Fold Me a Boat

I'm gonna build me a boat.

My favorite piece from the exhibit, a sweet boat supported by delicate oars. Huge apologies for the awful pix, a lovelier version is here, on the Outside The Box website.

​I had the absolute pleasure of travelling to Columbus Ohio last week to hang out with a Fine Young Man for a few days.

We took advantage of really lovely autumn weather to spend time at outdoorsy places, the first being the  Franklin Park Botanical Gardens. 

To be honest, the Franklin Park Botanical Gardens were on my list because during the summer they open a butterfly pavilion, and I’m a nut for butterflies. Unfortunately for me it was far too late in the season for butterflies – but not too late for flying geese, galloping horses, rabbits and doves caught in an updraft of awe.
   

---

Galloping origami horses cast in aluminum, 3 to 5 feet tall, dashing through the gardens.

The Gardens were inhabited by astonishing creations made by Kevin Box, in collaboration with his wife Jennifer and world-renowned origami artists Robert J. Lang, Te Jui Fu, Michael G. LaFosse and Richard L. Alexander. 

Box unites a love for folded paper with metal casting skills and a passion for public art. Of course, the origami of my childhood came to mind; fist sized, crudely folded construction paper "frogs" or "birds". At least that's what we were told.  I rumpled a lot of rocks. Never did I imagine paper could be flexed and pleated into such marvelous shapes.

And then – boom! – cast aluminum?! My eyebrows shot up and my chin dropped. These delicately creased pieces had been formed from paper, then, using the lost wax casting method, reborn into metal – delicately nuanced, permanently folded aluminum. Exquisite. 
​​

Again, a horrible picture. Honestly, go to Out of the Box Studio and take a look. It's just a m a z i n g.

Ever since, I've been drifting back to fourth grade, wondering if I could stir memories of the folds and creases needed to build my own origami figure. I'm starting with something simple. 

I built me a boat. Probably next I'll make a hat. Or a "frog".