How was it for you?

I know sometimes you see an event advertised and think "ooh that sounds good, but what if everyone knows each other or it's really cliquey and what do I wear?" etc. Because I feel like that all the time. One of the main aims of Foldageddon was to get people to come who didn't normally go to arts events, and to make it accessible and lovely.

Hopefully that is the atmosphere that you get at Foldageddon (and if not, tell me why!); but for those of you not quite convinced I asked Emily, a recent guest at Folding For Peace, to give you a quick recap of her experience:

Browsing Twitter one day, I noticed a re-tweet from one of the people I follow. It said the following:
"RT @gazpachodragon: who fancies folding for peace on 28th February? origami cranes over a pint or two."

Well, I thought it sounded fun - I used to love origami as a kid (but hadn't done any for years). I sent Kirsty (@gazpachodragon) a message and arranged to join them.

Heading there on my own I was nervous - how many people would be there? Would they be friendly? Or would I just end up sat there on my own outside a clique of people?

As it turns out, I needn't have worried. There were a small group of people there, approximately six. Everyone was really friendly and made me feel welcome. It was all very informal and great fun, folding cranes whilst chatting and drinking. Everyone is happy to help if you forget what you are doing (or to show you how if you don't know).

So, if you fancy learning something new and meeting some new people, would definitely recommend attending one of these events! I'm very much looking forward to the next one... hope to see you there!

Foldageddon: I Heart Folding

Foldageddon is back!

The next meeting will be on 7th February at 6pm. Tickets are free, but limited, and are available here.

We’ll be folding Valentine’s specials, but don’t worry if you don’t have a sweetheart, there’ll also be a practical model and it will all be good folding fun!

We’ll also be folding cranes after the meeting for Folding For Peace; and there will be exciting news about future Foldageddons as well.

Hope to see you there!

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2011 everyone!

I'm planning on making this year even better and more foldy than 2010, so look out! There are going to be online tutorials, more Foldageddon workshops and we want to FLOOD Park Square with cranes in Folding For Peace. So get ready, and get folding!

Foldageddon: Foldin' Around the Christmas Tree

Yes, you heard me right guys. There's going to be a Festive Foldageddon!

We'll be meeting on the 12th December from 4pm in The Victoria Pub (which is just after Craft Swaparama, which is my exciting new project, so come to that as well) where we will be folding special Christmas designs, including decorations and practical models, and a very special surprise! Decorate your home with origami this Christmas, and give your friends the gift of folds!

URGENT UPDATE

This is proving a very popular event, and places are limited, so if you are interested you MUST book a ticket. Tickets are free, and are available from eventbrite

We can't guarantee entry without a ticket!

Foldageddon at Handmade Nation

In case you didn't know, Leeds International Film Festival is on at the moment. Spread across several sites in the city, the three week long festival showcases the best of cinema from around the world. So far I've seen films about everything from russian metereologists to a plastic horse. It is a truly awesome event.

And it just got more awesome, because Foldageddon just got involved.

On Sunday 14th November Craftsville will be hosting a showing of Handmade Nation at Nation of Shopkeepers. Handmade Nation is a documentary about the rise of indie crafting in America, and from what I've heard of it, it's a brilliant film. To celebrate the rise of indie crafting in Leeds Craftsville have organised an afternoon of crafty fun, and invited Foldageddon to come along and do some origami. So I'll be hosting a workshop, and for the first time ever, I'll also be selling some origami merchandise!

So come along and join in from 4pm on 14th November. For more information visit Craftsville.

Foldageddon: Spooktacular!

Ha! See, told you it was just the beginning.

The next Foldageddon, which is a Halloween Special, will be held on Wednesday 27th October. 6.30pm start, venue (as always, must sort it out in advance) to be confirmed. If you'd like to come, let me know in the comments or via twitter (@gazpachodragon)

If you enjoyed the Light Night installation, or you're intrigued by origami, or you just want to meet new people, then come on down. Everyone's welcome!

End of song; start of story

So that's Light Night, all wrapped up. I'm getting together a gallery of all the pictures people have kindly given me of the installation, and I'll post a link as soon as that's up and running. If you do have any pictures, please email them to onethousandcranes@rocketmail.com with your details and I'll add them with full credit.

Was it worth it? Undoubtedly. It was hard work, long hours, I'm out of pocket, I got RSI (I kept that quiet) and I've still not caught up on my sleep. But I've made some of the best friends I've ever had, got involved in amazing things with amazing people, and challenged myself more than I ever thought I could. I'm fairly (not entirely, but fairly) happy to call myself an artist now, and I'm not going to give that up for the world.

So what's next? I don't really know. I'm going to carry on folding (in fact I'm sat here with a pile of origami paper next to me and my fingers are itching to get going), and I'll still be doing Foldageddon. I'll post up on here when they are, and also any events I'm doing. I'm hoping to get a Foldageddon website going, so look out for that. For now, I'm going to fold, just for the hell of it.

Thanks for sharing my journey. We're only just beginning.

kxxx

Back to school Foldageddon

There's going to be another Foldageddon. 16th September at 6.30pm (venue tbc)

And to celebrate September, it's going to be a Back To School Special. We'll be making origami models you might remember from your childhood - a fortune teller, a waterbomb and a banger. I'll also go over any previous models we've done, or if you have any queries I'll try my best to answer them.

As usual, Foldageddon is completely and utterly free and materials will be provided, but it's nice if you buy a drink at the bar as a thanks for hosting us, and there will be a donation box to cover costs of paper etc.

Also, afterwards, I'll be folding boats for Light Night, if anyone wants to help out! This will be the last Foldageddon before Light Night, so if you've any questions about my project, feel free to come along and quiz me!

If you're coming give me a shout on Twitter or leave a comment here, then I can arrange a suitable sized venue. Fold on!

Quick reminder

Foldageddon is next Monday, the 5th of July.

I made new flyers, but I really like it so I might keep it/adapt it for future foldageddons:

Foldageddon: The Sequel

Foldageddon!! was such a success, and I had so many people saying they'd have liked to come but couldn't make it, I've decided to go again.

Foldageddon: the sequel will be held Monday 5th July at 6.30pm in Leeds city centre at The Victoria on Great George Street (back of the Town Hall) - tell your friends! There'll be many new exciting models to make, including MODULAR origami!

Please let me know in the comments, or via email (foldageddon@gmail.com - a new email address, but the old one still works too), or on twitter (@gazpachodragon) if you'd like to come, so I can make sure there's enough space and paper. The more the merrier is true, but it got a bit squished last time so we could've done with an extra table!

The event will be free, but there will be a donations box if you want to contribute towards the cost of materials (and allow me to keep getting nice patterny papers for future Foldageddons!)

If you can't make this one, but would like to be put on the mailing list for future Foldageddons, please drop me a line with your email address at foldageddon@gmail.com

testspaceleeds

Sunday was my day at Testspaceleeds and it went well. Due to the fact that it was a drop in workshop, and the idea of testspaceleeds being rapid-fire creativity, I kept the models simple and limited.

I’d made up worksheets by scanning in origami at various stages (hopefully these will be available as pdfs on here this week) for the penguin, the box, and the yacht. These are all easy models that I’ve been folding since I was tiny, so I was pretty happy that everyone could have a go. Armed with paper, my worksheets, and Blue Canary (so I could explain my Light Night project), I set off.

It’s not the first time I’ve been involved in workshop/festival type things like this, but it’s the first time I’ve done origami at one, and I was pretty nervous, made more so by the fact that everything had been arranged by email so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I got there and arranged for a couple of tables, set out my stall and waited.

I didn’t have to wait long. Apparently people had been asking about the origami workshop (I’d billed it as Foldageddon!! again, but that hadn’t caught on!) so soon people were dropping in regularly. Also, origami was the only ‘interactive’ thing (there were video screenings, and a lady demonstrating hatmaking) so anyone coming in for a look tended to want to ‘have a go’, which I loved. Soon there was a pile of origami at the side of me:



By the end of the day there was a veritable waddle of penguins (seriously, I googled it - a group of penguins is called a waddle!):



One gentleman (hey Henry, if you’re reading!) came in who explained he wanted to buy some art. However, on a limited budget and with not much for sale (most stuff was being sold at another site), he was a bit stuck. Whilst the organisers had a look round for stuff, he sat with me and asked if I could show him how to make a crane. Although I wasn’t really showing cranes (it makes it difficult if you’re halfway through one and someone comes in and wants to join in), he’d asked especially so I said yes. We sat and made cranes together, then he decided he wanted to buy a couple. He gave me TEN POUNDS for the two cranes, asking me to take out whatever I was charging (I wasn’t! I wasn’t planning on selling any!) and give the rest as a donation. However, he then also wanted a piece of cake that was being sold, and in the confusion of sorting out change for that etc. all the money got put in the donation box. So I did sell some artwork, but I didn’t get to keep the money!

It was a good learning experience for me, and they’ve asked me to take part again in July, so I’ll have to have a think about it. Unfortunately I’m really busy for the rest of the week so I won’t be able to check out the other stuff going on, but if you’re around it’s worth having a look.

Just a quick FYI – I’m planning on holding another Foldageddon!! at the start of July, so register your interest now!

Foldageddon!! on Culture Vulture

Foldageddon!! has been featured on Culture Vulture, the Leeds arts and culture guide.

Check it out here

If you fold it...they will come...

Last night was Foldageddon!! and it was a great turnout.

i got there around a quarter of an hour early, and the barstaff pointed me to a table in a corner, and one person was already there, so i said "oh well we'll wait until six because a few other people are coming"...it got to ten past six and nobody else had turned up.

i was nearly crying, because one person is worse than none isn't it? at least if nobody turned up i could slink out and pretend it had gone brilliantly. so i said that we should start, and as we finished folding the first model, a girl walked round the corner and said "oh are you kirsty? there's four of us waiting for you at the bar - they said you hadn't arrived yet!" so we did the first model again, then three more people arrived and joined in - and there were some people behind us who were taking the piss out of us a bit, then i noticed they'd made penguins out of the flyers on the tables, so obviously they wanted to join in but thought it wasn't cool enough, so that was brill.

and everyone had a great time (well at least they told me they had a great time) and made their own models to take away, and they were all helping each other which was lovely, and they all want to do it again.

and Elly came who wants to write a feature on me for a local Leeds culture guide. and when we left we left a load of cranes on the table, and i saw a fair few people sneaking over to take one. i should have put my website address on them!

so all in all, it was really good. there's a couple of things i'd change (not least the venue, because they had a band on at 8pm, but they started 'warming up' at 7pm, which i'm sure they did on purpose because we were sat enar them, because they warmed up with shouty metal music, then when they started playing at 8.30 they were singing stuff like stairway to heaven!), but yeah. it was good, and hopefully we will definitely be doing it again. So thanks to everyone who came:


(sorry Edward, you got missed off the picture!)

Foldageddon!! at Testspace

I'll be doing a blog tomorrow about Foldageddon!!, which went really well, but I quickly wanted to give you all the exciting news which I promised earlier in the week.

I've been asked to put on a Foldageddon!! workshop at Testspace Leeds, which is an initiative to bring together the creative (they use the word creative! hurrah!) folk of Leeds.

Go check out their website here.

I'm really pleased to be involved with this, as like Light Night, it reaches out to people who maybe wouldn't get involved in 'arts' events normally. Plus, I'm pretty damn pleased to be asked!

So on the 6th June, from about 11am, I'll be at 42 New Briggate in Leeds (near the Grand Theatre), hosting a drop-in, free workshop. Feel free to come along, and if you say hello, and that you're a blog reaader, I might just fold something a little special for you!

Just a quick update...

...to say that Foldageddon!! will be taking place this Thursday starting at 6pm, at Carpe Diem in Leeds (opposite Mandela Gardens).

If you would like to come, please let me know so I can make sure there's enough table space/paper for you. If you can't make it until later, that's completely fine, just let me know. I'm really looking forward to meeting some of you, and hopefully we'll have some great pictures to show those of you that can't make it.

In other news, no word yet from the Light Night committee, but I should have some very exciting news at the end of the week! Stay tuned, folks!

FOLDAGEDDON!!!!!!

It's the news you've been waiting for...it's Foldageddon!!

Foldageddon is an informal origami class, where you can learn to make three origami models. It will be held in Leeds city centre (exact location to be confirmed depending on numbers, but will probably be around Millennium Square) at 6pm on 27th May. Best thing of all, Foldageddon will be completely FREE!

It'll be a case of pitch up, I'll demonstrate/give out instructions, then wander round helping out where people get stuck, so it definitely won't be a "teaching" thing. Plus, that means that if you can't get there for 6pm, still pop your name down and come a bit later, as you won't be missing out! If you already fold, still come along as it'd be lovely to meet fellow origami people. If you've never folded before, trust me it's easy, and it's a lot of fun. Nobody will judge, and even if you completely mess up (which you won't!), you can scrunch it up and call it art.

If you want to come to Foldageddon, please leave a comment, or let me know via twitter (@gazpachodragon) so I can get a ballpark figure and arrange a venue. Also, please tell your friends/family/random strangers in the street. Feel free to tweet about it, or link to this blog, or make origami cranes and leave them in shops with a note attached.

Foldageddon!! You know you want to.

UPDATE: Hello! If you've been redirected here for details of upcoming Foldageddon or Fold For Peace meetings, please have a look at the latest post on the blog, and keep an eye out for future announcements (there's TONS coming soon!). Also follow me on twitter @gazpachodragon (or use the buttons on the top right of the blog) and I'll announce the latest news/meetings/exciting things on there!

Foldageddon!

I know some of you have tried folding a crane, and some of you have got stuck, so I was thinking...would anyone be interested in an origami class? It will be really informal, just a group of people and I'll show how to make a few models (including the crane).

If so, when and where? It'd have to be Leeds, obviously, and I was thinking probably midweek after work-time (so around sixish)? Where would be best - pub, library, park? I'd probably be looking at the last week in May, just to give time to organise stuff.

Any ideas, let me know, and please feel free to tell your friends. Also, if you're interested, please let me know either via the comments on here or email/twitter then I can make a ballpark guess at numbers.