I learned a lot more about her, an amazing woman. Today I found this old photo of us…
Wooden folding tools?
I’m now the sole retailer of wooden folding tools from Hans Werner Guth in the known universe. Read more here!
Francis Ow RIP
We have said goodbye to Francis Ow, who is at peace after a battle with cancer. He was my friend for nearly 30 years, although sadly, we never met. His creativity was only matched by his courage and huge spirit. My heart goes out to his family.
You can leave a tribute on his website, which will continue to be maintained.
I’ll compose a proper obituary when I can think more clearly.
RIP deg farrelly
So sorry to hear the news that deg has passed away after a long struggle with cancer. His bravery through this period has been amazing. He was a good friend to many of us and will be much missed