Just before the BOS convention, I attended two conferences, 7OSME in Oxford and JCDCG^3 2018 in Manila. It was my first visit to England, excluding airplane transfers. Moreover, this was my very first time to attend an Origami convention. I have not yet attended the ones held in Japan.
The meeting started with a talk by Tony O'Hare, the president, and it was totally different from what I had imagined. He introduced Rikki Donachie, who began to teach a new model created by Jonathan Edwards just after a few words of greeting. Everyone received a sheet of paper with medium thickness and concentrated on following his instruction. I managed to complete the model “A transformable frog to a duck”. Fortunately, I sat in the first row of seats and had a chance to make my folded paper frog jump on the stage. It worked very well.
Frog-duck designed by Jonathan Edwards. Video by Patsy Wang-Iverson.
I didn’t know how the conference would proceed, so on the first day, I missed classes, not knowing about sign-up sheets. On the second day, I attended one class and enjoyed it very much, even if my Origami model was not so good. Although I missed classes, people who sat near me during lunch, coffee break, or dinner, showed me their beautiful models and sometimes gave them to me without hesitation.
My major field in research is discrete geometry. It relates to Origami a lot, because I am interested in developing foldable products, such as umbrellas. My recent work is a foldable helmet made of cardboard, which is sold by Ltd. Sin-ei through the internet in Japan.
Origami helmet worn by Jared Butler, BYU. Photo by Patsy Wang-Iverson
I am studying not only paper-folding but also its applications to industry. I thought the convention would provide a good opportunity to improve my skill in origami work. I can't become a good paper-folder just by attending one time, but I found origami is much more enjoyable than I thought and makes it easy for strangers to connect and make friends.
Now I have many wonderful memories of the conference, and I would like to share with the participants who sat near me throughout the conference. I am convinced that origami brings strangers together in a very natural way. Finally, I would like to express my thanks to the conference organizers and all participants.