1000 cranes to remember: 300/1000

This blog is dedicated to my grandmother, and to all those who have been touched in some way by the art of my origami cranes. I am paying it forward, one small piece of paper at a time.

Senbazuru is the Japanese art of folding one thousand origami cranes. There is a legend stating that whoever folds 1,000 paper cranes will be granted a wish by the ancient bird spirit, but traditionally the feat is performed to wish eternal good luck, benevolence, and one thousand years of prosperity. For these reasons, I felt in my heart that it would be the perfect expression of appreciation, gratitude and ultimately, respectful farewell.

From the moment the idea came to me, I knew I could mould and shape this project into my own expression of something we could share together - a labor of love that she would appreciate, even if no one else in my family could fully understand what it all meant.

Each set of one hundred cranes featured here represents a moment, a memory, a spark in my life that we shared together that helped influence the person who I have become today. I hope you enjoy reading my personal reflections, so that you may fully understand the empowerment this project has had on me, and the inspiring statement of sharing beauty and joy that I learned as a result of folding my 1,000th crane.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

300/1000

This was the summer I opened my eyes to the stars, standing there in your driveway as you pointed up into the night sky. You had that star guide from your coffee table Audubon book, and we looked up at the constellations Ursa Major and Minor: the Dippers. Whenever I see Orion's Belt, I think of that very night, and how it sparked my continued interest in the cosmos.