This may sound like a start to a child’s craft project, but this is also a possible starting point to any origami piece. Moving past “simple” swans, the Eloise Pickard Smith Gallery in UC Santa Cruz’s Cowell College is opening a new exhibit on April 8 featuring the art of some of today’s most influential origami artists.

Courtesy of the Eloise Pickard Smith Gallery

The exhibition is titled “The David Huffman Memorial Exhibit: Origami: Art + Mathematics.” David Huffman was a UCSC professor until his death in 1999. He was known most notably for his work in computer science, creating coding algorithms vital to programming today. This exhibit serves as an honorarium to the little-known fact that he was a pioneer in the field of computational and mathematical origami.

The difference between traditional origami and computational origami lies in the designing and creation of the folds. Simply put, computational origami uses computers to help create and plan designs. Computational origami lies in the realm of computer science, where geometry plays a vital role in computer programs that will help create new origami designs.

The artists in this exhibition have all been influenced in some way through the work that Huffman has done. Computational origami artist and MIT mathematician Erik Demaine calls Huffman “an icon.”

Demaine and his father, Martin, are working with Huffman’s family to interpret and organize his notes, as well as reverse-engineer some of his difficult origami designs. Demaine has also been collaborating with fellow artist and computer scientist Tomohiro Tachi, on improving a program called Origamizer. This program can help you create your own origami designs.

Robert Lang who is considered a pioneer of computational origami, is also exhibiting pieces of his art at the gallery.

“What keeps me going is that there is no end of possibilities,” Lang said.

In the past, Lang has found practical uses for origami practices, like designing a telescope that folds into a rocket.

Although he could not be reached for comment, another artist, Brian Chan, is also taking part in the exhibition. Demaine praised Chan’s abilities.

“[Brian is] a rising star… [who] goes beyond what you would expect to be possible from a square of paper,” Demaine said.

Lang is also appreciative of Chan’s work.

“[He is the] master of complex design,” Lang said. “Even more importantly, [Chan] is a master of craftsmanship, of control over the folding. Brian makes it so the complexity of the design doesn’t interfere with its artistic beauty.”

Chan is most known for is his piece “Suigintou,” a folding of a character from an anime and manga series.

Courtesy of the Eloise Pickard Smith Gallery

Each artist has their own particular style. The art of Erik Demaine features mathematics, with his most recent origami works involving circular paper that he folds into abstract, 3-D shapes.

“It’s very different from what people think of traditional origami,” Lang said of Demaine’s work. “His art is a bridge between the abstract world of art and traditional origami. If you know math, you have an added layer of appreciation for his art.”

Recently, Lang and Demaine collaborated on a more efficient method of folding origami checkerboards.

At the exhibition itself, both Lang and Demaine will give lectures in the Humanities Lecture Hall about various subjects regarding the exhibit.

The curator of the Eloise Pickard Smith gallery, Linda Pope, said she got the idea for the exhibition while she was watching PBS one night.

“I was very impressed with the documentary ‘Between the Folds,’” Pope said.

“Between the Folds” is an award-winning documentary about origami that features Demaine, Lang, Chan and many others. Liking the way mathematics and art were mixed, Pope started the step-by-step process of developing an origami exhibition, starting by contacting Demaine. Her research led her to discover Huffman was the beginning of computational origami.

Courtesy of the Eloise Pickard Smith Gallery

At the exhibition, Elise and Linda Huffman will bestow the Huffman Prize to one graduating senior “whose academic career at UCSC exhibits extraordinary creativity, depth of inquiry and overall excellence,” according to Jack Baskin’s School of Engineering webpage.

The exhibit will open on April 8 at 12:30 p.m., and will feature the art of some of the most prominent computational origami artists of today.

Photo by Sal Ingram.

Storytelling and music are two of the oldest, most well-known art forms. Put them together and you get a fusion of auditory and mental entertainment appropriate for adults and children alike.

Erica Lann-Clark and Michael Gaither, a local storyteller and a musician, respectively, have collaborated on a show geared toward families. It features Lann-Clark’s exquisite storytelling skills set to Gaither’s music, followed by a related song by Gaither in his intimate Americana style.

The show will take place at Don Quixote’s International Music Hall on Sunday at 1 p.m., an early time scheduled to draw families.

Gaither and Lann-Clark have collaborated twice before, but putting together a show targeting families is new for them.

“Stories, Songs and Silliness” includes fiction and non-fiction stories spanning a range of themes.

“For instance,” Gaither said, “we tell a story about a pig who rescues a boy in a pool. There’s also a Jewish story and a Native American story. We try to mix it up and not stick to one genre. We put in a lot of variety.”

Gaither, a loving dog owner, uses animals as characters in many of his stories.

“Animals are great metaphors. It’s easy to relate to an animal,” Gaither said. “On my first record, I wrote about a mule that lived down the road.”

Gaither draws inspiration from a variety of other animals as well.

“[The dog] was a hybrid and had spots all over it, so the angle of the song was, ‘It’s a misfit, it’s one of a kind. If you’re a misfit, you’re a friend of mine.’”

When it comes to the age-old question of music or lyrics, Gaither has a strong preference.

“I’m a lyric guy,” he said. “For me, the music supports the story but it’s always about what the song is trying to say. I usually think about what I want to write about and the music follows it.”

The music itself is a strong example of the Americana genre — acoustic guitar, harmonica and all — and Gaither cites his influences as ranging from John Hiatt and Ray Davies to Robert Earl Keen, Jr.

Tom Miller, the Don Quixote’s concert programmer, said he is happy to have the duo return to their stage.

“[Gaither] has a way of engaging the crowd and he is one of the most outstanding singer-songwriters in our area,” Miller said. “I love his ability to tell a story with a song. The opportunity to get one of the nation’s premier professional storytellers on our stage is very exciting.”

Photo Courtesty of The Great Morgani

Retiring at an early age from the stock brokering business, Frank Lima became a street musician. Not just any street musician — he became the Great Morgani.

His act is more than accordion playing. He is the man in downtown Santa Cruz or at farmers’ markets with the most elaborate full-body costumes covering every inch of his body as well as his accordion. While many know of the walking, accordion-playing spectacle that is the Great Morgani, few know much about him.

City on a Hill Press: How did the Great Morgani become who he is today? What was the turning point?

GM: Ah, “the Great Morgani day”? Actually, boredom. Pretty much, I’ve done my career backwards. I was a stockbroker from age 18 to 35, then I retired, and then I did, well, nothing. I remodeled and traveled and traveled and remodeled for 19 years and then I was bored. So, 14 years ago I put on a funny hat, got my accordion out and played on the street. It evolved into this very strange character of 130 costumes and 42 accordions.

So, what are your crazy costumes inspired by? Why is your face always covered?

When I first started on the street, I just had a funny hat and some boots. My accordion case was my money box. But I just wanted to push the envelope a little more. So I thought, “OK, let’s see. I wonder if I can play with gloves. Then I thought I wonder what would happen if I cover the accordion in material. Well, then the only thing left showing was my face — might as well cover that up too. So it’s all illusion. I always say my act is a sort of alienesque Cirque du Soleil.

You make your own costumes?

Yes. I make all my own costumes on a 1943 Singer sewing machine. It’s as old as I am and probably in better shape. I like dressing in the most elaborate colors. I wish they’d invent new colors for me. People want to see the spectacle!

And this is why they are so extreme?

Yes. I love it when little kids come up to me and ask, “Are you a man or a lady?” and I say, “I’m an alien!” You really can’t tell what I am — I mean, I could be anything. It’s very, very visual, it’s got to be the entire package. It can get a little manic. I mean, now my business card has got to match the outfit and then the stage I stand on, and my money box has also got to be coordinated. Some of the really elaborate costumes can take up to 100 hours to put together.

What kind of events do you usually play?

I love street performing, but I do a lot of private parties too, like birthday parties. What’s terrifying is when I have to play kids’ birthday parties. I think people think that I’m a clown and I’m going to do a lot of interacting with kids. Little kids terrify me. They’re just spontaneous, and you have to be on your toes.

So no kids’ birthday parties…

No. I worked for a non-profit organization called Young at Heart for eight years. It sends musicians to play at nursing homes and convalescent hospitals and retirement homes. The interaction with the people was just incredible. I know tons of old songs and I’d get them to sing along. I had fun doing that.

In costume?!

Oh, no. If I did those in costumes there’d be wheelchairs burning rubber to get out of there! I usually would just wear a top hat and gloves, something that’s a little bit out of the norm. Not something freakishly disturbing.

So costumes and gigs aside, why the passion?

I’ve been in the downtown area now for 37 years. I’m representing myself as a musician performance artist, but I’m also representing the community. I would say now that I’ve established myself here I feel that I’m contributing something — I’m contributing an art form. The ultimate compliment for me is “Your music makes people smile and makes people happy.” That’s what it’s all about, you know?

So it makes others happy. And you?

I’m blessed. I love what I do, the area that I’m in, and it’s all here. You’ve got to pay your dues along the way. What I did as a stockbroker was to have the financial security to do what I want to do today. That sounds very preachy — I’m sorry. I get very preachy sometimes. See that’s Frank Lima, he’s an old poop. The Great Morgani is a lot more fun.