Author: Matthew Green

I am a translator, origami artist/teacher, and photographer, a blogger, former philosophy professor, and I love to sing. You can see my photos on Flickr and buy prints of some of them on Fine Art America. You can find me on Instagram, Twitter (@mehjg), and in various and sundry other social media sites on the web.

St. Ann School welcoming students from charter school

Posted on by Matthew Green

From school principal Michele Butler:

St. Ann School of Cape Ann is happy to accept qualified transfer students from theĀ charter school. We are pleased to be able to offer a pro-rated, discounted tuition forĀ Gloucester Community Arts Charter School students who meet our admissions criteria.

We offer a quality, affordable Catholic education, and we also value the arts. OurĀ students recently performed at our annual Christmas concert, and theyĀ are currently in rehearsals for our talent show, which will feature individual and groupĀ acts from all grades.

We offer weekly art and music classes taught by professional educators who are alsoĀ active in their own fields. Gemma Amero Flavin, a local artist, teaches art two days a week. Lori Lā€™Italien, a choral artist with the Metropolitan Opera Guild, teaches music once a week.

The flyer below provides additional information about our programs. If you areĀ interested in learning more about transferring to St. Ann School, please call the office atĀ 978-283-3455.

Click here to download the flyer:Ā St Ann School handout 2013

Speaking of origami boxes… and my upcoming class

Posted on by Matthew Green

This cool origami Jack-in-the-box was designed by Max Hulme. Ā I really like this design because it is structurally very clean and logical, and very effective, foldedĀ from a single uncut 2×1 rectangle of wrapping paper (15″x7.5″). The instructions are in Eric Kenneway’s “Complete Origami”, a really good book that I recommend.

Join me for a class on origami boxes and containers on January 24, at 7-9PM, at The Hive! Ā If you plan on coming, pleaseĀ call The HiveĀ 978-283-3889 to reserve a space, $20 for a 2 hour class, $15 for students. The cost covers materials and supports The Hive.

– Fr. Matthew Green

St. Ann School Book Fair

Posted on by Matthew Green

st ann school book fair

St. Ann School of Cape Ann Barnes & Noble Book Fair
January 12th, 2013 9 am ā€“ 9 pm

Barnes & Noble Peabody (behind Northshore Mall)

A percentage of your Barnes & Noble purchase will benefit our school!

Canā€™t attend our book fair at Barnes & Noble? Visit BN.COM/bookfairs to support us online from 1/12/13 through 1/17/13.

Please use our special Book fair ID #10968485 at checkout so that we can get credit for your purchase!

St. Ann School welcoming students from charter school

Posted on by Matthew Green

From school principal Michele Butler:

St. Ann School of Cape Ann is happy to accept qualified transfer students from theĀ charter school. We are pleased to be able to offer a pro-rated, discounted tuition forĀ Gloucester Community Arts Charter School students who meet our admissions criteria.

We offer a quality, affordable Catholic education, and we also value the arts. OurĀ students recently performed at our annual Christmas concert, and theyĀ are currently in rehearsals for our talent show, which will feature individual and groupĀ acts from all grades.

We offer weekly art and music classes taught by professional educators who are alsoĀ active in their own fields. Gemma Amero Flavin, a local artist, teaches art two days a week. Lori Lā€™Italien, a choral artist with the Metropolitan Opera Guild, teaches music once a week.

The flyer below provides additional information about our programs. If you areĀ interested in learning more about transferring to St. Ann School, please call the office atĀ 978-283-3455.

Click here to download the flyer:Ā St Ann School handout 2013

Beautiful St. John’s Episcopal Church

Posted on by Matthew Green

I stopped by at St. John’s yesterday before their evening celebration of the Epiphany, and snapped a few photos. Ā Mark Nelson (their music director) and two other cantors were practicing chanting the Gospel in a beautiful medieval chant.

Their nativity scene was made in Bethlehem, carved from olive wood:

 

The church has a beautiful altar piece:

 

– Fr. Matthew Green

 

Origami boxes and containers at The Hive!

Posted on by Matthew Green

Plain boxes, fancy boxes, boxes with lids from one sheet of paper, boxes made from multiple units…. I will be teaching these and/or similar models, according to the skill and interests of the students, on Thursday, January 24 at 7PM, at The Hive (on Pleasant Street). Ā Materials will be provided. Ā  I will post more information soon about how to RSVP and about the fee for participation (to pay for materials and to support The Hive) as soon as I have it.

Also, if there is interest in classes on additional themes, please let me know! I would like to do one class a month at The Hive, but that depends somewhat on how busy I am at the parish and on the level of interest and participation. Ā I can probably find material to cover Ā just about any theme (dinosaurs, flowers, dragons,Ā horses, frogs, insects…) although how much we can do depends somewhat on the experience of the students.

– Fr. Matthew Green

Origami from my archives

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Going through some origami I have in storage I came across these inventions of mine I haven’t folded in a while.

First, this golden cat, that looks like it belongs in an Egyptian tomb.

Origami cat

Then this car. I came up with it a few years ago when a little boy asked me to make an origami car, and I didn’t have any instructions with me. Ā The basic idea of the design is inspired in other models, but the way I worked it out is mine:

My car

I have to remember how I did it, and get it diagrammed for future use…

– Fr. Matthew Green

We don’t have to go to Paris for beauty…

Posted on by Matthew Green

Granted, our local churches aren’t Ā Notre Dame… but we have lots of beauty right here at home in Gloucester. Here are some photos of St. Ann’s Church (Holy Family Parish) with the Christmas decorations up.

First, a shot from a night right before Christmas (Dec. 23) when several blocks in Gloucester mysteriously had a power outage over several hours. We rounded up extra candles and Christmas lights for the evening Mass in Portuguese:

 

Then a few shots with normal lighting:

 

Remember, Christmas isn’t over yet! Today is the 9th day of Christmas (as in, “9 ladies dancing”).

– Fr. Matthew Green

Happy New Year!

Posted on by Matthew Green

How better to start the New Year than with beauty? Here are more shots from my October vacation in Paris – these ones are from the cathedral of Notre Dame (with a hat-tip to the Catholic feast day today, Solemnity of Mary Mother of God).

 

 

 

 

– Fr. Matthew Green

The snow storm in Connecticut

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I was home for Christmas, which was great. I didn’t make it back to Gloucester before the storm because I got laid up with a stomach sickness (the cause of my not having a post ready yesterday). As a consequence, I go to enjoy a good snowfall at home! We got around 8″ of snow.

The view from my parents’ house in Connecticut is always beautiful, but especially with snow!

– Fr. Matthew Green

Origami T-Rex Skull

Posted on by Matthew Green

From the same book I used for yesterday’s post. It was a great Christmas present!

– Fr. Matthew Green

 

Prehistoric Origami

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Michelinoceras and Anomalocaris, folded from a Japanese origami book I got for Christmas called “Dinosaurs 3” by Fumiaki Kawahata. Ā Neither of these creatures is a dinosaur, but you get the point – the book has diagrams for how to fold creatures of which we only have fossils. These models are not very complicated, but there are others in the book that are more challenging. I hope to fold some of them soon and will post photos…

– Fr. Matthew Green

 

Catnip toys from Pop Gallery make our cat happy

Posted on by Matthew Green

During the “Men’s Night” event, at the Pop Gallery I bought a pack of catnip-based toys for my family’s two cats, Frey and Freya. Ā This photo shows Frey after flipping out with the catnip… now in a happy catnip-induced stupor. Ā The small green packet and the realistic mouse were both part of the set. Ā Freya also enjoyed the toys, but she likes to hide under the covers on my parents’ bed, so I couldn’t get photos…

– Fr. Matthew Green

 

Christmas Origami Santa

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Santa brought me a few origami books! This Santa is from “Brilliant Origami”, by David Brill:

– Fr. Matthew Green

 

Merry Christmas! – Gloucester holiday slideshow

Posted on by Matthew Green

Merry Christmas to all! May God bless you and give you joy, whatever your religious tradition and personal approach to the holiday season.

Remember: Ā Christmas is just beginning! Traditionally, the Christmas season lasts for more than a week (for Catholics, until the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which falls on Jan 13 this year). Ā So, don’t rush to throw out those Christmas decorations! Ā You can still enjoy them for a while yet – at least for the famous “12 Days of Christmas” until Jan. 6!

Gloucester is a great place to spend Advent and Christmas. Ā  Besides all the services, pageants and festivities in the religious context, there are lots of decorations and fun activities downtown. Ā Click on the photos below to see a slideshow of images taken during “Family and Friends’ Night” and “Men’s Night” on Main Street.

slideshow

 

I’ll be blogging from home in Connecticut for the next few days.

– Fr. Matthew Green

Origami Fish from Out of State

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The other day I got an envelope in the mail from someone in Pennsylvania named Ali Thome, who read my blog posts about the origami Christmas/Fishmas tree, and decided to chip in!

Thanks for the beautiful origami, Ali!

She draws caricatures for a living. Check out her blog!

– Fr. Matthew Green

 

St. Ann School Christmas Concert

Posted on by Matthew Green

Last Thursday, St. Ann School had its Christmas concert. Ā Kudos to their choir director, Lori Lā€™Italien, for her great work with the kids! Ā The cuteness factor of the little kids was off the charts. Ā Here are a few photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

– Fr. Matthew Green

Christmas Cheer from Fred Bodin

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Last weekend, Fred Bodin and I were both at a great Christmas party / sing-along with a lot of other guests. Ā I guess I was feeling lazy, because I didn’t bring my camera. Ā Fred, on the contrary, was on top of things and he used his camera to grab some video of our caroling. Here is a medley I put together from his footage. Ā The last part is a snippet of a traditional Christmas Gregorian chant I sang with Kevin McDermott.

Thanks for the footage, Fred!

– Fr. Matthew Green