Origami Extraordinaire: High School Junior Sets up Shop at Carnival 2016

My name is Edmund Liang. I started doing origami in the first grade.

One day during school, my teacher took us to the school library to check out a book to read. I didn’t feel like reading a book, and I ended up stumbling upon a book titled “Dinosaur Origami.” I decided to check out that book because I really didn’t want to read, and because I thought the figures in the book were really cool.

I ended up doing origami during elementary school. Usually in class, I wouldn’t pay attention and just fold under the table. I also did it very often at home, because I didn’t have many toys, so origami was what I entertained myself with. The thing I like the most about origami is that you don’t need anything other than a piece of paper to begin. Everybody has a piece of paper lying around somewhere, so anybody can do origami whenever they want.

The origami booth was just an idea I thought of early on during my 2015-16 school year. I went to Friday Night Club and talked to Laurene about it. Months later, she informed me that it was alright for me to do an origami booth.

This would be the first time selling my art.

I procrastinated. I ended up only having two weeks to fold as much as possible. I did most of my work during Friday Night Club and weekends. Usually I’d watch anime while folding origami. I’m not a big fan of repetitive tasks, so I needed something to entertain me while I fold. Origami is like a sixth sense to me, so multitasking is quite easy.

The day before Carnival, I was really excited. Kelcie (Wong) built a nice display case for me, so I was looking forward to the event even more.

Most of the adults were really impressed by the things I made. I received many compliments about my creations. On the other hand, the kids who came over were quite shy. They’d often stay silent, or speak in very quiet voices, and point to the thing they wanted. I understand, because I used to be very shy when I was younger.

People who bought my works included Cameron House staff, adults, youth, a police officer, and even an old geometry teacher of mine.

In the end, I sold out of everything that I made before, and during Carnival. I ended up selling about 40 dragons.

In the future, I need to remember to keep track of the amounts of tickets that I made during the booth.

I really hope to do this again at Carnival, and other events if the opportunity comes.

To be a part of and contribute to the Cameron House community is a nice, yet ironic feeling. When I was younger and going to Cameron House, I was a notorious trouble maker. Cody (Freisenborg) and Kelcie often joke with me about my behavior back then. It’s quite a turnaround to see a former rascal like me evolve into a person willing to help out the Cameron House community.