Butterflies

We got out Saturday, on a short trip to North Adams Massachusetts. Killian wanted to go on a pilgrimage to see origami master Michael LaFosse and visit the Origamido studio in Haverhill, MA where he and partner Richard Alexander make the best origami paper in the world. I asked BFF Breon if she’d arrange a visit, as I have mush-for-brains and can’t do logistics these days. BFF was tasked to see if she could find a time when Mr. LaFosse would actually be at the studio. She found out that the Origamido studio was closed, packed up and prepared for relocation to Hawaii. She actually spoke with Richard to discover their plans for a new life, and then told him about Killian. These guys are SO incredibly generous. He and Michael offered to meet at a halfway spot for the Mansfields, and said they would bring paper, books, a movie about origami that had just been made called Between the Folds, and some famous models from their collection of masters from around the world. BFF arranged a meeting at Mass. MOCA, an agreeable halfway spot, and came with Bob and Liam.

Killian was so excited and his expectations were absolutely exceeded. Not only did they bring all that marvelous stuff as gifts for Killian, but also Michael took Killian aside and folded with him. He folded with a master. Once, Killian told me that he wanted to learn from an origami master more than he wanted to be one. He had this vision of spending a good chunk of his life roaming the world and studying with various origami masters. One down.

Richard took the rest of us origami novices into another space and taught us to fold a couple of fun models that he and Michael designed. When I checked back in with Killian and Michael, they had folded two Midori Luna moths out of paper Richard and Michael made especially for this particular moth design. As they folded, Killian talked about the music project he and Ralph had been working so hard on. He said he really wished that more sick kids knew that acupuncture, aromatherapy…integrative therapies could make them feel better and told Michael he thought most hospitals really needed to do things differently to really incorporate these therapies. Michael said he wanted to create a butterfly for Killian’s foundation, because it symbolizes change. He told Killian that, like the butterfly, he thought Killian's wish would "pollinate," spreading the word about this cause. Killian said he’d like to use Michael’s design as the symbol for the foundation.

There is so much good in the world.