Description
“Don’t touch that, it’s fragile! Be careful with that sweetie, it’s fragile.” As I catch myself repeatedly saying these phrases to my two year old, it strikes me – everything is fragile. Not just cherished items, but life and everything around us. So delicate and easily broken at any moment. This heavy looming subject is often on my mind and magnified even more by all the news articles, especially on the topic of climate change… queue the anxiety! As I wrestle with these thoughts, I had the idea for my next painting to incorporate an origami crane – a symbol rich in history and representing hope, love, peace, longevity, and good fortune.
As I delved deeper into the meaning behind the paper crane I learned about a Japanese folklore. Legend has it that folding 1,000 cranes can grant you one wish, a practice known as senbazuru. Then I stumbled upon the story of Sadako Sasaki. Exposed to radiation from the Hiroshima atomic bomb at two years old, Sadako developed leukemia by age 12 and was given just a year to live. Folding 1,000 paper cranes, she initially hoped for her own recovery, but eventually wished for world peace. Even as her health declined, she persisted, joined by her classmates. At her passing, she was laid to rest with a wreath of 1,000 cranes, becoming a symbol of peace and love.
I fell in love with this story. It made me question my wishes. If granted one wish, what would it be? Which one would have the biggest impact? Last a lifetime? So, I set out to paint 1,000 cranes – maybe someday the gods will grant my wish. What would your one wish be?
