Dolmen Project (Year Twelve) Confessions of a “Guerilla Artist”: Teaching Art in a Time of Social Isolation "Origami"

When Dinosaurs walked the Earth

Day 3 (4/22/20)

I have always wanted to include “Origami” into my curriculum although finding the time to squeeze it in was always a problem. Originating in Japan, in the sixth century as mostly a religious endeavor, origami still holds a certain mystical quality. At a time when more emphasis has been put on including diverse cultural experiences into art programs origami seemed like a natural bridge. This and the fact that it uses minimal materials made it one of the first options that I thought about when faced with what to do with my ceramics classes in the absence of clay. The problem I faced was how to teach students an art form as complicated as origami without being present. Fortunately the internet came to the rescue. There are tutorials on doing everything from simple to complex forms. To make it less intimidating I emphasized the overall art piece more than the individual objects. The students were allowed to stay as simple or get as complex as they wanted to. Furthermore I encouraged the students to use materials that they had on hand like magazines, newspaper and printer paper as well as found objects. I recommended some sites that showed what contemporary artists are doing in origami and encouraged the students to do some research. When it was time to start they began by posting some of their individual objects. Again, I kept reminding them that the origami modules were to be just one part of larger project and that not everything had to be origami or even paper. I wanted to make it as expansive as possible to allow for individual creativity while minimizing the anxiety of working with something new. Happily, the students seemed to embrace the project and took off in all directions. Finally, I discussed the importance of carefully photographing their projects since the only reference I would have for grading would be their photos. Again, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of their work.