Friday, March 11

A Siege of Cranes

I didn't fall off the southern tip of India. Its been work which couldn't be put off and I'm glad its all been completed.
I've taken up origami. Why? In the folds of the newspaper every morning are tucked in flyers from various restaurants and businesses which most people throw away without a second glance. I decided it would be a great way to up cycle the paper and hone my origami skills.

I started with the crane. No particular reason but I did some reading and discovered they symbolise loyalty and honour and a person who folds and creates a 1,000 cranes will be granted his or her wish.
So each morning I fold a couple of cranes with the shiny advertisements and menu cards. The seige of cranes cannot be contained at home so when I step out I place a couple on a ledge or window sill and hope the person who finds it will smile and decide to pick it up and keep it for a while. It would be interesting to know what they do with it because they do disappear.

I wish folding a 1,000 origami cranes would lessen the loss, suffering and pain of all the people in Japan today who had to face the effects of a devastating 8.8 magnitude earthquake and tsunami.

8 comments:

Flaming Nora said...

what a wonderful idea. I hope you make it to 1000, and all those little cranes bring inspiration to all who find them.

Montse Llamas said...

Maybe they flew off...

Maya Sara Matthew said...

That's a gr8 thought Nora, I'm not counting but I hope I make it to 1000 and beyond and each little crane that's found brings hope and inspiration to the person who finds it.

Maya Sara Matthew said...

maybe they did fly away Montse :) Nice of you to visit and leave a comment.

Jolette said...

I like your cranes.
Love your idee to support the people in Japan...
I have a nice idee on my blog to fold little books.
You can also make them with papers from magazines.
If you want i can send you the diagrams...
Have a nice sunday!

Sandra said...

That's an endearing idea! Wish I could peek the people who finds them, that's a tiny treasure for sure.

I make them and give to the kids at my school, some of them wants me to teach them how to make the cranes, we then gather a few (three to five) and hang them from the ceiling.

india flint said...

that's a sweet thought...years ago i found a white paper crane in a gutter
it brought magic to the day

Anonymous said...

When my step mother was dying of cancer a Japanese friend strung many origami cranes together and hung them on her door knob. I came across your blog because I was researching Senninbari thinking I might stitch 1000 red knots in support of the people of Japan.

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