Details of the convention

The convention will be held on 17,18,19 of March, 2005

What is an origami convention?

An origami convention is a fun weekend that allows enthusiasts to enjoy a meeting with an international origami artist. This year the artist David Brill from England will be our special guest. At the convention you will also meet with other artists and enthusiasts. All of this is done in a relaxed and fun environment. A convention is certainly a rich and must-attend experience for enthusiasts.

What is an origami convention like?

We will have a large hall. All the folders sit next to the various tables, folding in a relaxed manner. This hall is open all night long; some folders sit fold endlessly, and don't go to sleep at all... In addition to this we will have three classes, occuring simultaneously, to which you can enroll. These classes offer specific models you can learn. During the evening we will have a fun activity for all, with games and folding. On Friday evening we will have a festive dinner at the Kibbutz' fish restaurant. Most importantly: the atmosphere is a fun and relaxed one.

Who is coming to the convention?

Origami enthusiasts of all folding levels attend. All of them teach each other with patience and joy. It is not uncommon to see the beginner sitting in a one-on-one session with an experienced folder, learning how to fold something he never would have thought he (or she) could do. Of course we will also have Paul Jackson with us, the British artist David Brill, and also Ian Harrison and Anne Carr from the British Origami Society will be there. Other special guests may also come.

The special guest: David Brill, origami artist from England
Dave has filled a number of roles in the British Origami Society (BOS), including the roles of secretary and chairman. Dave is active in the BOS since 1976, and has been creating original origami since 1975, together with Max Hulme and Martin Wall. Dave has developed the British style of mergin wetfolding and complicated techincal origami (technical origami was developed in the USA during the 1950s and 1960s by Patricia Crawford, Neal Elias, and Fred Rohm). During the 70's Dave was recognized as the best creative folder outside of Japan. Dave's creations include human figures, animals, geometrical 3D objects, and modular origami. In 1996 Japan Publications have published his book "Brilliant Origami". This is probably the best book containing the works of a single origami creator published outside of Japan. Dave was the special guest of many convention in Japan, Europe, and the USA. Notably, he was invited as a special guest to the 10th convetion of the JOAS, the Japanese Origami Academic Society. Dave has also organized many conventions of the BOS in England. Dave's knowledge of origami and the number of his origami correspondents is massive. He also donated his works to many important museums in recent years. In addition, Dave is also a landscape painter. His works were shown in the Royal Gallery in London. Dave is a social person, with a great sense of humor. He loves talking about Origami. He is also the typical humble Brit, charming and funny, a bit peculiar, well mannered, and doesn't take himself very seriously. However, under the surface he is a rebel. As a manager and as a creator he is probably the single most important person in the origami world, and is certainly the best ambassador of origami. It is a great honor for us that Dave has chosen to come here. For this convention, the Israeli Origami Center is publishing, together with Dave, a booklet of Dave's recent work, created between 1997 and 2004. This is the first publication in one booklet of these works. The income from sales of this booklet will go towards the peace project of the Israeli Origami Center.

Why should I come to the convention?

Hear it from the words of enthusiasts:
Boaz Shuval:
The best part of the convention, in my opinion, is meeting new people. The previous convention, my first, was an opportunity for me to meet new people I have not met before. There is a lot of time to talk with the people at the convention. Our regular origami meetings are relatively short, and do not always allow to just talk with other folders. The convention allows time for this as well. People at the convention can usually both informally teach a model (in a one-on-one session, say) and talk at the same time. I find this fascinating. At my next convention I hope to meet many people. There are a lot of people I correspond with, and I would like to meet. The convention is an excellent opportunity for this.

Gilad Yarnitzky:
In my opinion, the best part of the convention is the exposure to so many aspects of origami. You look at the exhibitions, and the ask the folders about subjects you deem interesting. Paper, folding methods, new and exciting books are all things one can learn about. To top it all off the atmosphere, all about origami, was fabulous.

Gilad Aharoni:
It is a well known fact that origami enthusiasts are the nicest, most-interesting people in the world ;-)! Meeting them is the best part of the convention for me. It is great fun to see the directions other people are taking origami into, how they display their works, and who and what they are. At the previous convention I was amazed by Saadya Sternberg's work, and loved Gil Givoni's exhibition, who put a lot of thought into "how" to display and just "what" to display. You can learn how to fold models from books, but you can meet people only at the meetings and the convention.

Matan Biran:
I found it all to be great fun! The people, the models, the folds! I admit, though, that most enjoyable for me were the people... and also the fact that we had three consecutive days, with no restrictions! You have no time limits! For example, we spent our nights folding, until the sun was about to shine. I recommend that you all enroll to the convention.

Gila Oren:
I loved the atmosphere most of all. For 3 days people do one thing: origami, like there is nothing else in the world; no wars, no injuries, no work... Just paper and folding: mountain fold, valley fold, reverse fold... And the people: children, teenagers, adults. Where else can you see a grown-up teaching a ten-year-old to fold? When I got back to work after the convention, my friends thought I just got back from some meditation week in India! For an entire week I walked with a smile on my face. Since the convention I learnt a lot through our forum, the websites, and the meetings. But the convention is a unique experience!

The Schedule

Thursday 17/3/2005

14:00 Room assignment, putting up the exhibition, opening the shop. Ruthie will give out the convention packs at the convention hall.
18:00 Non-stop folding at the (lower) convention hall until the late hours of the night, with artists Paul Jackson and David Brill.

Friday 18/3/2005

10:00-14:00 convention packs will be handed-out (to those who didn't get one on Thursday)
10:00 Free folding sessions at the upper hall with artists Dave Brill and Paul Jackson.
14:00 Official starting time of the convention. Dave will teach all attendees a model.
14:45-15:30 3 simultaneous classes at the lower hall (one will be taught by Dave). The upper hall will be free for free-folding.
15:30-16:15 3 simultaneous classes at the lower hall
16:30 No classes until dinner. The upper hall is open for free folding.
17:00-17:45 A special origami show, "the Rain Bird", by the Caron theatre. A ticket costs 25 NIS
18:00 A festive dinner at the fish restaurant. Enthusiasts are encouraged to bring with them maritime related folds: fish, sea-horses, clams, and so on.
The folds will be photographed together with the enthusiasts for the convention CD.
20:30-21:30: A fun evening: an origami operetta, a performance by Galina Sakir, and other surprises.
21:30 - Folding into the night

Saturday 19/3/2005

10:00-11:00 Dave will teach us all a model.
11:00-11:15 Photo session for the convention CD
11:30-12:30 3 simultaneous classes at the lower hall. One of them will be Dave's wet-folding class. The main hall is open for free folding until the covnention ends.
12:30-14:00 Lunch break
14:00-15:00 Summarizing the convention. Enthusiasts describe their exhibits.
15:00-16:00 free time.

The classes available will be announced separately.

For questions and more details on registration please call 972-52-4267480
For questions about the convention please call Miri Golan 972-52-4267484

The convention team:
Convention organizer: Miri Golan, email: origami@netvision.net.il
Organization and operation: Ruthie Reuven, email: paper1@netvision.net.il
shop manager and convention administration: Sarah Rahamim, email: paperart@netvision.net.il
Exhibition organization: Herman Mariano and Yuval Atlas
Organization of classes: Gilad Naor and Gilad Yarnitzky
Convention CD: Yuval Atlas
Help with organization and planning: Gila Oren
Website: Rosana Shapiro

Registration

For exhibitors, we have prepared model tags

Experiences from the previous convention