Boston Strong

Made these today, on the one-year anniversary of the marathon bombing, and left them with some of the local hospital staff. I am happy to say that they were quite well received. :)

White

The final set is complete, and there will be more photos soon. I just need a little time to collect my thoughts.

Yellow

These four cranes were made while waiting for my flight to Boston. One was left at CLT airport, one stowed away on a United Airways flight, one decided to take a rest in BOS airport, and the last found a comfy nest in Wakefield.

I'm not certain if anyone who ever found (or will find) these cranes will understand the beauty of where they started from, but I hope that it at least puts a smile on someone's face out there. :)

Still learning

Valentine's Day was a tough time for us all this year. We all knew you would be leaving us soon, but I sort of hoped that it would last just a little longer. Somewhere in the back of my mind I had hoped that the cranes project would keep you interested and wanting to stick around to see the end.

You saw 900/1000 of the tiny paper creations, and I regret you didn't see the final 100. I had such high hopes that I could pull off something great at the end. I wanted to gather words of inspiration and positive energy from people all around the world, and write them each down on a crane for you.

It's funny though, all this time I was expecting you to keep the cranes in that large vase to be admired as the level inside grew higher with each set, but you held them close to you, and all around your room. You shared their beauty and the memories they represented with everyone who came in contact with you, and you eagerly handed them out to spread their joy and happiness, instead of keeping them to yourself, contained. You amplified the project a thousandfold (truly worded) by creating their own new memories and happy thoughts of well wishing and luck for all. Paying it forward through origami.

For this, you were even more wise in regards to the project than I was, and I am humbled that together we could transform one thousand little pieces of paper into something magical, not only for us, but for so many people who touched our lives.

I'm inspired to keep some origami paper handy whenever I go out or travel now, with hopes that I can continue our work together and bring a little bit of light to someone else's life, even if for just a fleeting moment.

Thank you so much. For everything.


I'll post photos of the last hundred soon.

900/1000

Christmas comes a little early this year, but it's never too soon to think about all the good times we've shared together during the holidays. A warm and cozy home full of family and friends, christmas music playing in the background, the tree and festive decorations keeping up the holiday spirit, delicious food and traditional confectionaries, and all the stories we'd tell - old and new. It was always such a colorful time and a great gathering for our family.

I really enjoyed all those special times with you, and am happy to provide these hundred cranes towards revitalizing our fond memories together.

After each set of cranes, I ship them, 100 at a time, to my grandmother in a sturdy mailing tube. This is a small, festive drawing I did on the address label for this set.

Tis the season

Just a twinkle of the next set...

800/1000

This set of cranes is not my own memory, but one of my daughter's. I asked if she'd like to help fold some cranes, and if there were any special moments that she enjoyed spending with you. Lindsay told me about the card games you would play together on her visits to the apartment, and how much fun she had. She was especially fond of the automatic shuffler.

There are 52 white cranes all representing an individual card from a standard playing deck, plus one joker. I drew each suit and number on them in black and red ink, including the illustrations for the face cards. Lindsay helped fold a number of them. We hope you enjoy the memory.