Sadako's Cranes...and Mine

On October 25, 1955 a little girl named Sadako Sasaki gave up her fight with leukemia...she was 12.  She had been diagnosed in February of that year with leukemia resulting from the bombing of Hiroshima, near her home.  In August of 1955, a friend visiting her in the hospital cut a piece of black paper into a square and taught her how to fold an origami crane.  This was inspired by a Japanese legend that promised a wish granted to anyone who folds one thousand cranes.  Supposedly, though short of paper and using medicine wrappings or whatever she could find, Sadako folded her thousand cranes.

After her death, her story became a rallying cry for Japanese schoolchildren.  They published a collection of letters to raise money for a memorial to the children who lost their lives to the atomic bomb.  In 1958, the statue was unveiled in Hiroshima Peace Park…it was of Sadako holding a golden crane and the plaque read:  "This is our cry.  This is our prayer.  Peace in the world."

Sadako's story was the inspiration for my project "Raising Crane".  After reading about Sadako several years ago, I decided that I would PAINT one thousand cranes.  Because I only paint what I have seen in the wild…and because I would, of course, want to paint all fifteen of the world's species, if possible…it would mean some travel (understatement).

It occurred to me that I could talk to children and young adults along the way and, hopefully, inspire them to pursue a dream of their own and try to make the world a better place.  I will be asking anyone who wishes to fold an origami crane (or as many as they wish) for the project.  On one side of the paper, before folding, I will ask that everyone write down something that they are grateful for.  The idea behind just folding one, is to show that you don't have to fold a thousand cranes (metaphorically)…but that when people all do one small thing together, the results can be amazing.  

I am hoping to secure locations for a touring exhibition of the paintings/sculptures/etc by other artists who wish to participate, my own thousand cranes ("x" number of paintings, depicting 1000 cranes)…and the garlands of cranes folded by people along the way.  Sales of art will benefit at least one environmental cause.  

In addition to folding a crane, I plan to ask kids to make the world a better place by doing "One More, One Less"…one more thing that is beneficial, one less that is detrimental.  It could be as little as picking up a piece of trash every day (one more effort to clean up, one less piece of trash)…but, as we all know, some kids will take the bit in their teeth and run with the idea.  Hopefully, my little project will spawn a lot more like it.

"Raising Crane" fledged on October 20, 2012…I finished the first crane painting (one down, 999 to go)…and gathered a flock of friends to fold the first cranes.  It was a perfect way to give lift to the wings of this little endeavor.  I particularly loved watching everyone teaching one another to fold…it is already working.

Peace, all