I feel like I've learned more about origami in the last three days than I did in the past year and a half, and that's truly saying something. But it's hardly a surprise, since OrigamiUSA's annual convention in New York City is easily the biggest origami event in the country. People come from all over the place just to take part in the festivities–and that's really not exaggerating, the convention is truly a festive experience. Meeting all these origami people, famous and otherwise, is such incredible fun that I had to write a blog post about it. And it's my first time coming to this convention, which might surprise you if you know me well! But it's one thing to fold a lot of origami and a whole other thing to be part of the community, and it's the latter which I've always wanted to get better at.
So what did I actually do at the convention? Well, the main draw (and the thing you have to actually sign up for) is the classes, of which I took five. These ranged from the intermediate to the super-complex, and I'll just go in the order that I did them in.
First up was Richard Ellison's Whitetail Buck, which I made out a sheet of 30 cm. Japanese foil:
I didn't take a picture of it, but I also folded one at half the size (which even the designer himself couldn't do!) just to flex on the rest of the class.
Second was Marc Kirschenbaum's Woolly Mammoth, from 24 cm. kami. I've never folded anything out of Kirschenbaum's books before, but his style is cute: geometric and fairly simple, with a fondness for three-dimensional inflation steps.
The third class was a model by Fred Rohm, "It's Magic," consisting of a rabbit atop a Waterbomb cube. Made from a 2x1 rectangle (mine was a 12 cm. by 24 cm sheet of American foil), this model actually shows up in a book I own–Secrets of Origami by Harbin–but that I had never gotten around to making. The things that conventions can do!
The third was probably my easiest model of the convention, but the fourth was definitely the hardest: Chris Conrad's Horse. Of all the Eric Joisel imitators in the origami world (there are far, far too many), Conrad probably comes closest to capturing the magic that he held, and I tried in turn to fold a pale imitation of his work. But all the same, it's probably my most impressive fold of the convention:
And the paper is, once again, 30 cm. Japanese foil. Hey, the pack fit in my suitcase and I wasn't going to waste it.
My fifth and final model was from Boice Wong's class, "Shuriken Trunk." A rare geometric model from Wong, this model collapses into a four-pointed star and unfolds into an arch shape. This one is folded from 30 cm. Biotope:
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As a first-time participant, I also completed a bingo card, finding people that fit random criteria like "owns an origami tutorial YouTube page," "exhibition participant under 18 years old," and "takes part in the artist trading card swap." Pro tip for future convention-goers: if you're trying to fill in a box that seems impossible, nine times out of ten there's a random elderly white woman that can do it for you (or failing that, personally knows somebody who can and will point them out). Another pro tip is that the prize is always some sort of randomly patterned kami–but regardless of whether you want any, I advise doing the bingo anyway, because it's fun.
Okay, that's the official stuff. But the real fun was during off-hours, where all the guests were hanging out and folding with one another. And who should I find here? Not one, but two of my childhood idols: Robert Lang AND John Montroll! And I found them both at the same table!!!
[fanboyish squeeing ensues]
It was those hours in the convention room where I met some of my origami heroes, joined Boice Wong's origami Discord server, and learned random models from folders I'd never met before. I even got to see diagrams from books that hadn't been published yet: it turns out John Montroll came with a whole box of models from his upcoming Origami Symphony No. 12 (Robert Lang: "You made it past 9!") and I was able to fold two of them.
Mushroom and Gnome, John Montroll
Apparently Montroll's publishing agent told him that kids like gnomes, because I saw maybe 30 different gnome variations. Then, as if that wasn't enough, Brian Chan showed up with an advance copy of a Makoto Yamaguchi insect book that hasn't come out yet! And he's got two models there! But I'll save that one for later. Maybe the 2026 book review will have it?
Anyway, below are a few more models that I folded in my spare time:
Flamingo, John Montroll
Flower, Marcus Ho
Two-Fold Santa, unknown designer
Viper, John Montroll
Rose, James Sakoda
Face, Michelle Awh
Last but not least, I took part in the annual Oversize Folding Competition, where everyone had to fold something out of a massive 9-foot piece of paper. This was an absolutely frenetic event: my team chose to fold Robert Lang's Ant (Origami Insects and their Kin), for which I had already memorized the instructions. That meant I had to direct my other three teammates, and the result was an hour of hectic, unbridled chaos as we scrambled in and out of the sink folds and tried to hide all the rips in the paper. My voice is still recovering after shouting all those instructions over the cacophony. But we managed it, and the finished product is a sight to behold:
Every model had a superlative attached by the judges, and ours was declared "Least Paper-Friendly." An epithet with which I have a slight quibble: ants don't eat paper! You were thinking of termites, or maybe silverfish. But I don't actually care. The event was so much fun and there was no time for boring biology facts. Of course, we dedicated the project to Robert Lang himself while rebuilding his home and studio in Altadena. We all wished him a speedy recovery and plenty of new models to fill up the space eventually. I mean, if he's looking to rebuild his origami collection, I know a guy who made a bunch of his insects out of three-inch tissue paper that would make a pretty good display piece...
Thank you so much to everyone who organized this convention, who gave us the space in the Sheraton Hotel to do it, and who showed up to support the origami community. I loved it so much and I can't wait to go to the next one. Until then, goodbye, and I'll see you in the next blog post!
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