DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Rodriquez Benjamin, 40, spent 6 years in the U.S. Army, including two deployments in Iraq – the first for 15 months and the second for 14 months.
Benjamin said he joined the Army to be able to help his family; at the time, his grandfather was being treated for cancer, and he needed a consistent paycheck.
His official job was as a Joint Fire Support Specialist – or forward observer in layman’s terms.
“I’d find, track and survey targets,” Benjamin said. “It was my job to not only get the coordinates, send those coordinates to either artillery, naval ships that are in the area or any jets.”
Not only did Benjamin serve his country in a warzone, he’s also a gifted origami artist who has folded hundreds of thousands of paper creations, by his own estimate.
He owes his start in the ancient art to media specialists at South Daytona Elementary School who noticed his love of folding paper airplanes.
Benjamin said Ms. Sperber always took notice when he would check out books on how to draw or folding paper airplanes. When a new book came in, she approached Benjamin and asked if he wanted to try something a little different. She handed him his first origami book, and he hasn’t stopped folding since.
That media specialist, 76-year-old Carol Sperber is now retired, but she and her fellow media specialist, Charlotte Hogan, clearly made an impact on Benjamin.
“That was what teaching was about, to make a connection,” Sperber said.
Sperber also taught 3rd, 5th and 6th grades as well as worked as a media specialist and said she took pride in making her students feel important about themselves and for helping them find their love for books.
“This stuff is hard, but it’s cool because you’re taking a regular sheet of paper and making it into something,” Benjamin said he thought at the time. “Either a flower. An animal of some sort. I’m like ‘This is actually pretty cool, this is something new.’”
From that point, whenever a new book on the subject came into the library, Benjamin got first dibs on it thanks to those media specialists who noticed his love for the art of folding paper.
The books and those librarians made such an impression that he purchased the same books years later on his own, hoping to pass the hobby down to his daughter.
Benjamin said he has never stopped folding.
He said teachers in high school thought he may have some form of ADHD.
“Something in my body has to keep moving,” Benjamin said. “I just can’t sit still.”
Even during class, Benjamin would fold while listening to the teacher or professor during a lesson.
“One of my teachers literally told my other instructors, ‘If you see him folding, let him fold. He’s still paying attention. He’s just gotta keep moving.’”
Christina Katsolis, museum technician at the Southeast Museum of Photography, had the idea to invite Benjamin to lead an origami workshop for veterans and their family members at the museum – which also happens to be on the main campus of Daytona State College.
Benjamin works as a mail clerk and courier at the Business Services department on the campus, which keeps him constantly moving, a perfect fit for a person who can’t sit still.
Katsolis often finds herself in the office where Benjamin works and took notice of the many pieces of origami art that lines his desk.
“On the occasions I have stopped by and visited Rod at his desk, he has been surrounded by a remarkable number of origami creations, everything from traditional forms to winged unicorns, dragons, jet planes, tessellations, etc. If you name it, he’s probably folded it,” Katsolis said.
Katsolis said the idea for the origami workshop was inspired by an exhibit at the museum titled “Fact/Fiction: Constructed Images,” which showcases the work of visual artist Andrew Sovjani.
The exhibition showcases Sovjani’s “evolving practice, allowing for comparisons to be drawn between three distinct bodies of his work: Whitewashed, Paper White and Fabrication of Space,” according to the museum’s description.
The free, two-hour workshop was led by Benjamin on March 9 and was part of the museum’s “Art in Action: Veterans Exploring the Visual Arts” program.
Katsolis is the programming director for Art in Action, which focuses on getting veterans to explore art through visual arts.
“Art is more than just a mirror and a means to self-discovery. It is also a healing force that powerfully connects us, conveying our shared experiences through expressive lines, colors and shapes. Art brings us closer. It inspires compassion, empathy and change. It speaks to us on a level where words often fail,” reads the webpage for Art in Action.
“I literally had a blast with the class, it was awesome,” Benjamin said. “We started off simple, learning some of the basic stuff. The main origami start points for a lot of shapes.”
Benjamin said he was honored to lead the workshop for his fellow brothers and sisters.
“It helps focus the mind. You never know what a veteran is going through,” Benjamin said.