On Thu, Jan 17, 2013 at 2:17 PM, Douglas Zander <[email protected]>wrote:
I have always wondered if I am just a slow folder. Do others feel they are > unusually slow or fast? I feel kinda self-conscious about this. > > As others have indicated, you fold at the pace that's comfortable for yourself; and out of enjoyment. Speaking for myself, I think one of my flaws as a folder is that I can get a bit impatient at times. I think it has to do with the fact that I like to give stuff to people; and there's only just so many hours I have in my day to give to folding for others. I teach gymnastics so you can just imagine how many pieces of origami I end up folding- if I fold for one team kid, I have about 60 other team girls who are going to make it known to me that they want one. Also, I do a number of festivals and events each year (formerly with my awesome partners, Joe Hamamoto and Yami Yamauchi). Joe Hamamoto got me into the habit of trying to stock up on giveaway models. I understand the "Give a man a fish/teach a man how to fish" maxim; but sometimes it's just plain easier to give certain models away (like a montroll horse). Subsequently, I've learned to expedite my time by folding fast, sometimes sacrificing some neatness (although with practice at folding fast, you do improve your ability to fold neatly that way; my dentist has watched me fold a dozen spinning tops with my eyes shut, too). Manpei Arai's spinning top is one of my favorite giveaways. I stack about 4 sheets of kami together (learned this trick from Yami when he does his fireworks) and will fold the base before separating and completing the sheets to end up with 4 tops. The model is sometimes a little messy this way; but much of its charm is on function over perfect form. I don't think most non-origamists notice any uneven flaws in my folding of it. http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b7d803b3127ccec1399dd7476a00000010O00AaNGLli4atmIPbz4S/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/ Douglas Zander also wrote: "but to sit there and fold and fold and fold... yuck! Does anyone really like to sit and waste their time folding and folding? No one watches you fold and comments on your folding techniques. They comment on the final, finished model. You give away finished models, not folds in progress." I've learned to fold this model fast out of a certain sense of necessity (especially when I'm performing on stage). Sometimes people at festival ask me to fold something like the top on the spot; and although I feel like standing there watching me fold something is akin to watching grass grow and paint dry, non-folders seem fascinated by the process. http://havepaperwilltravel.blogspot.com/2008/07/spinning-top-in-under-4-minutes.html Ken Forman wrote: "For me, the joy of origami is the process. Speeding through the process lessens the amount of joy. It sounds selfish, but I mostly do these things for me, so why not?" I think I lean toward the destination over the journey in the case of paperfolding. When it comes to folding supercomplex models, I'm more gratified by the finished product than the journey it took me to get there. This goes mostly for models I plan to fold only once or twice. Models that require me to problem-solve and interpret diagrams and take a long time to finish, are painful for me to fold. My impatience is a flaw when it comes to folding models that take hours to complete. It just isn't as enjoyable to me as a folder. Montroll's horse mentioned earlier just happens to be a pet, sentimental favorite of mine. I fold it pretty fast- but it's all relative. I'm usually not intentionally trying to fold fast when I'm just folding at leisure and not "showing off". But my leisure at folding it is probably still rather fast. Of course, there are moments when I will take extra care to fold neater than normal and at a slower pace. Especially when using nice paper and wanting to produce a "museum-quality" piece. http://havepaperwilltravel.blogspot.com/2013/01/what-is-your-favorite-comfort-model.html michael http://havepaperwilltravel.blogspot.com
