Presenters

Wendy Zeichner

Wendy Zeichner has served as president of OrigamiUSA since 2008. Through teaching origami models that she and others have designed, Wendy has inspired many novice folders to love origami and fold on a regular basis. She often teaches at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City (home to the OrigamiUSA office). Wendy has also taught at many origami conventions in the USA and internationally in Japan, Korea, Italy, Spain, France, Germany and England. Wendy recently co-edited a book of Laura Kruskal’s crowns with Patsy Wang-Iverson. This book, Origami Crowns, a collection by Laura Kruskal: Queen of Crowns, is available as a PDF from The Fold, OrigamiUSA’s online magazine.

Makoto Yamaguchi

Makoto Yamaguchi is a Japanese origami artist and author of over 150 origami books. Born in Tokyo. He is the owner of Origami House. He is the editor-in-chief of the magazine "Origami Tanteidan", founder, board member and secretary of the Japan Origami Academic Society (JOAS), a lifetime member of OrigamiUSA, a member of the British Origami Society (BOS) and Korea Origami Association (KOA).

Charles Knuffke

Charles Knuffke is an origami folder living in San Francisco with his wife Diane. He became interested in folding when he found a flapping crane in Junior High. After college what re-energized his interest in Origami was the Origami O-List mailserver, which he joined in the 90’s (to make sure he received the occasional email - not a problem today!). Because of that listserv he found out about, and became a regular at, the Bay Area Rapid Folders group. This lead to friendship with many Bay Area folders and others around the country, teaching opportunities at PCOC, trips to OrigamiUSA, and attending many events at San Francisco’s Japantown with his friends at Paper Tree.

Jannie van Schuylenburg

My name is Jannie van Schuylenburg, from the Netherlands. I'm married and have 3 children and 3 grandchildren. I love many ways of handcraft, but Origami is my ‘first love’. My aunt was folding with me when I was 6 years old and so started the love for paper and origami. 30 years ago I became an origami teacher. I like teaching origami, and just now with the online posibility it is so great to do. I love design my own models and look what I can do with the paper. Playing with paper is so nice and several of my models are found at that way. But I also like to design what is in my mind and look how I can get there. Over the years there are several books published.

Arlene Gorchov

I started folding when I was about 10 years old but then took a long break and started again in 1990 when I went to my first convention (FOCA) in NYC with my two children. I met Mark Kennedy at that first convention and that meeting led to a whirlwind origami romance that would, for both of us, lead to teaching origami and making friends all over the world. Mark was already teaching, making friends and spreading the origami word. For me, it was a new world. I have a regional meeting that meets in my house and a large origami reference library (thanks to Mark). I am on the OUSA business committee an am a support person for OUSA Folding Sundays which are on hiatus right now. Origami has been a wonderful source of peace and friendship.

Ekaterina Lukasheva

https://kusudama.me/

Ekaterina Lukasheva has a passion for mathematics and art, and the convergence of these two passions has given birth to her intricately folded paper art. Ekaterina Lukasheva was born in Moscow, Russia, she was inspired as a child. Being a child she was fascinated by the world architecture, art and mathematical games and puzzles. She went on to receive MSc in mathematics and computer science, and a PhD in mathematics, giving her strong mathematical background that allows her to feel the geometry of origami intuitively.

Jun Maekawa

Board member of Japan Origami Academic Society (JOAS), author of,"Viva ! Origami" (1983), "Genuine Origami" (2007), and working at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.

Akiko Yamanashi

Started origami from a young age. She created origami and published a book, while raising eight children. She is currently working as a supporter for an after-school children's club while working to popularize origami. She is a member of the Japan Origami Academic Society (JOAS) and a board member of the Nippon Origami Association (NOA).

Miyuki Kawamura

Miyuki Kawamura was born in Osaka, Japan in 1970. She started origami at two years old. When she was a small child, she loved animals, and folded many origami animals. Miyuki majored in particle physics at university, and then began to design many polyhedral origami works. She is a board member of Japan Origami Academic Society (JOAS) and is the host for Origami Tanteidan Kyushu Convention which takes place every May.

Aldos Marcell

My full name is Aldo Marcell Velásquez Olivas, but I like to be recognized as Aldos Marcell. I was born in Estelí in the northern part of Nicaragua, and I live there as well. I am a biologist and a botanist and I specialize in the wild plants of Nicaragua. That's why I like to design plant representations in origami. But I also like to design modular origami. Other areas of my work include being a tourist guide in Nicaragua, participating in environmental education, and social work. Sometimes I work with origami art, mostly for educational purposes

Jane Rosemarin

I began folding at the age of six, but I didn’t realize that I could invent models until many decades later. I like to create decorative objects, particularly stars and boxes, but I’ve also designed a healthy variety of fruits and vegetables. I enjoy producing my own papers using computer graphics, suminagashi and painting. I’ve taught, exhibited and published regularly, and for the past three years, I’ve been the editor of The Fold, OrigamiUSA’s online magazine.

Richard Ellison

Richard is a practicing architect in Atlanta, Georgia who has folded origami as a hobby since childhood. He took a renewed interest in the art about 6 years ago and self-published a collection of original designs in 2020. He folds and teaches regularly with an online community. Representational models from a single sheet are his favorite genre. He and his wife, Heather, have three school-aged children.

Jeremy Shafer

https://www.youtube.com/jeremyshaferorigami

Origami has been my biggest passion since I was 10 years old. I most enjoy trying to design whimsical models that fly, spin, or somehow move. I've published a few books of my models and produced the Bay Area Rapid Folders (BARF) Newsletter for 15 years, but in 2011 I switched from print media to making video tutorials on YouTube. I make a new video every week and often try to design what my viewers are most requesting which recently has been Avengers Endgame models! In addition to making YouTube videos I also earn my living entertaining at county fairs and other festivities. I'm also an avid juggler, unicyclist, handwhistler and salsa dancer and my sport of choice is unicycle basketball which I play every week in my hometown, Berkeley, CA

Shigeru Mitsuda (Tatsumi)

I started taking origami seriously about ten years ago and slowly expanded the collection of own creations. When I became a member of Japan Origami Academic Society (JOAS) in 2019, I started publishing my models. I have been teaching and drawing diagrams also since 2020. My creations are mainly animals and kawaii motifs. It is my joy if my models make people feel cheerful when they see and fold them.

Boice Wong

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzovUuQjox0ojqd7GtRz4-g?

Boice is an award-winning origami artist from Portland, OR that is known online by his handle, OrigamiByBoice. He enjoys folding and designing models that represent or render forms such as humanoids and dragons. A goal in his folding is to trick people into thinking the fold is not just a single square.Boice uses his platform to provide competitions, tutorials, and community for origami folders. Boice also makes YouTube videos tackling complex topics, such as reading crease patterns, to make them less intimidating.

Brandon Wong

https://web.mit.edu/wongb/www/origami/

Brandon is an MIT student originally from the SF bay area, also known online as The Plant Psychologist. He specializes in designing complex representational models, and is especially interested in further trailblazing under-explored design methods like hex pleating and tilted grid. He also makes youtube videos that explain a variety of concepts involved in the technical side of origami design.

Kanoko9

Kanoko9 is an origami enthusiast based in Japan. As an adult, she discovered the joy of origami, and was fascinated by its puzzle-like elements. Recently, she had been enthusiastic about folding videogame characters. She held solo exhibitions and workshops, and cooperated with a videogame company's origami video (Youtube).

Fumiaki Kawahata

Born in 1957, Origami designer, board member of Japan Origami Academic Society (JOAS), honored to be able to participate in this WOD event. Born and raised in Japan, he has been interested in origami since he was a child, and started thinking about his own creations. He has been a member of JOAS since its inception, and he is blessed with many mentors and friends, and continues to design origami and write origami books. Most of his creations have been dinosaurs and animals, but he is also interested in simple and geometric models. He continues to do his best, to share the joy of Origami with as many people as possible.

Paula Pietranera

https://linktr.ee/paulapietranera

Born in 1979 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Paula graduated as an architect and later specialized in historical building conservation and restoration. During her studies, she felt a deep spiritual connection to Asian arts which led her to study sumié, origami and calligraphy in Argentina, Japan and the United States. When living in Japan in 2015, she discovered the Renzuru origami technique for which she trained with the master Mizuho Tomita in Kyoto. During the last few years, she’s been exploring ways in which this traditional paper folding method can be an expressive medium of fine artwork. Her creations have been exhibited in Argentina, Japan and the USA. Paula currently lives as a resident at the San Francisco Zen Center.

Linda Mihara

http://www.origamihara.com/

My lifelong love of Origami began when I was 5, learning models from the 2 Origami books published by my Grandfather, Tokinobu Mihara. I am an origami artist, designer, curator, columnist for the Nichibei Weekly, and host of Free Fold Origami Saturdays on Eventbrite. Some of my design projects include origami for TV commercials (Mitsubishi Motors with Robert Lang, Febreze, McDonalds) print ads (Wall Street Journal, SF Chronicle) and visual window displays (Hermes, Saks Fifth Ave). I have curated origami exhibits, both locally and internationally, including co-curating the Origami-Natural World exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History in Taiwan, Taipei. My first love is teaching the art of origami. Let's have some fun!

Beth Johnson

http://bethjohnsonorigami.com

Beth Johnson is an origami artist from Ann Arbor, Michigan. She has been folding paper for many years, and began designing her own models in 2010. She likes to design representational models, and often incorporates tessellations and other patterns into her creations. She has been a guest of honor at numerous origami conventions worldwide, and received the 2011 Florence Temko Award from Origami USA in recognition of her work. Beth is a full time origami artist who divides her time between teaching, designing, exhibiting and diagramming, and also does volunteer work teaching art and origami in her community.

Kathleen Sheridan

http://origamiandyou.com

Kathleen is a former Spanish teacher who decided to stop filing and correcting papers and start folding them! She has loved origami since she was introduced to it back in 4th grade. With 18 years teaching experience in public and private schools, Kathleen still loves to teach! She teaches origami to students ages 7 to 87. She has taught at libraries, after school clubs, birthday parties, conferences, festivals and special events. Since 2020, Kathleen is teaching origami for corporate team building events often online. She is the owner and sole employee of Origami and You. She strives to bring a connection between herself, her students and origami. Kathleen has been a board member of Origami USA.