Hee Sen & Yew Meng conducting workshop
Francis conducting workshop
30th May 2001
Leong Cheng Chit, Chan Yew Meng and myself attended
the briefing at Fort Canning Park. The co-ordinator, Jill Phillips did
not provide information regarding the participants. We were informed earlier
that the event was to be held out doors but I did not expect to see a stage
specially set up just beside some trees. There were no shelters and we
are exposed to the elements as well as bird droppings. I went up the 16ft.
X 16ft. stage [about 4 Meters square] and was greeted by a colony of ants.
Two low boxes serve as tables and the participants are to be seated on
the floor. There wasn’t any decent place for us to display our models.
I let my unhappiness known and Jill promised that she would have the place
cleaned up. She also assured me that there were no birds in the trees and
that there will be sufficient lighting. She handed out 9 passes with the
word, ‘vendors’ on them. I told her that the choice of the word is not
appropriate but she cannot do anything to change it since it was already
printed.
Since we do not know what to expect, we decided
to play it by ear. Cheng Chit will put up some posters that he had prepared
and Yew Meng will bring along some photographs. We agreed to bring just
a few models so that we can make a quick exit should we encounter sudden
rainfall. We left the place with mixed feelings but we all agreed to do
our best to put up a good show.
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Hee Sen & Yew Meng conducting workshop |
Francis conducting workshop |
31st. May 2001
Cheng Chit, Yew Meng and myself arrived at about
1830hrs to set up the posters. Cheng Chit has also prepared two large banners
and had earlier folded and set up a large Tyrannosaurus. Hee Sen got his
passes earlier and arrived with his daughter. Aw Kum Seng, Lau Teck Seong
and Benjamin Tan managed to sneak in without passes and we all went about
to decorate the place. Teik Seong brought along an Eastern Dragon, a highly
complex model that took him 30 hours to fold. A sound system was also set
up for us but this, later, turned up to generate more noise.
Cheng Chit kicked off by giving a ‘short’ introduction on the various forms of origami to a small group of children who had gathered in anticipation to do some folding. We had to prompt him to cut it short as the participants were getting bored. I took over and wasted no time to start off with the folding session. Half way through the session, more participants arrived and wanted to join in. I asked them to form another group and Hee Sen conducted another session.
Soon, the place was becoming over-crowded. The atmosphere was highly charged with drums and cymbals coming from the other performers. This was mixed with music from the Chinese Orchestra, Persian Music and a nearby Wayang Kulit. [Indonesian Shadow Puppet Show] It was not possible to accommodate more people. A section at the edge of the stage was set up with a small assortment of models and Cheng Chit answered to many queries from the crowd. The Minister for Information and The Arts, Lee Yoke Suan, together with members of the Singapore National Arts Council visited our “stage” and Cheng Chit briefed them. Between Hee Sen and myself, we taught several simple models, much to the delight of the children and a handful of adults, who were brave enough to join in this “Kid’s stuff” affair. Yes, that’s the general misconception in Origami among the adults here.
We were supposed to conduct the workshop from 1900hrs
to 2100hrs but we just went on till almost 2200hrs. Water was not provided
and Aw Kum Seng bought some soft drinks with the money from his own pocket.
We packed up for the night and left.
This pagolin is not for sale! |
Francis demonstrating the fun and magical aspect |
1st. June 2001.
We arrived at the usual time to set up the stage.
We did not add any new models and this time we did not give any short speeches.
The crowd was much smaller than the previous night and I started off with
the folding session. This time, we did not break up into two groups. I
conducted the session for about an hour and then Chan Yew Meng took over.
Michael Goh and Yeo Ching were around to help out and I took a break to
relieve myself and bought some water for the rest. Robert Choy, who was
on assignment in Malaysia, came all the way back to attend. There were
some really keen participants who remained behind. On this rare occasion,
Cheng Chit took over and taught his Tyrannosaurus. Some of the other participants
also broke up and Yeo Ching, Yew Meng, Michael and myself provided one-on-one
teaching session. We packed up at about 2130hrs.
Cheng Chit's T-rex guarding the folders |
"These are the various forms of origami" |
2nd. June 2001
Cheng Chit, Hee Sen, Robert Choy, Yeo Ching, Benjamin
Tan and myself were present on this final night. Looks like we are out
of business! Only a handful came and went and there were not enough participants,
save one little girl who came for all the 3 nights. We waited and chatted
till almost 1945hrs when two ladies wanted to learn how to fold some hearts.
I obliged and taught the double hearts then went on to fold “Love Match”
and some more heart models. Soon, more and more people joined in and the
place was crowded again. One lady, approached me while I was half way teaching
a model. She wanted me to teach his son to fold some complicated models.
I was very angry with her for disrupting the session. Who does she thinks
she is? I just told her that I could only teach simple models and if she
thinks that her precious son wanted to fold something more complex, she
should get him some origami books written by Robert Lang. I taught a few
more models and then Yeo Ching took over. The session lasted way pass our
closing time. The rest of us chatted and talked origami till Yeo Ching
finished teaching. The little girl who came for all the three nights left
with lots of models. I can see that she was very happy and I guess most
of us are just as happy. Good-by to all the ants and good-by to the Festival
of Arts. If we were asked to participate next year, we would prefer to
have it indoors.
Some origami magic should draw in the crowd |
Origami for all ages |
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