Featured Orikane Practitioner

Name - Shane aka "Nano"

Years Practicing 30:

I was fortunate to know not one but two foreign exchanges students; one in Kindergarten then one in First Grade. Both from Japan. We instantly became friends. Their mothers would teach me Origami which I soaked up like a sponge. I thought it was simply amazing what you could do with something 2D that became 3D.

For whatever reason (growing up, having jobs, life, etc.) I didn't practice folding for many years. But a few years ago a friend got me a gag gift on Money Origami since she knew I used to fold. That rekindled my interest and have been folding since.

Favorite Fold:

This is tough. I'm not sure I have a favorite fold as much as I have a favorite reaction. I often use Moneygami as a bonus along with the tip for their food/drink services (restaurant, pubs, etc). I get some of the best reactions (and nice fuzzy feelings) when doing flowers, butterflies, hearts, elephants and turtles for the ladies. Lizards, scorpions and *cough* female body parts for the guys.

If I had to pick one I'd say Won Park's Double Crane. Based from a simple Crane and one that almost everyone who has tried Origami can make, but challenging and nearly unbelievable to most; everyone thinks it's two bills, not one. I love the Koi too but that takes me a few hours to do and my version still doesn't look nearly as nice.

Influences:
Friends in grade school, Won Park, Robert J. Lang , John Montroll, Jodi
Fukumoto and many others.

Ethos
[I have so many, some favorites]

Learning is finding out what you already know.
Doing is demonstrating that you know it. (Richard David Bach)

You teach best what you most need to learn. (Richard David Bach)

Experience is what you get when you were expecting something else. (Anon)

Location
Born/raised in Utah, USA. Currently residing in Pennsylvania, USA.


Message To Beginners

Terminology. I believe that's the foundation in any field. Understanding the lingo automatically gives you comprehension on the subject which makes doing it easier. Mountain, Valley, Squash, Rabbit Ear (and so on) and all those little lines in diagrams. That's your foundation.

I started with Origami square paper. You could do the same using any sort of paper. Familiarize yourself with folds and just play around; experiment. There is no wrong way. Using money is fine but it's much thicker, smaller and if you just can't get something right you end up with a pretty wrinkled up bill; but still spendable I guess.

Oh, and because I'm something of a perfectionist and want the crispest folds I can get. I carry around in my wallet a very small but very fine point pair of tweezers. Comes in very handy for tight folds and getting into those little places fingers just can't get to.