Night of a Thousand Cranes

Fold For Japan update

2011-05-03T03:42:00.000-07:00

I'm so sorry, I've never updated on Fold For Japan! My internet is down at home so I've kind of disappeared from the blogosphere for a while. Photos and TV APPEARANCE to come soon when I'm back up and running, but in the meantime, we folded 283 cranes in an hour! We were featured on Calendar news, Radio Leeds and Radio Aire, and in the Yorkshire Evening Post.

Best news of all, so far we've raised over £500! yaaay for cranes!!

Folding for Japan

2011-03-17T04:20:00.000-07:00

Fold for Japan!

So What Is It?

We're holding a timed origami challenge - one hour for as many volunteers as possible to fold as many cranes as possible. This is a test of skill and dexterity.

Who Is It?

The event itself is being organised by the Fold For Peace origami group, who makes origami cranes for the Hiroshima/Nagasaki memorial in Leeds, and hold origami workshops throughout the year.

Anyone can join in. We'll be holding a workshop beforehand to teach people how to make cranes, and there will be worksheets available. Anyone who wants to have a go and add to the total is welcome.

When Is It?

Fold For Japan will be held at the Corn Exchange in Leeds on Saturday 16th April, with the origami challenge hour starting at 2pm.

How Will It Raise Money?

We're raising money for the The Red Cross. We will be being sponsored for our timed origami challenge. If you'd like to sponsor us you can donate at our JustGiving page, or by contacting us direct. We'll also have donation buckets available on the day, and after the cranes have been counted up you can take one home for a donation.

How Can You Get Involved?

Want to learn how to make a crane? Want to test your origami limits? Have a yearning to shake a bucket of loose change? Get in touch - we'd love to have you involved.

If you'd like to display a poster, or can help promote the event, please contact us at foldageddon@gmail.com

If you want to cheer us on please tell everyone you know to come to the Corn Exchange between 2-3pm on 16th April.

Thanks for reading - together we can really make a difference. Let the fun (un)fold!

How was it for you?

2011-03-11T02:58:00.000-08:00

I know sometimes you see an event advertised and think "ooh that sounds good, but what if everyone knows each other or it's really cliquey and what do I wear?" etc. Because I feel like that all the time. One of the main aims of Foldageddon was to get people to come who didn't normally go to arts events, and to make it accessible and lovely.

Hopefully that is the atmosphere that you get at Foldageddon (and if not, tell me why!); but for those of you not quite convinced I asked Emily, a recent guest at Folding For Peace, to give you a quick recap of her experience:

Browsing Twitter one day, I noticed a re-tweet from one of the people I follow. It said the following:
"RT @gazpachodragon: who fancies folding for peace on 28th February? origami cranes over a pint or two."

Well, I thought it sounded fun - I used to love origami as a kid (but hadn't done any for years). I sent Kirsty (@gazpachodragon) a message and arranged to join them.

Heading there on my own I was nervous - how many people would be there? Would they be friendly? Or would I just end up sat there on my own outside a clique of people?

As it turns out, I needn't have worried. There were a small group of people there, approximately six. Everyone was really friendly and made me feel welcome. It was all very informal and great fun, folding cranes whilst chatting and drinking. Everyone is happy to help if you forget what you are doing (or to show you how if you don't know).

So, if you fancy learning something new and meeting some new people, would definitely recommend attending one of these events! I'm very much looking forward to the next one... hope to see you there!

Folding for peace

2011-02-23T04:06:00.000-08:00

We will be Folding For Peace on 28th February.

I've held Folding for Peace events before, but I'm going to try and make them more regular and a more informal way for people to try their hand at origami. If you've never heard me talking about them, here's a rough introduction that I gave to someone:

Folding for Peace is basically a bunch of lovely people sat around chatting and drinking and folding cranes.

It started as me folding cranes for the Hiroshima/Nagasaki memorial last year when I was (in between my crane folding for Light Night) trying to fold lots of cranes in around two weeks. In need of reinforcements, I decamped to the pub and asked people to turn up and join in. Lovely people came, we recruited some tourists who'd asked us what we were doing, and in one evening (and we didn't even stay that late) we folded over 100 cranes.

So it really is that informal. You don't even have to fold if you don't want - some people don't! If you don't know how to fold a crane, we'll show you, but it's much more of a "i'm stuck" "here let me help" kind of vibe. Everyone pitches in helping each other. We also tend to have a few pints and do lots of chatting whilst we're there.

Be aware that it's not like Foldageddon where i stand at the front of the room and teach - we'll show you how to fold a crane, but you won't get a wide range of models. The whole point is to make lots of cranes to box up ready for the Hiroshima/Nagasaki memorial in August (though we don't frown on you taking a couple home if you're proud of them!)

It's actually really lovely, i'm quite enamoured with my Folding for Peace events. So yes, come, you will enjoy it x

guess who's back...

2011-02-23T03:51:00.000-08:00

Hello, it's been a while hasn't it? I've been poorly, then took some time out to recuperate and get back on top form. Which I now am.

Expect lots of exciting news in the next few weeks...

Foldageddon: I Heart Folding

2011-01-13T07:04:00.000-08:00

Foldageddon is back!

The next meeting will be on 7th February at 6pm. Tickets are free, but limited, and are available here.

We’ll be folding Valentine’s specials, but don’t worry if you don’t have a sweetheart, there’ll also be a practical model and it will all be good folding fun!

We’ll also be folding cranes after the meeting for Folding For Peace; and there will be exciting news about future Foldageddons as well.

Hope to see you there!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-07T02:05:00.000-08:00

Welcome to 2011 everyone!

I'm planning on making this year even better and more foldy than 2010, so look out! There are going to be online tutorials, more Foldageddon workshops and we want to FLOOD Park Square with cranes in Folding For Peace. So get ready, and get folding!

Foldageddon: Foldin' Around the Christmas Tree

2010-11-25T05:52:00.000-08:00

Yes, you heard me right guys. There's going to be a Festive Foldageddon!

We'll be meeting on the 12th December from 4pm in The Victoria Pub (which is just after Craft Swaparama, which is my exciting new project, so come to that as well) where we will be folding special Christmas designs, including decorations and practical models, and a very special surprise! Decorate your home with origami this Christmas, and give your friends the gift of folds!

URGENT UPDATE

This is proving a very popular event, and places are limited, so if you are interested you MUST book a ticket. Tickets are free, and are available from eventbrite

We can't guarantee entry without a ticket!

Foldageddon at Handmade Nation

2010-11-07T08:56:00.000-08:00

In case you didn't know, Leeds International Film Festival is on at the moment. Spread across several sites in the city, the three week long festival showcases the best of cinema from around the world. So far I've seen films about everything from russian metereologists to a plastic horse. It is a truly awesome event.

And it just got more awesome, because Foldageddon just got involved.

On Sunday 14th November Craftsville will be hosting a showing of Handmade Nation at Nation of Shopkeepers. Handmade Nation is a documentary about the rise of indie crafting in America, and from what I've heard of it, it's a brilliant film. To celebrate the rise of indie crafting in Leeds Craftsville have organised an afternoon of crafty fun, and invited Foldageddon to come along and do some origami. So I'll be hosting a workshop, and for the first time ever, I'll also be selling some origami merchandise!

So come along and join in from 4pm on 14th November. For more information visit Craftsville.

More pictures of my project from Light Night

2010-10-19T11:43:00.000-07:00

Andy Cotterill
Andy Cotterill

Andy Cotterill

Andy Cotterill

Andy Cotterill

Liann Jones
Liann Jones
Liann Jones
Liann Jones
Liann Jones

Foldageddon: Spooktacular!

2010-10-19T07:37:00.000-07:00

Ha! See, told you it was just the beginning.

The next Foldageddon, which is a Halloween Special, will be held on Wednesday 27th October. 6.30pm start, venue (as always, must sort it out in advance) to be confirmed. If you'd like to come, let me know in the comments or via twitter (@gazpachodragon)

If you enjoyed the Light Night installation, or you're intrigued by origami, or you just want to meet new people, then come on down. Everyone's welcome!

End of song; start of story

2010-10-19T07:31:00.001-07:00

So that's Light Night, all wrapped up. I'm getting together a gallery of all the pictures people have kindly given me of the installation, and I'll post a link as soon as that's up and running. If you do have any pictures, please email them to onethousandcranes@rocketmail.com with your details and I'll add them with full credit.

Was it worth it? Undoubtedly. It was hard work, long hours, I'm out of pocket, I got RSI (I kept that quiet) and I've still not caught up on my sleep. But I've made some of the best friends I've ever had, got involved in amazing things with amazing people, and challenged myself more than I ever thought I could. I'm fairly (not entirely, but fairly) happy to call myself an artist now, and I'm not going to give that up for the world.

So what's next? I don't really know. I'm going to carry on folding (in fact I'm sat here with a pile of origami paper next to me and my fingers are itching to get going), and I'll still be doing Foldageddon. I'll post up on here when they are, and also any events I'm doing. I'm hoping to get a Foldageddon website going, so look out for that. For now, I'm going to fold, just for the hell of it.

Thanks for sharing my journey. We're only just beginning.

kxxx

Light Night 2010

2010-10-19T05:12:00.000-07:00

It was 5pm. There were (rumours of) 250 people waiting to get into the Town Hall. It was time to start Light Night.

We switched off the lights and the glow of the cranes was magical. I'd been worried we'd need uplighters, but there was enough light to walk around in, and it really did transform the place. My mum grabbed me for a hug and I was suddenly more proud of myself than I have ever been in my life. I'd done this, and it looked awesome.

People started coming in, and although a few walked straight past, most people trickled into the tunnels, and before I knew it, it was full. All I could hear was positive comments, and though a couple of cranes dropped, we managed to grab them and perch them on lamps. At one point it was too busy, and I started to worry that the cranes would get damaged, particularly as people kept reaching up to touch them (and we caught a few people trying to walk out with them!). Loads of people were taking pictures, and although I was exhausted, I was kept busy answering questions (how long did it take? did you do it all yourself? is it based on Prison Break?)

I popped up to the courtroom a few times, and Lisa and Dave were constantly busy not only helping with the boats, but showing cranes and boxes and who knows what else! The courtroom was full of people learning origami and talking to each other. It was awesome. Even after Lisa and Dave finished their epic shift (and thanks guys, for staying around so long), and I'd abandoned the courtroom thinking I'd just clear it all up later, I still saw people working through the instructions, or teaching each other, or just sat colouring in (and these were adults). It seemed to really capture the imagination of Leeds.

As it drew close to midnight, there didn't seem to be any let up in the amount of people coming down into the tunnels. Luckily I had awesome friends who stayed with me right through (particularly RobC and Aretha, who not only stayed until the bitter end, but never took a break). I'd thought it would be busy up until about 7pm, then really quiet, then a little busier when the pubs let out, but it was relentless. And everyone was so nice about my installation. As it ticked close to 1am, when the Town Hall shut, finally it quietened down. By that point, I was too tired to do anything but pack up my stuff, say goodnight to the cranes, and head off to the final event of Light Night, where we toasted what a successful night it had been.

Morning has broken...

2010-10-19T04:55:00.000-07:00

First thing on Friday morning, I went into the Town Hall tunnels. My mum had come along to help, and as we opened the door my heart leapt into my mouth. Would the nets have frayed and fallen? Had the few that had dropped been an omen and they'd all be lying on the floor? I took a step inside, and saw that around 100 had fallen off their strings, but nowhere near as bad as I'd imagined it to be. Quickly we scooped up the fallen ones, and sorted a plan.

As the majority of the nets were already up, it was a case of filling in the blank spaces. I'd worked out the night before that if I did strips of netting with cranes hanging off it, we could then hang these like tinsel along the side of the tunnels and in the gaps between nets. We got to work, and my mum figured out a quick way of tying the fallen cranes (which had no thread) to the ones with thread, thus quickening the process and meaning we were saving on thread. Unfortunately as we went to put one 'tinsel' up the ladder it was tied to fell over, and we ended up with a clump, but that was the only problem.

Until the pigeon. When I'd gone to get a couple of chairs from the cells, I'd noticed a pigeon lurking (I actually thought it was the ghost for a moment). We'd left it alone, and it had stayed out of our way, but then unfortunately two town hall people came down and one freaked out, which understandably freaked out the pigeon, which then started flying up and down the corridor. I chased it out of the way of the netting, as much concerned that it would get caught and hurt itself as to the damage it could do, and grabbed a warden. Who then decided the best course of action was to shoo it BACK down the corridor full of netting and string. The poor pigeon was frantic, I had visions of everything coming tumbling down, and the town hall people weren't really helping. In the end we managed to get it back into the cells, covered the end of the tunnel with material to stop it getting back in, and it finally left through the now-open door.

This seemed a good time to break for lunch, when I saw the only part of Light Night I would see this year, the giant heron in the Tiled Hall. Which was cool. Then it was back to work, and shortly after my friend Rachel, who has done a great blog post about Light Night, and her husband Andy arrived. We showed them what to do, then left them to it while we went and tackled the courtroom (you'd forgotten about that hadn't you?)

The courtroom was fairly straightforward. Material for a river, worksheets to make boats on the table, and cherry blossoms EVERYWHERE. The foldageddoners had come through strong, and I had a massive bin bag full. Big shout out to Rob, Lisa, Dave, Sue, Elly, Liz, Fran and everyone else who I might've missed out who made blossoms for me.

Back down in the tunnels, and we had about fifty cranes left. I'd kept saying we could just perch them on the heating pipes as if they'd roosted, but we were so close to having all one thousand 'flying' that we pressed on. At five minutes to five a steward came down to ask if we were ready to open in five minutes, just as I tied the last cable tie to hang the final string. We were there. One thousand cranes were flying through the Town Hall tunnels.

Piece of cake, huh?

The day before...

2010-10-14T03:13:00.000-07:00

On Thursday morning I got up early. The cranes were all packed and ready to go - glowing away flatpacked in sandwich bags then wedged into holdalls and bin bags. More sandwich bags filled my rucksack full of useful things like duct tape and netting and scissors and pritt stick (I never used the pritt stick, it just seems like the sort of thing you should carry if you're an artist). My helper for the morning (who was also giving me a lift in) had dropped out at the last minute, so I was going it alone. The taxi dropped me off outside the Town Hall, and I lugged my bags inside.

I got down into the tunnels and the first thing I noticed was that it was full of stuff. The porters hadn't got round to clearing it yet, so there were crates and chairs and trolleys and even a chaise longue! One of the Light Night organisers promised to get it sorted quickly (which she did), and disappeared off to fetch the ladders I was borrowing. She returned a few minutes later with the tiniest stepladders I've ever seen in my life. Seriously, they were the sort of ladders old ladies use to reach the top shelf in the kitchen. By standing on the next to top step and stretching really hard I could just about reach the pipes we were hanging the netting off. Unfortunately, because I was on my own, I wasn't allowed up the council ladders in case I fell off (which to be fair was a real possibility due to the rubbishness of the ladders). Pleas on Twitter for someone to come and sit with me were unsuccessful (though I had amazing people already coming later on). I was left, after a brief recounting of ghostly encounters by the porter, on my own with a thousand cranes, lots of netting, and absolutely no way of attaching them to the ceiling.

I have to admit I sat and had a little cry. Suddenly it looked like all the hard work was going to go to waste, because I needed the set up time so badly, and here it was ticking away with me sat on the floor in a dusty corridor with only a ghost for company.

Then I shouted at myself. I reminded myself how brave I'd been attending that first Light Night meeting when I hadn't known anyone and everyone else seemed to know each other. How easy it would have been to run away after I fell down the stairs at the budgeting meeting and embarassed myself. How when I'd got to 600 cranes and I was sick of the sight of them I could have given up. I stood up, shook myself off, introduced myself to the ghost and told myself to get on with it.

I emptied out all my bags and tried to work out a way to get going. My original plan was to put all the netting up then as more volunteers arrived they could climb ladders (I'd envisioned decent ladders, and at least a few sets) and string the cranes through. Clearly that wasn't going to work. So I hit upon the idea of laying the cranes out on the floor, then laying the netting over, tying the cranes, then lifting the whole thing into the air when more people arrived. I cut the netting into chunks for different parts of the tunnel, and started work.

As I was getting on with this my husband RobW (there were lots of Robs involved in my project) rang to say he'd left work to come in and help, and he arrived shortly after with a sandwich and a big hug, then got on with tying the cranes onto the net. For about five minutes before declaring it would take a million billion years to do 1000 this way (he wasn't quite so dramatic about it). We stood and puzzled for a bit - could we jam the thread through the netting rather than tying? Should we tie the netting up with cranes ABOVE it, like a balloon net? Finally we hit upon the idea of making strings across the netting which meant it was easy to tie the cranes to it, but we could still use the netting to hold it all together and to space the cranes. Then he chanced upon the idea of tying the nets at waist height, making it amazingly easier to tie them on, and also giving us the first glimpse of flying cranes. My friend Jane arrived and quickly and quietly got on with laying out cranes ready for us to tie on - taking an extended lunch break for me.

Soon we were flying, and by the time Katie arrived, an acquaintance from Twitter who'd responded to my plea for help, we'd got it down pat. She, like a trooper, took control of a net and got on with it. A while later Fran, Dave and Lisa (Foldageddoners), Brett, Aretha and RobC (friends from my husband's work), RobE (a fellow LightNighter) and the lovely aforementioned Jane arrived, and we soon had most of the nets ready to go up. With the teeny ladders it was a struggle until someone suggested rigging up a pulley system. This worked really well, and our first net was up! Then a porter walked through, laughed at our ladders, and offered to go and get us some proper ones.

With big ladders in play, it was nothing (nothing! it was a LOT of work!) for Dave, and later RobC to scamper up to the ceiling like a spider-monkey-super-squirrel, and before we knew it, the ceiling was covered in nets and we were rushing to sneak up the last one before the Town Hall kicked us out. We got it up, and around 700 cranes were dangling from the ceiling. As we were leaving a few cranes dropped down where the thread had slipped through the sellotape, but that was a problem for the next day. Saying goodbye to the ghost, we left for the night.

Thanks to Dave 'boiler-man' Naylor (@caramboo) for the awesome pics. I forgot to take any of the setting up!

On the night...

2010-10-09T12:40:00.000-07:00

Full report coming soon...

The final countdown

2010-10-09T12:35:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't updated the blog this week - it has been more than manic.

On Monday morning I woke up at half past four in the morning, and had a panic attack that I wasn't going to get all the batteries in the cranes.

Wednesday I woke up and couldn't move my right hand, and it was all swollen. I still had 300 cranes to put batteries in.

Thursday I went down to the tunnels and half the people who had offered to help had pulled out. Then I wasn't allowed up the ladders on my own because of health and safety. Then the way that I had planned to attach the cranes didn't work. At lunchtime there still wasn't a single crane in the air.

It wasn't looking good...

What is Light Night Leeds?

2010-09-28T02:41:00.000-07:00

There's been a bit of talk on Twitter from people who don't know what Light Night Leeds is; and as there are people coming from outside Leeds who are a bit in the dark (excuse the pun!) as well, I thought I'd give a bit of an overview.

Firstly, I can't really tell you what Light Night is. Not because it's a secret, but because it changes year on year. So I'd only really be able to tell you about this year's event after it had happened. That's a lovely thing about the Leeds Light Night, as it is so heavily driven by the people who take part.

Light Night Leeds is based on the Nuit Blanche event. It is now in its sixth year, and there are currently 11 cities in the UK who have Light Nights (Leeds was the first in the UK). Other cities are completely different to Leeds, with some having one or two big events, or taking the "light" part literally and using lasers and stuff. Leeds Light Night focuses on the artists and the people of Leeds. It asks for submissions and is open to anyone (obviously, as they took me!) What submissions come in form the basis of Light Night. Basically, it makes the whole city into a giant playground for the arts, and for the people of Leeds.

Light Night is spread over the whole of Leeds - from the university buildings and Hyde Park Picture House in the north to Round Foundry and Templeworks in the south. There are around 100 events going on, including theatre pieces, sound installations, art exhibits, bands, children's entertainment...and some really crazy stuff. How about visiting a crashed spaceship in the library, or going on a static rollercoaster in Victoria Gardens? What about a moving maze in Millennium Square? Light Night embraces all the different grassroots and established arts and culture in Leeds. There are a lot of events that you might stumble across, such as projections on buildings and theatre pieces that travel around the city centre, and there are set pieces in certain places (such as mine) that you can plan to go and see.

A lot of the fun of Light Night is that buildings open late, such as Leeds City Museum, and some buildings open that normally you wouldn't be able to get into, like the tunnels under the Town Hall. So it's a brilliant way to have a nosey about as well.

The thing that I think is best about Light Night is the way it embraces the people of Leeds. If you're not into art, you'll probably still enjoy the virtual spray painting in Millennium Square. If you're interested in Leeds history, why not check out the Underworlds tour from Leeds City Museum which fuses local architecture and history with that of ancient mythology. If you like music, drop by and see the sound on a wire piece in the Town Hall. If you hate all the arts, you can still get a free fortune cookie from around Little Woodhouse. Everybody likes cookies. Light Night is about celebrating the city and the people who live here. It's not trying to be a highbrow arts event (though there is high-end stuff going on), it's trying, and I think succeeds, in being a fun, varied way of linking up lots and lots (and lots!) of stuff that goes on in the city, and making it more accessible for everyone. It promotes what's great about Leeds, makes the city more inviting (don't worry too much about getting lost - you'll probably find a dancing urban nymph round the corner) and might just get a few people interested who weren't interested before.

Plus, don't forget that it is all free. Every event is free. The artists involved do it for free, the buildings that open late don't charge. Bands and performers and the people who will point you in the right direction for things all do it for free. Light Night Leeds is a night put on by the council, and the guys that run it work really hard on a tiny budget to put on over 100 events, with no charge.

So what have you got to lose? Come and play with your city.

Light up, light up

2010-09-22T04:15:00.000-07:00

The LEDs arrived.

I started putting them in the cranes, through the bottom, and realised that at the rate it was taking me I wouldn't make Light Night 2012, let alone the Light Night in a few weeks. I was having to virtually completely unfold the crane, put the light in, then refold it.

This was the first real problem I've had since the start of the project, and at this late stage it panicked me that something so massive could go wrong. I'm also a little bit fixated with planning, so to have not factored in that my plan wouldn't work made me really angry with myself, and made me panic more.

Hours later, with a prototype crane so mangled it looked like the victim of a road traffic accident, and me sat sobbing on the sofa because I still couldn't figure out a quick way to put the LED in, and the way I was doing it was so complicated I couldn't possibly ask anyone else to help, and my lovely, gorgeous husband looked at it and said

"why don't you just cut a hole in the top, and drop the LED in?"

The man's a genius. It now takes around 30 seconds to do a crane, and once they're hung up, you won't even notice the hole in the top (it's covered over with sticky tape so the LED doesn't just pop out again).

I'm back on track!

...999...1000!

2010-09-12T04:53:00.000-07:00

I've finished my cranes. A few of us gathered in the pub whilst I folded the final ten, and they're all done. Whilst I was doing the last hundred, I thought a lot about how much has changed since I started, and everything that I've done since I folded my first crane for this project.

My cranes have been to and been folded at, and during:

Foldageddons Light Night budget meetings Leeds Pride a new dr (who) Unity Day various pubs Brighton Chorley Manchester trivial pursuit partiesTabby's naming party beer train a general election testspace Nuneaton Hiroshima/Nagasaki memorial the last ashes to ashes various club nights Manchester Pride secret tearoom my birthday party other people's birthday parties over the rainbow house sale a (very minor) house fire michael mcintyre ilovewestleeds festival the world cup Sheffield lots of motorways and lots of other things!

thank you to everyone who has supported me so far, and a special thank you to my husband Rob, who cut 1000 pieces of paper into squares for me to fold!

There's still lots more to come before October, so stay tuned!

Final furlong

2010-09-07T02:53:00.000-07:00

Have a quick look at the Totalizer in the right hand sidebar. At the time of writing this, it is at 940. By Friday the total will be 1000. One. Thousand. Cranes.

I've got it all planned out, twenty a day until Friday, when I'll do ten through the day, then I'm going to go to Nation of Shopkeepers pub to fold the last ten in the company of friends, then I'll have a big drink to celebrate.

If you're in Leeds, and you'd like to see the final ten being made, or you just want to come for a drink, then please feel free to drop in. I'll be there from half past four.

It feels weird being on the home straight. There's still LOADS to do for Light Night, but this part of it is almost over. It doesn't seem very long ago that I fudged the totalizer because 8 cranes didn't even show up on it, and now it's almost full. I have bags everywhere with cranes in, and I've got used to always carrying some paper just in case I have five minutes. My fingers won't know what to do!

One more thing...

2010-09-04T07:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was sat at work when the phone rang. It was one of the organisers of Light Night saying that the courtroom, which is the room next to the tunnels where my project will be, had come free, and would I be able to do something with it?

This is where people will be coming in to get to the tunnels (you walk into the dock of the courtroom then down some stairs, the way the prisoners would have done), so of course I said yes. I hoofed it over to the Town Hall to have a look. The room is huge, and all traditionally wood-panelled with chandeliers. It isn't actually used as a courtroom anymore, but it's quite often used for filming of Emmerdale and other TV programmes, so you may have seen it already. There's a huge table in the middle of it which would be perfect for folding.

I came away a little nervous, but very excited. To be offered an opportunity to do more is great, but it's only five weeks away and I don't want it to look like a half-arsed attempt. We were discussing ideas as I wanted to keep the cranes separate from the courtroom so you still had the impact, but I want it all to look connected. After a bit of thinking, and some messing about with models, I hit upon an idea.

The 'thousand crane' story is an ancient Japanese legend, popularised by the story of Sadako Sasaki, and I often have to explain this. What if I made the courtroom into a sort of prelude to my thousand cranes? I could have some information up, and the sailboat folding in there. Thinking about making it about Sadako and the Japanese legend led me to thinking about making the courtroom into a peace garden. Lots of origami cherry blossoms 'growing' out of the courtroom, taking over the place of judgement and turning it into a place of peace and contemplation.

So this is my challenge. As well as finishing the thousand cranes project, now I need to make cherry blossoms. I'm planning on calling on volunteers to help, so if you want to get involved, please let me know. And wish me luck!

Back to school Foldageddon

2010-09-02T03:04:00.000-07:00

There's going to be another Foldageddon. 16th September at 6.30pm (venue tbc)

And to celebrate September, it's going to be a Back To School Special. We'll be making origami models you might remember from your childhood - a fortune teller, a waterbomb and a banger. I'll also go over any previous models we've done, or if you have any queries I'll try my best to answer them.

As usual, Foldageddon is completely and utterly free and materials will be provided, but it's nice if you buy a drink at the bar as a thanks for hosting us, and there will be a donation box to cover costs of paper etc.

Also, afterwards, I'll be folding boats for Light Night, if anyone wants to help out! This will be the last Foldageddon before Light Night, so if you've any questions about my project, feel free to come along and quiz me!

If you're coming give me a shout on Twitter or leave a comment here, then I can arrange a suitable sized venue. Fold on!

Calm before the storm

2010-08-25T03:36:00.000-07:00

Things have been a bit quiet round here of late. I've been folding, but in terms of everything else, it's all on hold until September (when the funding will come through, and it will be a mad panic of rigging up the lights etc).

Last night I hit 800 cranes, and 200 seems completely doable (heck if need be, I think I could do 200 in a weekend, so there's no way I'll not make 1000). It feels a bit flat though, like because there's not much else going on there's no excitement over such a milestone; and because everything is just "ticking over", it's all feeling a bit ho-hum. I'm still mega-excited about Light Night, but at the moment there's few people to bounce it off, and those not involved are bored of it by now (and some who are involved!) and those who are are getting on with their own projects.

I've not lost my Light Night mojo, I've just temporarily misplaced it. I think we need to organise a Light Night drinking session to get the energy back up.

Want to get involved in Light Night?

2010-08-25T02:04:00.000-07:00

This is taken directly from the Light Night website, but thought it may be of interest to some...

Light Night is an annual arts festival run by the council, which takes place at numerous venues across the city centre. It is a celebratory showcase of diverse creativeness, and gives visitors free access to art and venues that they might not normally see.

This year we are looking for a group of volunteers to work on Light Night with us and join our pool of volunteers for future events. This is a fantastic opportunity for anyone looking for experience of working in the arts, or just to enjoy Light Night from a different point of view!

Most of the volunteers will be required to provide information and collect feedback from audiences and performers (through asking people to fill out feedback forms). Some volunteers may also be asked to help with events. You will be expected to work for a shift, but we will make sure you have time to enjoy Light Night as well!

Volunteers must be age 18 or over and the deadline for applying is 5pm Friday, 27 August.

Please note: Volunteers will be required to attend a short briefing session in the afternoon on either 28 and 30 September, and will receive a Light Night t shirt.

Please send your CV and a covering letter explaining why you would like to work on Light Night to Mo Rowlands on morwenna.rowlands@leeds.gov.uk or ring 0113 247 6419 for further information.

Further details on Light Night here: www.lightnightleeds.co.uk

Folding for Peace - The Event

2010-08-09T11:03:00.000-07:00

Last week a group of people gathered to fold. Ten volunteers folded 160 cranes in just a few hours. The people there weren't origami experts or professional artists - they varied from bankers to a couple of tourists on a day trip; and all of them donated their time for free. This is the result:

It was so lovely to see, and I was so proud of the Foldageddon regulars who came, as they barely needed reminding how to fold a crane before they were teaching others:

The reason these lovely people were folding so many cranes was to commemorate the Hiroshima and Nagasaki disasters, when atomic bombs were dropped on cities. This year is the 65th anniversary, and there are still many people feeling the aftereffects of the bombs.

The Lord Mayor of Leeds organises a memorial service each year in Park Square, where there is a memorial stone and a tree that was planted by the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Today (the anniversary of the Nagasaki bombing) I attended the memorial service. It was very moving, and there was a really good turn out. At the end of the ceremony people were invited to take a crane and place it around the memorial stone, or to fold their own. We showed several people how to fold cranes, and the whole thing seemed to really have an impact.

Thank you to everyone who passed on the word about this, everyone who came to fold, and everyone who came today. I was so proud to be a part of this, and I'm so glad that the awful events of 65 years ago are not forgotten.

Here's some pictures of the memorial after the ceremony:

Poll

2010-07-28T05:13:00.000-07:00

Whilst the cranes are ticking along, I'm thinking ahead to the other aspects of my Light Night event. The electrical aspect is on hold for the moment (until I get the money through to buy everything. Don't panic before you need to.), so there's only the boats to worry about. This is my dilemna.

If you've read my previous post about the sailboats, you'll remember that the original was a traditional origami sailboat. Easy to fold, recognisable, not a problem. Apart from some people have mentioned how they are quite two dimensional. Someone even asked why I couldn't have a boat he could sail down the river.

Which got me thinking.

Would it better to have a different type of boat? I'm still loving the boat idea, particularly as there seems to be a bit of a theme of 'journey' going on at Light Night this year (completely coincidentally). There's three types of boat up for consideration (excuse the blurry photos):

The original idea was this one:

Like I said, instantly recognisable as a boat, but a little...flat.

This is the second option:

A bit more artistic, but not as obvious as a boat. It does travel across a flat surface if you blow it though.

The third option is the classic "newspaper boat":

Most people recognise this as a boat, and it sails on water; but is it recognisable enough?

What do you think? Please leave your comments below before I start making a load of the wrong type!

FIVE HUNDRED!!

2010-07-27T09:22:00.000-07:00

That's right. As of Saturday night, I've folded 500 cranes. That's halfway there. Okay, we won't focus on the amount I've got left to do. I'll post a picture of them all at some point, sat in their little bags, waiting to be illuminated.

FIVE HUNDRED CRANES!!

It seems like forever since I started, although this blog tells me it wasn't all that long ago. A thousand seemed like such a massive number, but now 500 seems like an even bigger number as the deadline looms. I know I'll do it though. After all, I'm already halfway there.

Folding for Peace

2010-07-23T02:55:00.000-07:00

I will be attending the Hiroshima/Nagasaki Memorial Ceremony on 9th August at 10.40am. This is a memorial ceremony hosted (is hosted the right word?) by the Lord Mayor in Park Square in Leeds, where we will remember those affected by the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These memorials are held worldwide on 6th August (when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima) and 9th August (when the bomb was dropped on Nagasaki). As part of the ceremony, I will be showing people how to fold cranes, which are used worldwide as a symbol of peace, and are linked to Hiroshima and Nagasaki because of the story of Sadako Sasaki. If you'd like any more information, please let me know and I can answer any questions or point you towards the right people.

I will also be folding cranes on 4th August between 12.30pm-1.30pm at the City Museum cafe, then from 5.30pm onwards at Nation of Shopkeepers for those who can't attend the ceremony but would like to mark their remembrance, and to make some cranes in advance for use during the memorial ceremony. Hopefully we'll get a really good turnout and lots of cranes. If you can help, either by coming to the memorial or by popping along to one of the folding sessions (if you can't fold cranes, don't worry, I'll show you), or even just telling other people about it, it would be really appreciated.

Update and missed deadlines

2010-07-22T02:38:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't blogged for a while. Everything is just ticking along, really. Meetings are over, and there won't be another for a while; cranes are slowly but steadily being made and the totalizer is creeping up (well it's not, because I forget to update it until I've done about 20 of them). It's really just a waiting (and folding) game until nearer the time, but I didn't want you to think I'd forgotten you.

I did miss my self-imposed deadline of 500 by my birthday (16th July) by around 50 cranes. So I'm behind on where I wanted to be, but I did have two assignments and a load of personal commitments at the same time, which have all been done now, so there's a clear run for me to catch up.

i LOVE I Love West Leeds!

2010-07-04T12:12:00.000-07:00

Today was the I Love West Leeds Festival, and it was great! I got a shed to set up in, and I'd made loads of underwater decorations (fish, crabs, turtles, shells, seahorses, stingrays and seagulls) so it looked good.

Even with it being ridiculously windy, and a little bit rainy, I still had a really good turnout and made loads of penguins (I'd planned to make fish, but after the first couple of people struggled, I switched to penguins). There were a few people who knew origami and it was nice to share stories with them, and it was brilliant to see kids make the crappest bit of paperfolding you've ever seen, but be SO thrilled with it! I've never really taught kids before, so I was pleased that they got on so well (and that I handled them well without them nicking my stuff or making them cry!).

Unfortunately because I was on my own and pretty busy, I didn't get a chance to look at all the other fab stuff that was going on, and there was LOADS, but there's a report on Guardian Leeds with lots of pictures. I Love West Leeds has events going on until the end of the month, so if you can, get along to one and say hi!

Here's a lot of pictures of my shed:

Exciting news: I Love West Leeds!

2010-06-30T07:28:00.000-07:00

There's a fab festival in Leeds, called the I Love West Leeds Festival. As the name suggests, it celebrates everything in West Leeds, with loads of events going on through July, and a mahoosive festival day which moves venue every year (this year it's at Farnley Hall Park, on Sunday 4th July). There are loads of activities and lots of entertainment for the whole family.

I'm going to be a part of it. I'm going to be doing a drop-in Foldageddon event throughout the day, working alongside proper proper artists, at a massive festival. I'm very scared, but also very very excited.

I get an area (which may or may not be in a shed, depending on numbers) so I'm currently making a few decorations to jazz my space up a bit. I'm going for an underwater theme so I'm making fish, seahorses, shells, crabs and turtles; then on the day I'll be making fish and boats (plus bangers because what says a family festival more than kids running around making lots of noise?)

If you're in Leeds, pop over and have a look at what's going on!

One hundred...

2010-06-30T07:17:00.000-07:00

Today is one hundred days until Light Night Leeds, so it seemed a good time for a little retrospective.

I started out my project for Light Night thinking it would be nice just to be involved in something that I really enjoyed last year.

Since then, I've made friends, been to budgeting meetings, got involved in arts festivals and been funded by the Council to put on my installation. I've gained confidence and the whole thing has really helped me settle in in Leeds.

There's still 100 days to go, who knows what that will bring...

Quick reminder

2010-06-28T00:49:00.000-07:00

Foldageddon is next Monday, the 5th of July.

I made new flyers, but I really like it so I might keep it/adapt it for future foldageddons:

The results are in...

2010-06-23T06:48:00.000-07:00

I've got in. Not only have I got in, I've got in with full funding.

I'm doing Light Night.

Now it's sorted (in terms of being 'approved'), it's all become a bit more real. The eagle eyed of you will have noticed the totalizer rocketing up this week - well that's because I'm panicking slightly!

I know I'll be alright, and I'm really really excited about doing it, it's just a little daunting. But isn't that what it's all about?

Meetings two and three

2010-06-21T12:53:00.000-07:00

First of all, apologies! I've kept you all on the edge of your seats about how my presentation went...well here it is.

It went a bit crap.

I turned up at the second meeting and the first thing I did was trip up the stairs. So, you know, that was a good start. Despite wearing my lucky socks, I fumbled and stumbled through my idea; the room was really light so you couldn't really see the LED inside Blue Canary and a few people threw questions that seemed like they hated my idea. I was feeling really down, and thought they were just going to say "well you tried, but we think it would be best if you just went home and came to Light Night as a visitor"...but the feedback I got from people was pretty good. Good enough that I'm not going to get thrown out anyway!

Both the second and third meetings had a lot of good ideas, and I'm really looking forward to going ahead and getting to know the people involved. I should hear this week about the funding, and then I just have to get on with the folding!

Meeting number one

2010-06-15T01:24:00.000-07:00

I went to the first of the budget meetings yesterday, and got to hear about ten of the proposals for Light Night.

There were over 200 submissions sent in, with 56 of those asking for funding. Of those 200, 75 will take place, and 30 will be funded. I'm in that 30.

Some of the proposals were really good, some (I thought) were rubbish. As with most art stuff, some I just didn't "get". However, it did bring home how diverse the range of projects at Light Night, and how diverse the people involved are. There were inclusive projects for youth groups, people asking for student volunteers and people like me who are doing something creative for the first time.

It was all very informal, and I think my powerpoint presentation was mahoosively overthinking it, so I'm going back to the drawing board on that one. Tomorrow is my presentation, so I'll let you know after I've done it what I decided to do!

Nerves are kicking in

2010-06-10T13:29:00.000-07:00

The budgetary meetings start next week. I had planned on just getting up and reading out my submission, but then I started thinking about what I would like to see. I certainly wouldn't like to see someone with little confidence stumbling over words, and if you can't be confident in front of a few people, how can you feel confident in putting on an art exhibit?

So I thought, and thought, and thought. I practised adapting my submission into a "speech". I tried it out on my dogs. I incorporated Blue Canary, my prototype. It was so much easier to show people what I meant, rather than trying to tell them.

Which led me to wondering...was there a way to show people what I meant? A presentation done via powerpoint, or something similar, wouldn't just take the heat off me somewhat, but it was also different, exactly what I wanted.

Only one problem. I can't use powerpoint. Or anything like that.

At the moment I've storyboarded it, and I'm going to work on it over the weekend. Another thing I need to sort out is if I can even use powerpoint at the meeting - will there be facilities? There's a spark of an idea there, I just need to work at it to get something practical.

Foldageddon: The Sequel

2010-06-09T07:53:00.000-07:00

Foldageddon!! was such a success, and I had so many people saying they'd have liked to come but couldn't make it, I've decided to go again.

Foldageddon: the sequel will be held Monday 5th July at 6.30pm in Leeds city centre at The Victoria on Great George Street (back of the Town Hall) - tell your friends! There'll be many new exciting models to make, including MODULAR origami!

Please let me know in the comments, or via email (foldageddon@gmail.com - a new email address, but the old one still works too), or on twitter (@gazpachodragon) if you'd like to come, so I can make sure there's enough space and paper. The more the merrier is true, but it got a bit squished last time so we could've done with an extra table!

The event will be free, but there will be a donations box if you want to contribute towards the cost of materials (and allow me to keep getting nice patterny papers for future Foldageddons!)

If you can't make this one, but would like to be put on the mailing list for future Foldageddons, please drop me a line with your email address at foldageddon@gmail.com

testspaceleeds

2010-06-08T11:53:00.000-07:00

Sunday was my day at Testspaceleeds and it went well. Due to the fact that it was a drop in workshop, and the idea of testspaceleeds being rapid-fire creativity, I kept the models simple and limited.

I’d made up worksheets by scanning in origami at various stages (hopefully these will be available as pdfs on here this week) for the penguin, the box, and the yacht. These are all easy models that I’ve been folding since I was tiny, so I was pretty happy that everyone could have a go. Armed with paper, my worksheets, and Blue Canary (so I could explain my Light Night project), I set off.

It’s not the first time I’ve been involved in workshop/festival type things like this, but it’s the first time I’ve done origami at one, and I was pretty nervous, made more so by the fact that everything had been arranged by email so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I got there and arranged for a couple of tables, set out my stall and waited.

I didn’t have to wait long. Apparently people had been asking about the origami workshop (I’d billed it as Foldageddon!! again, but that hadn’t caught on!) so soon people were dropping in regularly. Also, origami was the only ‘interactive’ thing (there were video screenings, and a lady demonstrating hatmaking) so anyone coming in for a look tended to want to ‘have a go’, which I loved. Soon there was a pile of origami at the side of me:

By the end of the day there was a veritable waddle of penguins (seriously, I googled it - a group of penguins is called a waddle!):

One gentleman (hey Henry, if you’re reading!) came in who explained he wanted to buy some art. However, on a limited budget and with not much for sale (most stuff was being sold at another site), he was a bit stuck. Whilst the organisers had a look round for stuff, he sat with me and asked if I could show him how to make a crane. Although I wasn’t really showing cranes (it makes it difficult if you’re halfway through one and someone comes in and wants to join in), he’d asked especially so I said yes. We sat and made cranes together, then he decided he wanted to buy a couple. He gave me TEN POUNDS for the two cranes, asking me to take out whatever I was charging (I wasn’t! I wasn’t planning on selling any!) and give the rest as a donation. However, he then also wanted a piece of cake that was being sold, and in the confusion of sorting out change for that etc. all the money got put in the donation box. So I did sell some artwork, but I didn’t get to keep the money!

It was a good learning experience for me, and they’ve asked me to take part again in July, so I’ll have to have a think about it. Unfortunately I’m really busy for the rest of the week so I won’t be able to check out the other stuff going on, but if you’re around it’s worth having a look.

Just a quick FYI – I’m planning on holding another Foldageddon!! at the start of July, so register your interest now!

Foldageddon!! on Culture Vulture

2010-06-01T07:45:00.000-07:00

Foldageddon!! has been featured on Culture Vulture, the Leeds arts and culture guide.

Check it out here

If you fold it...they will come...

2010-05-28T09:39:00.000-07:00

Last night was Foldageddon!! and it was a great turnout.

i got there around a quarter of an hour early, and the barstaff pointed me to a table in a corner, and one person was already there, so i said "oh well we'll wait until six because a few other people are coming"...it got to ten past six and nobody else had turned up.

i was nearly crying, because one person is worse than none isn't it? at least if nobody turned up i could slink out and pretend it had gone brilliantly. so i said that we should start, and as we finished folding the first model, a girl walked round the corner and said "oh are you kirsty? there's four of us waiting for you at the bar - they said you hadn't arrived yet!" so we did the first model again, then three more people arrived and joined in - and there were some people behind us who were taking the piss out of us a bit, then i noticed they'd made penguins out of the flyers on the tables, so obviously they wanted to join in but thought it wasn't cool enough, so that was brill.

and everyone had a great time (well at least they told me they had a great time) and made their own models to take away, and they were all helping each other which was lovely, and they all want to do it again.

and Elly came who wants to write a feature on me for a local Leeds culture guide. and when we left we left a load of cranes on the table, and i saw a fair few people sneaking over to take one. i should have put my website address on them!

so all in all, it was really good. there's a couple of things i'd change (not least the venue, because they had a band on at 8pm, but they started 'warming up' at 7pm, which i'm sure they did on purpose because we were sat enar them, because they warmed up with shouty metal music, then when they started playing at 8.30 they were singing stuff like stairway to heaven!), but yeah. it was good, and hopefully we will definitely be doing it again. So thanks to everyone who came:

(sorry Edward, you got missed off the picture!)

Foldageddon!! at Testspace

2010-05-28T01:31:00.000-07:00

I'll be doing a blog tomorrow about Foldageddon!!, which went really well, but I quickly wanted to give you all the exciting news which I promised earlier in the week.

I've been asked to put on a Foldageddon!! workshop at Testspace Leeds, which is an initiative to bring together the creative (they use the word creative! hurrah!) folk of Leeds.

Go check out their website here.

I'm really pleased to be involved with this, as like Light Night, it reaches out to people who maybe wouldn't get involved in 'arts' events normally. Plus, I'm pretty damn pleased to be asked!

So on the 6th June, from about 11am, I'll be at 42 New Briggate in Leeds (near the Grand Theatre), hosting a drop-in, free workshop. Feel free to come along, and if you say hello, and that you're a blog reaader, I might just fold something a little special for you!

BREAKING NEWS

2010-05-26T01:57:00.001-07:00

I've just had an email from Light Night, and I've been accepted! I now have to attend three meetings to decide on the budgeting, but I'm definitely in!

I feel SO proud of myself, I can't even begin to tell you. I never thought I would be involved in an arts project, let alone having my own exhibited at a high profile event. It's really a testament to the idea that if you want to do something, you can. So go out there people, and try something you've always dreamed of.

Oh, and put 8th October in your diaries. You'll find me in the tunnels, most likely a nervous wreck and twitching, but glowing with pride (and with the help of 1000 glowing cranes).

Just a quick update...

2010-05-24T08:44:00.001-07:00

...to say that Foldageddon!! will be taking place this Thursday starting at 6pm, at Carpe Diem in Leeds (opposite Mandela Gardens).

If you would like to come, please let me know so I can make sure there's enough table space/paper for you. If you can't make it until later, that's completely fine, just let me know. I'm really looking forward to meeting some of you, and hopefully we'll have some great pictures to show those of you that can't make it.

In other news, no word yet from the Light Night committee, but I should have some very exciting news at the end of the week! Stay tuned, folks!

Two hundred!

2010-05-14T01:35:00.000-07:00

Last night, I folded my two hundredth (is that even a word?) crane for my project.

This currently puts me at having to fold 7.33 a day to make my target (I'm hoping to have them all done by September, so I have wriggle room and time to wire them all up). However, I'm hoping to get a bit ahead then I'm not obsessively folding all the time like a crazy person. Plus, I'm going to stop folding other stuff, because that's a bit silly really when I've so much to do, even though I really love sonobe units.

It's funny, but when I hit 100, it still felt like there was a really long way to go, but all of a sudden, getting to 200 feels like a real achievement and 800 seems totally doable. Ask me again nearer the time and I'll probably growl at you whilst my hands make foldy gestures because they've taken the paper away from me in case I hurt myself...but for now, it's totally doable.

FOLDAGEDDON!!!!!!

2010-05-10T04:21:00.000-07:00

It's the news you've been waiting for...it's Foldageddon!!

Foldageddon is an informal origami class, where you can learn to make three origami models. It will be held in Leeds city centre (exact location to be confirmed depending on numbers, but will probably be around Millennium Square) at 6pm on 27th May. Best thing of all, Foldageddon will be completely FREE!

It'll be a case of pitch up, I'll demonstrate/give out instructions, then wander round helping out where people get stuck, so it definitely won't be a "teaching" thing. Plus, that means that if you can't get there for 6pm, still pop your name down and come a bit later, as you won't be missing out! If you already fold, still come along as it'd be lovely to meet fellow origami people. If you've never folded before, trust me it's easy, and it's a lot of fun. Nobody will judge, and even if you completely mess up (which you won't!), you can scrunch it up and call it art.

If you want to come to Foldageddon, please leave a comment, or let me know via twitter (@gazpachodragon) so I can get a ballpark figure and arrange a venue. Also, please tell your friends/family/random strangers in the street. Feel free to tweet about it, or link to this blog, or make origami cranes and leave them in shops with a note attached.

Foldageddon!! You know you want to.

UPDATE: Hello! If you've been redirected here for details of upcoming Foldageddon or Fold For Peace meetings, please have a look at the latest post on the blog, and keep an eye out for future announcements (there's TONS coming soon!). Also follow me on twitter @gazpachodragon (or use the buttons on the top right of the blog) and I'll announce the latest news/meetings/exciting things on there!

No word yet, btw...

2010-05-06T08:06:00.000-07:00

The deadline for the Expression of Interest Form for Light Night was Friday, so I'm expecting to hear any time now.

Which is horrible, as I'm really terrible at waiting.

Every time my phone beeps with an email, I get tense thinking it's a response (it never is). I'm checking my email every ten minutes through the day. I'm obsessively googling and checking twitter to see if anyone else has heard (they haven't).

The longer I go without hearing, the more I think I obviously haven't got in and that the whole thing is being planned without me, and it will only be in October that I realise, when I'm sat at home alone with 1000 light up cranes as my only friends and tears running down my cheeks.

Yep, I'm pretty desperate to find out.

You might have noticed...

2010-04-29T05:34:00.000-07:00

...something rather exciting on my blog. No? You haven't? Then you haven't been paying attention.

Look. (This arrow is supposed to point to the totalizer. Look at the totalizer.)

---------------------------->

I have made one hundred cranes. That's right people, 10% of my cranes are now folded, packed into bags and ready to go!

Alright, admittedly as my mum said, 10% of 1000 still means there's a long way to go, but let's not be all "glass half empty" about it. 10% is still a fair percentage.

So yay! One hundred cranes!

Foldageddon!

2010-04-26T08:47:00.001-07:00

I know some of you have tried folding a crane, and some of you have got stuck, so I was thinking...would anyone be interested in an origami class? It will be really informal, just a group of people and I'll show how to make a few models (including the crane).

If so, when and where? It'd have to be Leeds, obviously, and I was thinking probably midweek after work-time (so around sixish)? Where would be best - pub, library, park? I'd probably be looking at the last week in May, just to give time to organise stuff.

Any ideas, let me know, and please feel free to tell your friends. Also, if you're interested, please let me know either via the comments on here or email/twitter then I can make a ballpark guess at numbers.

Why I'm not an artist

2010-04-26T06:28:00.000-07:00

Last week, I went to some art galleries in Leeds. I've never been before, but my husband had suggested we take the day off and it seemed a "day off" kind of thing to do.

I say art galleries because...well Leeds is an odd place. For a start, there's about four different galleries all linked to each other, so I've no idea what was in where and we started in the Henry Moore Institute and ended up in the "Craft and Design Gallery" (the shop).

I'm purposely not looking anything up while I write this, so you get an idea of how I experience art. So, according to me, some of the things we saw included an exhibition about art students, some nice pots and a ceramic crab which I liked, an exhibition about typography or the space between text or something (I didn't really "get" that one), a funky-ass mobile made of old chair legs, and loads of handmade stuff which I loved (in the shop).

Some of it I loved, some I thought was rubbish. Some had me muttering "my dog can do art better than that", some of it I thought was genius. There were some (in particular a family tree diagram of a tree) I thought were brilliant but Rob (my husband) didn't like. Some of it I hated, but "got", some of it I didn't understand at all. I dallied over some parts, Rob over others (although it has to be said I dallied most in the shop).

It really showed me how subjective art is. I think the flowing design of the art galleries, whilst scarily confusing ("Where are we? Find a window!") is really useful, as we probably wouldn't have gone to see half the stuff we ended up seeing because we kept wandering into it (although it would've been nice to know this was the case when we started, and a clear 'Start' would be nice if you want to meander as we missed the Ice Age exhibition and I'll have to go back for that). It showed me that I don't just like pretty stuff, or stuff that I can easily understand. It reminded me of when I used to go to art galleries and thought "I could do that".

But I still wouldn't call myself an artist. You might note that I rarely call my cranes an installation, but rather a project or an event. I'm uncomfortable with these words - Artist and Installation. As we were walking round, I was comparing my Light Night project with the work displayed, and I kept asking myself if mine was as good. For some, yes I really do think it is. But I'm not an artist. To me, an artist is someone who does art "proper". Who gets paid for it, who quite possibly does it for a living. I'm a dabbler. I've no pretensions that I'm going to win the Turner Prize, and I don't expect Saatchi to be knocking at my door; but I'm more than an observer. I'm dipping a toe into a world I've little comprehension of, and I often feel really really out of my depth, but I'm still trying.

So what do you call someone who's more than an art appreciative, but less than an artist? I've decided that, for me at least, I like the word creative as a noun. I'm a Creative. It's more often used for people in advertising and such, and I'll probably annoy everyone in the art world for using it because it's not proper and such, but for me, it works. I'm happy to be a Creative, and I'm happy to have my Project.

They just keep coming!

2010-04-22T05:29:00.000-07:00

I don't know what it is about this week, whether there just happens to be lots of links to origami stuff, or if origami art is suddenly trending, but today I stumbled across an article on Dazeddigital.com about a shop in Carnaby St, London, that seems to have been overrun by origami bunnies!

Here's a sneak peek:

and the original link is here

Amazing Origami Art

2010-04-20T08:10:00.001-07:00

Just a quick blog post, to implore you to check out this origami art installation

Here's a quick preview to entice you to click the link, if you haven't already:

isn't it just beautiful? be sure to check out James Roper's own site for more stunning artwork.

Getting to know you

2010-04-19T07:36:00.000-07:00

The folding is ticking along (remember, I update the totalizer as I go along, so you can always check up on me!), but repeating the same folds over and over doesn't really make for interesting blog posts. I am looking into doing a video tutorial of folding a crane, and also a tutorial on folding a sailboat, so look out for those. In the meantime I thought you might like to know a bit more about me.

Yup, that is me. I was dressed as Oscar the Grouch for Halloween. It was a toss up for the picture between that and when I was dressed up as Brian Blessed. Well, my name is Kirsty, and I'm 26. I'm originally from Chorley in Lancashire, but now live in Leeds, Yorkshire (via Luton and the midlands) with my husband Rob and our two dogs Josh and Sugar.

I work full time for the council, and I'm also training to be a counsellor. In my spare time (when I'm not folding cranes or studying) you'll usually find me down the pub or on the internet reading blogs or Dr Who spoilers. Yep, I am that much of a geek.

I read a lot of arts and craft blogs, even though I'm not really all that good with my hands, and get very jealous of people who are super-talented. Often they show their always individual and creative craft spaces, and I get jealous of that too, because my craft space is a bag hung on the curtain pole and a box file for keeping my cranes in. I tend to fold sat on the sofa, and since we moved to Leeds, I haven't had my own space (I used to have a little desk in the corner of Rob's study, but there isn't room for it now). I try to make my desk at work quite quirky though, as a lot of it is stuff Rob's outlawed at home (he likes minimalist, I like...well, just look at my desk)

You can see my Dr Who stuff, my abundance of hello kitty crap, Camp Rock memorabilia and a few origami bits and bobs. In all fairness, a lot of stuff was given to me as gifts (like the fluffy flamingo and the Weeble Walrus). You can also see how my wall is plastered with newspaper clippings I like, cartoons and drawings I've done. The more eagle eyed of you will have spotted the John Barrowman figurine and the Cliff Richard photo (yup, I'm a little bit naff too). There's more on the other side of my desk, but I won't inflict that on you. You're missing out on a stuffed platypus, a momiji doll and more dr who/hello kitty stuff. oh, and a toy of the meerkat-like thing from ice age (sid? is he called sid? my dad would know, he LOVES that film).

All of this adds up to me, and it's my love of artistic stuff (even though I'm not an artist), an inherent need to surround myself with fun things(hence my desk) and my willingness to "give it a go" that makes me feel I can label myself as creative...and more about that later.

I'd love to know more about my readers, so please leave a comment or send me an email telling me at least one interesting fact about you!

It's a giant kick ass crane!

2010-04-19T05:57:00.000-07:00

I get emails/tweets from people who spot interesting origami stuff, but nobody mentioned this. I found it by accident when I was doing my usual click-through from links on twitter, which usually throws up interesting blogs or news stories that I'd never normally and it stopped me in my tracks. It was this:

This amazing light up crane was the centrepiece of the Coachella Festival in California. I'd read about the festival (mainly because Matt Smith, the new Doctor in Dr Who was there holding hands with someone, and I'm a geek and read news stories like that), but nowhere had I seen this:

Or anything like this. Ever. It's outstanding. It's made by Crimson Collective, a group of artists from LA, and it's well worth checking out their website for photos of the process of making such a mammoth of a crane. They're also super nice as I emailed them to ask for photos to put on here and they sent a lovely email back with their press pack and an offer to bring the crane over to the UK!

Here are some more fab pics:

It's powered by solar panels, with what looks like a spectrum of different lights. Plus, it's modular, so they can take it down and reuse it (hence being able to bring it over). I wish we had something like this planned for Light Night. Oh, wait, we do! My cranes!

How do you solve a problem like...

2010-04-08T03:43:00.000-07:00

It's April! That means bunnies, april showers and...the Light Night submission deadline.

My submission has been in for a while, so I don't need to worry about that, but it's getting close to the deadline, which obviously then means close to them making a decision about it. As they can't comment until after the deadline, I've no idea what the outcome might be, so at the moment, it's quite nervewracking.

The other thing is that if my submission is successful (fingers crossed please!), I'll be invited to present my idea; and that's nervewracking too. In fact, trying to figure out how to encapsulate the idea easily is becoming a real problem.

I'm worried about standing up in front of artists - proper, doing-it-for-real, wasn't-kicked-out-of-art-class-like-I-was artists - and trying to explain how the whole thing will look and what it's all about; and because i can't draw I can't really make mockups, so all I can really do is take Blue Canary 2 (it's original Blue Canary, but he has a new battery) and say, imagine it's dark, and there's 1000 of these, woo won't it look great?" and hope they get it. If they don't, I could be in trouble. Everyone I've explained it to, really explained it to, has got it, and loved it, but it sometimes takes a while to explain, with people asking questions and such, so how do i condense that into a short one-sided presentation?

So how do you solve a problem like this? Any ideas?

Running total

2010-03-31T14:17:00.000-07:00

I haven't done much folding yet, as I've been busy with other stuff (did I mention that as well as doing this, I work full time and am also studying for TWO diplomas?)

I have made ten cranes though, which is 1%. it's enough to actually register as a percentage!

A few people have asked about me starting to fold before I've definitely had the go-ahead. I had planned on waiting, but it's a lot of work in addition to everything else I have going on. Not only is there the folding of the cranes, but getting the paper sorted takes ages, plus putting the LEDs in, then connecting the batteries. It will all take time, and I'd rather err on the side of caution.

Plus if I don't get in, I can always have a giveaway of the cranes I've folded so far!

Totalizer!

2010-03-29T10:49:00.000-07:00

Thank you to Rachel, who gave me the html for a totalizer, which my lovely husband has basically badgered around with it until it was the colour I wanted. Now you can follow my progress as to folding the cranes!

How to fold an origami crane

2010-03-28T06:35:00.000-07:00

If you want to join in with folding 1000 cranes, here's how you do it (apologies for the somewhat blurry photos):

1. starting with a square piece of paper, fold in half diagonally

2. fold in half diagonally again, so it's in quarters

3. lifting the triangular flap you just made, open it out and press it down

4. it should look like this

5. turn over and repeat on the other side

6. fold the edges into the middle. turn over and repeat

7. you should have a kite shape

8. fold the top triangle down along the top of the previous folds (so it makes an inverted triangle)

9. unfold the folds from steps 7 and 8. lift the front flap along the fold from step 8 (it looks like a bird's beak)

10. flatten out. turn over and repeat. (incidentally, this is the bird base)

11. fold the lower outside edges into the middle. turn over and repeat

12. it should look like this

13. turn the right hand flap over as if turning the page of a book (i know that sound rubbish, but it's hard to describe! you should see what i mean)

14. it will look like this

15. fold the bottom point up to meet the top point

16. turn over and repeat steps 13 to 15. it will end up looking like this

17. turn the sides over, again like turning the pages of a book. it will look like this

18. gently pull the inside points out from the centre. you just kind of squash the bottom bits down to keep them in place

19. it will look like this

20. fold the front flaps down - you'll see a natural place to fold them along the middle bit. turn over and repeat

21. take the top of one of the points and gently fold it down. as you fold it down, you'll see a crease in the middle - if you press on that, it will sort of collapse in on itself and create the crane's head

22. it will look like this - you can see how it looks like a crane now!

23. take the wings and gently pull them apart. you'll see a square bit forming in the middle

24. press the square bit down gently and it will pop into place. this is the body of the crane

25. ta da! crane is done!

It's just a fold to the left...

2010-03-27T08:44:00.000-07:00

As it is pretty much a waiting game now until the deadline, it feels a bit odd. the prototype is done, and until I'm making masses of them, I can't foresee the problems that are going to come up. I don't want to buy all the expensive electronic bits until I know I'm definitely going ahead, so I felt at a bit of a loss.

So I did what I always do when I'm at a loose end. I started folding.

I bought a ream of paper, and started making the cranes.

Getting the paper "ready" is a three part process: first I have to fold it to make a square, then cut the excess (which will be what I make the sailboats from), then stick a bit of sellotape into the centre to reinforce where the LED is going to stick through. Only then is the paper ready to fold into the crane. That's the bit that's a pain, rather than the actual origami stuff.

I'm trying to find a sort of totalizer for the blog, so that you can see how I'm getting on, but at the moment, I've folded two cranes. Okay, not so many, but I've made paper for loads more.

I'm also working on making a "how to" post, so if you want to join in, you can learn how to fold your own crane!

And they're off!

2010-03-22T06:10:00.000-07:00

I've sent in my submission.

There were five main parts - firstly the idea itself, then four seperate sections for the four aspects they're looking for. These were:

Site specific was it designed with a specific space in Leeds in mind?
Durational i.e. will it last all night and will visitors get the same experience whenever they turn up?
Immersive can visitors get involved in the work? The organisers don't really like stage/audience stuff, but obviously this is more relevant to dramatic stuff than things like mine
New Work because they don't want people bringing old stuff that they trot out at every opportunity (my words, not theirs)

I wrote it all out last week. I really struggled with putting what my project actually was into the required 150 words (first you send in the brief form, then if they like that, you're invited to present your idea). I finally came up with it, then saved it and left it for the weekend. Then I read it again, and got a couple of other people to read it. Then I thought I should just stop faffing about and send the damn thing in.

So here it is, in all its glory, so you can read it for yourselves (after all, so long as I impress the organisers enough to let me put it on, it'll be you I have to impress enough to come and see it):

Your idea for Light Night.
Summary of idea

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL– an installation.

There is a Japanese legend stating that whoever folds one thousand origami cranes will be granted their heart’s desire.

Down in the tunnels under the Town Hall, it is hard to believe that dreams could ever come true.

On Light Night, one thousand illuminated origami cranes will “fly” through the Bridewell tunnels under the Town Hall, transforming a space traditionally associated with anxiety and imprisonment to a peaceful haven which allows the visitor to contemplate their own hopes and dreams.

After spending time amongst the cranes, the visitor can take an origami sailboat, which they can decorate to reflect their experience of the installation, and as a representation of their hopes. These can then be left in the tunnels or at another Light Night event for a stranger to discover and ponder, or taken home as a memory of the event.

Site Specific

The Bridewell tunnels under the Town Hall, usually barred to the public, evoke trepidation and a sense of trespassing. Famously used for imprisonment and punishment, with rumours of hauntings, they have instilled fear and despair for over 100 years. Created specifically for this space, the installation brings light and hope, transforming an oppressive environment to an illuminated space of serenity and wonderment.

Durational

The installation is continuous after set-up, allowing visitors to stay for as long or short a time as they wish, whenever they wish. There are no maximum number of viewers at any one time (health and safety notwithstanding), and more sailboats can be quickly made on the night if visitor numbers demand it, meaning that every visitor will be afforded the opportunity of the same experience.

Immersive

Visitors can walk amongst the suspended paper models, viewing from different angles and interacting with other visitors. Additionally, the sailboat models allow visitors to interact with the event, contributing their own interpretation or alternatively allowing them to take away a material memory.

New Work

I am not a professional artist, and have created the installation specifically to be involved in Light Night. It draws on my experience and viewpoint of what makes Light Night special, and so is a completely new work specific to Light Night, from a completely new artist, specific to Light Night!

What do you think? Do you think I pitched it right? What do you think I could improve or expand on if I get picked to go forward to the presentation round? What would make you want to come and see my project?

And there's more

2010-03-15T07:51:00.000-07:00

Now I'm firmly set on my installation, I was thinking about ways that it could be more...interactive isn't the word, but so that people could be more a part of it.

Walking through it is going to be amazing, and that's the main thing, because it will really put across the idea of lighting up the darkness and bringing peace and hope to the passageways of confinement and despair (good description huh? That's going on my submission). However, I know I like stuff I can interact with, or that does something, as sometimes I'll go and see something and I won't know when is a suitable length of time to stay there, or if I should say something about it or keep quiet...so it would be nice, for philistines like me who don't really know how to appreciate art, to have a bit of a focus. Plus, who doesn't love a freebie?

At first I thought of folding cranes on the night (in addition to the thousand) so people could join in and learn how to do it, but that would be crazy in the tunnels (hey! join my impromptu origami class in the dark), so then I thought of a piece of origami people could take away that could represent their hopes and wishes. Obviously the crane is a well-known symbol of that, but it would mean folding loads more cranes, and the thought of 1000 in an allotted time frame is making me gulp already.

I can make paper boats though. Not the paper boats you made as a kid (well I can make those, but I don't mean those ones). I mean the sailboats that are the symbol of the US Origami Society and the model I folded when I did a foldathon a couple of years ago (88 in an hour!):

I think that boats are pretty representative of taking a journey, which implies moving into the future etc. Plus, they're pretty. I had an idea that people could take one, and write their hope/wish onto it, then either take it home with them, or leave them somewhere (maybe at another Light Night event?) for someone else to find. Kind of like PostSecret. It means that people have something tangible to associate with my project, and it gives another dimension to my project. What do you think?

Tunnel vision

2010-03-12T10:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I got the opportunity to go under the town hall to explore the tunnels. I'd asked one of the organisers of Light Night, so I could check them out before submitting my proposal, and he gallantly braved the ghost (yup, there's apparently a ghost, a murderer called Charlie Peace!) to show me round.

When Leeds Town Hall was built in 1858, there were 13 prison cells, offices for the police and accomodation for the warder built into the basement. New cells were later built under the front steps. Passages led from these cells to the courtroom, with locked gates keeping it secure.

The tunnels themselves were a lot bigger than I remembered from last year, the only time I've been down there. With all the lights on, they were quite similar to the corridors at work with high ceilings and archways:

However, as soon as you switched the lights off, they became the passages of imprisonment that they used to be, and you could quite imagine a ghost sweeping up and down the corridor:

I pulled out Blue Canary (the name the new prototype has acquired), and it lit up the tunnel a bit, and suddenly it was easy to see just how amazing 1000 cranes could look. I think they'll totally transform the space.

There were a lot of pipes and hooks and things that could easily support the cranes, and the ceilings (which I would say were about 10ft high) were plenty high enough that they can be strung over people's heads out of the way:

I'm completely convinced that it could all go ahead, and that if it does, it will look really really amazing. I'm also completely convinced that this is the right installation, in the right place, and I'm even more excited than I was before.

Now I have to do all the paperwork.

Why I love Light Night

2010-03-11T07:00:00.000-08:00

I was asked today why I wanted to take part in Light Night, and why I evidently love it so much, particularly as I've only been once. Well... I could tell you about how it brings communities together, or it advocates the arts, or it promotes the individuality of Leeds, but for me, personally, it’s a little more poetic than that.

Do you remember when you were at school, and your hormones were raging and everything was either amazing or the end of the world? Remember when, in a particularly vulnerable moment, one of the popular kids spoke to you, a teacher took more than one minute to suss you out, or an older sibling’s friend was nice to you? That overwhelming, all-encompassing, head over heels, falling in love, they’re-the-only-one-who-understands-you feeling you got? That’s how I feel about Light Night.

I first visited Light Night in 2009, a mere two weeks after I moved to Leeds. I didn’t know Leeds and I didn’t know anyone in Leeds (apart from my husband), and I was feeling unsettled and like a fish out of water. I got lost nearly everyday, and my new job wasn't what I expected. I missed my friends from "back home" and I was scared I'd never fit in "up here".

I’d seen Light Night on the website before I even moved here and it sounded fun, so I grabbed a booklet and planned. I like planning. I highlighted everything I was interested in in one colour, and passed it to my husband for him to highlight with another. I marked out on a map where everything was, and worked up a timetable. There was even a spreadsheet in time used/enjoyment. We had strict routes to follow, and it was all drawn up into a handy “Light Night” pack that would fit in my pocket. Then on the actual night I wrapped up warm, donned my beret (it was an Art Event, after all), and dragged my husband out.

First we got lost. Then the performance we’d turned up for either weren’t there, or we’d turned up to the wrong place. Then “while we were there” it was decided (not by me, I had a schedule) to drop in on a couple of events. Then we were hungry, so detoured to a pizza shop.

We took in about 30-40 events that night, some because we stumbled upon them whilst trying to find somewhere else, and some because you just couldn’t miss them (like giant projections and a travelling theatre). I never got to see the “sea of bunnies” (it was something like a sea of bunnies, I can't remember exactly), but I made a lego animal instead. We lost all sense of direction, but we found half a dozen shortcuts to places we now visit regularly. We felt safe and comfortable in wandering around a strange city because wherever you went there was a Chinese dragon or a vintage tea party.

Much like that first love, where you start with high hopes and it rarely works out how you expect, Light Night wasn’t what I imagined at all. Rather than Gone With The Wind, I got High School Musical. But for that first night, because of the people involved, Leeds grabbed my hand and dragged me dancing. And just like the first love of your teenage years, it’s something I’ll never forget, and I hope never fades.

A picture tells a thousand words

2010-03-09T10:08:00.000-08:00

I'm finding a difficulty with photographing the prototypes. I'm not the world's best photographer by any means, and even after spending hours trying to get it right, I'm still getting mixed results, as you can see:

It's mainly getting enough light that you can see the crane rather than just a glow of light, but without it being blurry or grainy. I vaguely remember ISO and stuff like that from my photography course, which is helping a little, but I'm sure the pictures could be better. This is why I discounted photography as a Light Night proposal!

And just to prove my non-photographer credentials, here's my "studio" - my wardrobe. See the clothes horse/air dryer thing? That's what I rest the camera on to keep it steady.

So can anyone suggest hints and tips, that don't involve shelling out thousands on new cameras and such?

Crane 2.0

2010-03-09T09:57:00.000-08:00

Now I had the paper, LED and the (3v) battery, I could make a proper prototype, one that I could test for longevity, for useability...and mainly for problems.

I folded a crane from the printer paper, slid in the LED, and pushed the sticks through the top. This presented the first problem - the top of the crane is the weakest point, and I'm basically pushing holes in it. So I need to work on that.

Then I added the battery to the LED, and wrapped it up in insulation tape. This presented the second problem - the insulation tape is too sticky, and the adhesive was getting between the contact on the LED (the stick! I found out the proper name!) and the battery, which was making the light flicker. Annoying enough for one crane, but can you imagine a whole roomful, all flickering intermittently? So I swapped the insulation tape for sellotape, which worked much better, but was still a little flickery, so that's something else I need to work on.

However, if you ignore these problems, I have my new, all improved, prototype!

Overall though, the idea is pretty sound. It seems feasible and feedback so far has been pretty good. I'd like loads more feedback though, so I'm going to put the idea out there a bit more, and if you want to let people know about the blog, and leave comments, I'd be ever so grateful!

A meeting of minds

2010-03-09T09:10:00.000-08:00

I've just got back from the Initial Planning Meeting for Light Night Leeds.

It was a bit unnerving, as there were around 40 people there, and most people seemed to have been involved with Light Night before, and a lot of people knew each other; so me on my own with my light up crane prototype (in my bag) felt a bit odd. The Arts and Regeneration Team (who organise the whole thing) went through a lot of stuff, mostly administrative stuff - such as how to apply and what Light Night is all about - and talked about previous years.

The main thing was that in order to control the size (to make sure that people can see as much as possible) and quality of Light Night, they're limiting the funded events to 30, and the overall events to a maximum of 90. Realistically I need funding to pay for materials, so I really need one of those 30 spots.

I still have a couple of questions, mainly about the venue arrangements, so I'm going to investigate those - the team were really open and kept saying we should ring or email if we're unsure on anything, and I've been in email contact with one guy in the team already, so I'm going to get those sorted, then I have to get the forms filled in to apply!

Light at the end of the tunnel

2010-03-08T06:48:00.000-08:00

The realisation of how much it was going to cost to buy materials had got me down, and I was fed up of reading around trying to work out a way to understand circuitry to get the costs down. I was trying to explain it all to my husband, and he just wasn't "getting" what I was trying to do, so I went to the LED throwie site to show him an example.

LED throwies don't use 1.5v batteries. They use 3v batteries, meaning you'd only need one to make the LED light up.

I did know this, but I think I'd discounted it because I couldn't find anywhere in town that sold cheap 3v batteries, whereas I'd managed to pick up a humungous stash of 1.5v ones at Ye Olde Pounde Shoppe. I quickly went onto a few wholesale type battery websites and realised that just because they were around £3-£4 in the shops, didn't mean I couldn't get them cheap. In fact, I could get them cheaper than the AG12s I'd been pricing up, and I'd be using half as many!

So off I went to my local battery shop (it isn't really a high street battery shop, that would be odd. it sells other things as well. like pens.) ready to shell out the £4 I knew the 3v battery would cost. After all, it was for a prototype. You have to have prototypes, right? There were a few to choose from, and I picked one up, and walked to the counter, and the woman in front of me was asking loads of questions about different styles of attendance registers (the shop sells those too). I waited, and the shopkeeper went and got some catalogues, and they discussed colours. I waited, and she tried to explain what her register was currently like, because she hadn't thought to bring it in with her.

I'm not the most patient person in the world, and I was getting annoyed that the shopkeeper didn't think to say "I'll just leave you with the catalogue while I serve my next customer", so when she said she didn't know what she wanted, but had a vague idea, I nearly shouted at her. Then I thought, actually, maybe I should check which of these batteries they use for LED throwies, so I know I'm getting the most suitable one, which was pretty much the same as not bringing your register. So I popped the battery back on the shelf, and left. Then I thought I'd nip next door to Another Ye Olde Pounde Shoppe, to pick up supplies for a birthday party, and lo and behold I found a pack of 8 3v batteries for £2. Well, £1.99 actually (it wasn't actually a pound shop, it's just cheap).

Digging around in my bag whilst waiting for my bus home, I pulled out an LED (I always have LEDs and batteries in my pocket or bag nowadays. I'd be handy in a powercut) and checked the throwie website for the right battery (which luckily came in the pack, because I didn't actually check that), and I popped the two together, and...let there be light! It worked!

So now I'm back on track! It all seems feasible again!

Tomorrow is the initial planning meeting for Light Night, which is where I'll find out a lot more (hopefully) about how Light Night works and what I need to be considering in my planning. Then I can put together my proposal...

Positives and negatives

2010-03-03T12:52:00.000-08:00

I've spent most of my time since the last post testing out batteries. Big ones, little ones, watch batteries and torch batteries; attempting to figure out circuits and safety systems, and how voltage and ampage works. I still can't get my head around creating "strings" of cranes, but I've discovered something: batteries last longer than you'd think.

I've been using rudimentary circuitry - I've taped the sticks of the LED (still not found out what the correct term for those are) to the batteries. The plus side of this is that it is easy, you can put a tab in (so you can make them up prior to needing them and only activate them when you pull the tab), and there's little danger of electrocuting myself, anyone else, or setting fire to the whole shebang.

I started a test using AG12 batteries (which are coin batteries, but still relatively small) on Monday, and as of Wednesday night, it is still going strong enough to light up the inside of my crane - in fact it is still as bright as it was when I first connected the batteries up:

The batteries are only 1.5v (roughly), whereas the LEDs are around 3v, so I need two batteries to each LED. Which means 2000 batteries in all. 2000 batteries. And who knew that batteries are so expensive?

I'm looking at two options now: figure out another way to do it, or figure out a way to get cheap batteries. Anyone reading this from Duracell?

You light up my life

2010-02-24T04:24:00.000-08:00

So the light up crane was a go-ahead, but I needed better lights now I knew what the cranes would be made of.

I thought that someone had probably already done something similar, though I’d already googled variations on “light up cranes” to make sure I wasn’t copying someone else’s work, so I spent a while googling “make your own fairy lights”, “make your own LED art installation” etc. Turns out, the information superhighway is deficit in light up stuff with clear and easy instructions on how to Do It Yourself.

I googled LEDs, thinking that I was pretty au fait with them already, and it would be a doddle to figure it out, which led me on to realise that despite doing electronics at school, being responsible for the lighting rig at college, and making my own light-up tiara for my wedding, I haven’t the faintest idea how electricity works. Now I’ve spent hours reading up on it, I know less than before.

Since when did I let that stop me?

First task was to find the easiest thing that lights up that I could make. Google yielded an LED throwie. Okay, that looks pretty simple, and I don’t even need the magnet that it’s attached to, so basically I’m looking at taping an LED to a battery, and that’s it. Easy.

Off I went to the local cheap shop to buy:
- one of everything with an LED in it (I wasn’t sure which would be easiest to dismantle)
- a shed load of extra coin batteries (no idea what the difference is in batteries bar size, and don’t really understand the whole voltage thing, but I’m guessing it’s not going to be high enough to cause me any permanent harm) and
- lots and lots of insulation tape. I pretty much live by the “if in doubt, stick tape on it” mantra.

Here’s (part of) my haul:

The LED tealights seemed to be the flimsiest, so I started by trying to take one apart. I actually did this before I even got home, so there’s no pictures, but it was really simple – prise off the bottom and the electric bit falls out, then you can wiggle the LED until the bit soldered to the rest of the mechanism (probably not the right word, but the switch and battery pack and stuff) snaps off. Et voila! You have an empty casing, a load of now useless electric mahgumbo and an LED bulb. They even came with batteries included, so I popped those out to experiment with.

The batteries were teeny-tiny, and there were three of them, which when I finally managed to juggle them into line and put the LED sticks (what do you call the bits that come off the bulb?) onto them made the LED light up! Hurrah, I am a bona fide electronic genius!

Next was to stick a load of tape around this to keep it all together, and then I quickly folded up a crane out of the paper I’d decided to use, and then proceeded to gut it to slide the LED contraption into the middle of it. Finally, I had my very first LED prototype (I decided that the Christmas light one was a test, not a prototype, okay?) of my light up cranes:

The picture isn’t very good, mainly because I’m not a very good photographer. Plus, using a flickering candle LED meant that much like the Christmas light I used when testing out papers, the light was dimmer than I’ll want it for the proper installation, flickery (great for simulating candles, rubbish for cranes) and yellow, whereas I’m planning on using superbright white LEDs. I used the night-vision setting on my camera to show the crane up a bit more:

So, it’s possible. There’s still a million things to sort out, like how do you wire up 1000 LEDs and put them inside the cranes, and string it all up before the LED starts to run out? But, it’s looking properly possible now, and I’m getting rather excited!

A brief interlude

2010-02-24T04:23:00.000-08:00

I just want to say thank you for reading so far. I’ve been trying to post fairly quickly and intensely in order to bring the blog up to where I am at the moment, so then I can update in real time with what is happening, and at this point, I’m just about there. The first few posts were short and hadn’t really got any pictures of interest, but hopefully from now on there’ll be a bit more depth to my posts, and I’m trying to take pictures of all the stages so you can see what I mean, rather than just read what I mean.

Crane vs. Crane

2010-02-24T04:19:00.000-08:00

How could I get my cranes to glow? The answer was obvious. Ask John.

John works in my office, and is a PhD in physics-ey stuff. Not particularly in electronics, but he’s a pretty good person to go to if you want to ask about how anything works. Plus, he watches the Discovery Channel a lot, and that’s good enough for me.

We came up with a couple of ideas, which were much better than my rather over-excited “tie them all to fairy lights!” suggestion. Next up were discussions on the actual cranes – we had to know what we’d be lighting before we could decide on how to do it.

Last time I made 1000 cranes I’d used everything from scrapbooking card to takeaway menus. There were even pages from books and stickers in there. This time round, I wanted plain white (the installation is supposed to represent peace and hope, so all pure white reinforced that), and something that was easy to fold (folding card over and over is hard on the hands, and this time, I had a deadline). It also had to be fairly cheap and easy to obtain, and as the cranes would be strung up, weight had to be a factor.

I narrowed it down to two main options for the paper to make the cranes out of:

- Printer paper. The pros of this are that it’s cheap, plentiful, and easy to fold with. Cons are that it doesn’t come in squares, so I’d have to make larger cranes (I’d originally been planning cranes made from 6”x6” paper, which is the standard size of the origami paper I usually use) to square it off easily, or I’d be stuck fiddling with it for a while making sure I was cutting out a perfect square. It’s also fairly thick, so I wasn’t sure if the light would shine through it enough.

- Origami paper. Standard origami paper is pretty easy to come by around here. It’s lightweight, thin (so light shines through easily), and obviously by its very nature easy to fold. It also comes in a standard square, so I could fold straight out of the packet. However, it’s much more expensive than printer paper (around £1 for a 100 sheet pack) and it comes in lots of colours, so even if I fold it “inside out” (so the white on the back of the paper is on the outside, and the colour on the inside) the colour will still glow through if it is lit from inside, and there will be some colours in a pack I can’t use (brown and black, and possibly other darker colours, as they’d swallow up the light inside), which again would make it more expensive.

After lots of test runs of making cranes of different sizes and different colours, and shoving a handy Christmas light into it to assess light distribution, I decided that the printer paper was a better choice all round, as the larger cranes didn’t detract from the effect so I could square it off easily, and I preferred the all-white as it was a clearer connotation (can you have a clear connotation?) of the peace message I was trying to put across. The Christmas light didn’t shine through brilliantly, but it was a small yellow old-style bulb rather than the LEDs we’d been looking at, so I wasn’t too worried about it.

I’d just made my first prototype light-up crane!

From a tiny acorn...

2010-02-22T02:10:00.000-08:00

So I had the seed of an idea, but how would I make it special enough for Light Night? 1000 cranes, though impressive, is barely an installation.

First I thought about stringing them up in trees individually, so it looked like a flock of paper birds had landed in Leeds. Unfortunately, paper birds outdoors in October is pretty much guaranteeing that you'll end up with wet paper falling on people's heads. The idea of having paper birds overhead like a flock appealed to me though, so I thought about having a ceiling festooned with them, rather than the traditional strings. Plus, it would look more exciting.

I like what the senbazuru stands for, and I liked the idea of people walking amongst a symbol of peace and hope. I decided that the cranes should be white, to make it appear more peaceful. If only I could get them to glow with a "holy light"...

I really should stop thinking. It only leads to trouble.

The Senbazuru

2010-02-22T02:01:00.000-08:00

The senbazuru, as lifted straight from Wikipedia:

"Thousand Origami Cranes (千羽鶴, Senbazuru or Zenbazuru) is a group of one thousand origami paper cranes held together by strings.

An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane, such as long life or recovery from illness or injury...

The Thousand Origami Cranes has become a symbol of world peace through the story of Sadako Sasaki, a Japanese girl who tried to stave off her death from leukemia as a result of radiation from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima during World War II by making one thousand origami cranes, having folded only 644 before her death, and that her friends completed and buried them all with her."

In 2008 I folded 1000 cranes, which took around 3 months to do. It looks like this:

The crane isn't a particularly hard model to fold, and I'm by no means the best origami person ever, but I do get a lot of people asking me about my origami (particularly as it is something I tend to do on the train/bus to keep me busy during journeys) and a lot of people are surprised when I tell them about the senbazuru, because they can't imagine 1000 cranes all together at once.

Only recently I'd been talking to my husband about getting rid of them, because they take up a lot of room and we'd just moved house. I'd been talking about making another, out of smaller paper; but what if I made another, especially for Light Night?

My life as an artist

2010-02-22T01:54:00.000-08:00

I started thinking about what I actually could do in terms of art or performance, and what people would want to see at Light Night.

I do have experience of theatre, but backstage work, so acting was out.

I look like a hippo on acid when i try to dance, so that was out.

I can't draw, so that type of artwork was out.

I've got a qualification in photography, but it was only a short Open University course, and I'm no David Bailey.

In fact, the only thing I've ever completed which I would say is crafty is my senbazuru...

Let's start at the very beginning

2010-02-19T08:16:00.000-08:00

Last year I went to my very first Light Night. Some of the contributors were great, some...weren't; but they all seemed to be having so much fun, and everything seemed like such an achievement, which made every one we visited a complete success.

A few months later, and I mentioned to an artist friend of mine that she should apply for 2010. When she replied that she didn't think she would, I thought it was such a wasted opportunity. Then I thought it was a wasted opportunity if I didn't apply.

I'm not an artist. Give me a pencil and a piece of paper and I'll draw something you wouldn't give your child credit for. I was politely asked to leave my art class at school, and I haven't studied it since - even my doodles are relegated to boxes and scribbled-out stars. So what gives me the right to think I could apply for Light Night? Well, I'm enthusiastic. I have "genius" ideas, but don't have the skills to carry them through. I like, even if I'm not very good at it, attempting photography, and origami, and theatre.

So I decided all I needed was an idea, and then I'd somehow figure out how to make it work...