The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Folded perfection
Art studio teaches origami
An Oberlin art studio is dedicated solely to origami and the teaching and passing on of the paper-folding art form.
“I initially got into origami as a college student here in Oberlin College; I graduated in 2006,” said James Peake, owner of Foldspace Origami Studio at 23 Eric Nord Way, Suite 8. “I came here for the Environmental Studies program, but I ended up minoring in Studio Art.
“In my college years, I was focusing on environmental education. After school, I got very lucky and landed a job here at FAVA (Firelands Association for the Visual Arts). I was their education and outreach coordinator for almost 11 years.
“In my time there, I started doing other origami programs. I started curating international origami exhibits, and I started a folding festival.”
Peake said the teaching aspect of origami was the real driving force to the formation of the studio.
“I really got into the teaching of origami,” he said. “I started exploring it in college, and when I started folding ... it was the pleated sculptural origami that we call corrugation folding.
“It initially was what interested me, and I started to explore it on my own. Origami is one of those things that is really suited for self-guided learning.
“There are plenty of videos out there about origami. I also started to go to the different origami conventions throughout the year. I got hooked into the community.”
The studio
Peake established the studio space in 2015.
“It got to the point where I really wanted and needed a dedicated space for origami to store the paper, the origami books and the loads and loads of models that accumulate,” he said.
“But then a few years later, I was given an opportunity by a friend in Indianapolis (Brian Webb) who was running this origami online store for paper and books, called origamishop.us.
“My friend didn’t have the time and space and asked me if I wanted to take over. I eagerly jumped at the opportunity. I moved the shop to Oberlin, and that was right around the time I left my job at FAVA and did origami full time.
“So, I’m running this retail store while also focusing professional efforts to teach origami in the studio. This spot became a lesson studio. It was for private
and small groups.”
Peake said the novel coronavirus pandemic forced the business to go virtual.
“Then in March, when everything changed, I started to pivot to online teaching,” he said. “I really felt ready for the task at hand. I had been thinking about how I could offer really cool origami virtual stuff.
“For like five or six years, I thought about having a feed where you can see the instructors face, hands and origami diagram overlays in the corner of the screen. So, you would have all these different overlays of information and multiple camera angles.
“So, I started doing the livestreams on my Facebook page. The pandemic actually forced me to do things virtually, and it’s gone very well. I had the inaugural Foldspace Origami Convention.
“I hired some of my friends to help teach. We had over 450 attendees for that last month. It went very well. The cool thing about the virtual aspect is the videos can be accessed after the fact.”
Origami classes
“I have classes coming up with a Halloween class coming up on Tuesday (Oct. 27),” Peake said. “People can access those through the Foldspace Origami Facebook page.
“The program we have been using is called Crowdcast, and you can follow us on that platform as well.”
Peake said the retail business, origamishop.us, and the art studio business blend very well.
“It’s a way to have the right paper for what is being taught, and the different size and thickness and different colors on each side,” he said. “I would sell the paper pack, so you have what you need.
“We sell papers from Japan, and different parts of Europe. Different papers have different properties.
“For more complex stuff, you need some stronger paper that can withstand that wear and tear.”
Origami also is used to teach math, Peake said.
“One of the first things that got me really excited about the artform, is I learned about Origametria, which is a school curriculum for kids where kids learn math and geometry through origami,” he said. “Those who used it, were having really good success with it, because kids were getting really excited about doing origami in school.
“They are learning math, but they don’t even see it as a math lesson. It’s a fun hands-on way to learn. It got me excited about using origami as a teaching tool.”
Peake said origami also is a great hobby to get into.
“There is this whole community of people that love to get together and share with each other,” he said. “That’s when I saw the potential with the community aspects and building relationships.
“I think that there is just an endless amount of resources to learning it with books and videos. You can start at a basic level, and it’s still really fun. You can get into it as deep as you choose to.
“It’s a great way to connect with people. It also has therapeutic qualities and develops patience. You discover more techniques and neat designs as you gain more understanding.”