Teaching (Origami and How To Busk)
I have taught origami at the yearly OrigamiUSA convention in New York, the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, the Arlington Center for the Arts and at various other venues, such as libraries, festivals and museums. Here is a small sampling of them. Please contact me if you want a CV of my performances.
My busking and street performance experience has been extensive, and love sharing the ins and outs of what it takes to be a "busker"/street performer. Teaching origami is fun, but I can also provide a short course on what it takes to 'get yourself out there' and start street performing, from your local town to the big leagues of Faneuil Hall, Boston Common, and festivals. Topics covered include:
- Getting started - What is street performing? What can I do? I am just a beggar? (NO!)
- Where to busk? Permits, permissions, and your pitch location,
- How to busk? The many things you will learn the hard way, creating an audience,
- Booking gigs - the business of busking, advertising, and getting paid,
- Working with other performers - the awesome community of buskers,
- Handling crowds and hecklers - the advantage of silence,
- Logistics of busking - getting there and back.
Institute for Contemporary Art (Boston, MA)
The ICA had a show titled "Living In Motion - Design and Architecture for Flexible Dwelling." I taught some simple, traditional origami, as well as some modular origami pieces which fit in well with the theme of the exhibit. Here are some photos of me and the crowd; I taught the Sonobe module, and the simple three piece Jewel that was constructed from it.
Medfield Public Library (Medfield, MA)
Teaching at public libraries is great; as I've told many a listener, origami is silent, and (unlike teaching things like painting, wood carving, or arc welding), it isn't messy, and the raw materials are easy to procure and clean up. I've taught at a variety of libraries in New England. Typically, I can teach a class of up to 15 students, but if there are other adults present, this can be increased.
Ikatun/Institute for Infinitely Small Things - Brandeis University (Waltham, MA)
The Institute for Inifinitely Small Things is a group of folks from Ikatun that recently used the 2009 Financial Stimulus package as a basis for origami pieces. I like to use "teaching boards" that show every step of the model, so people can come up and look at each step by themselves. It is also good for when people want to jump ahead, or when they get lost.
I was on hand to help teach origami to them and to the folks who dropped by. Here you can see me in my classic top hat, wearing the lab coat of the Institute for Infinitely Small Things.
