ArtPrize update: 3000 down, 1000 cranes to go

Folding 4000 cranes is just the start of my ArtPrize entry. Actually, before I could even begin folding miniature cranes I had to cut standard squares and large fancy sheets of origami paper into 1.5" x 1.5" squares to fold into 3/4" cranes. Four thousand tiny squares to be exact.

I also had to think about the mobile base or bases I would hang the cranes from. This is what I've come up with. Three kinds of vines and one type of branches to represent the four seasons. In the top left corner is spring, the top right will be summer, the lower left is fall, and the bottom right is winter.

Spring and summer I'll use as they are to fabricate small wreaths the cranes will hang from.

Fall will be trickier. Not only do I need to trim some of the branches away, I also need to combine four of them and stain them a darker color to represent the color of autumn.

Winter will also be tricky mostly because it's the perfect color for fall. This is a kiwi vine base I made from fresh cut kiwi vine I found at the Soquel Farmers' Market back when I was living in Santa Cruz earlier this winter. I love the texture and woven form but the color is all wrong necessitating darkening it . . . Somehow. I have a few ideas and some extra vine to test them out on.

And the folding continues. I've completed spring, autumn, and winter and am working on summer. Because (to me) the cranes represent peace and kindness I've been finding inspiration as I fold by listening to world news. With all of the war, strife, and violence taking place in seemingly every country in the world I fold each crane with the thought of the wish for world peace and peaceful lives for all individuals at the forefront of my mind.

I also fold while sitting on the couch watching and listening to the rain come down. Rain. Having come from drought plagued California I'm simply blown away by how often and how heavily it rains here in Michigan. It's a beautiful thing to behold, as are the Sandhill cranes. Not that I've seen them lately but yesterday I awoke to the sound of them calling from the nearby marsh. I did see a pair a week or so ago calling and flying by the house in the morning while I was standing outside. Someday I hope to get a photo of them.

I did try walking down to the marsh the other day (during the middle of the day) hoping to see and photograph them. For my efforts I was rewarded with around 9 mosquito bites within the space of 15 minutes. I never even got close enough to see if there were any cranes there. The weird thing is I have much worse reactions to Michigan mosquitos than I ever did to California or Washington mosquitos. Some of the welts are huge! I'm used to bites swelling to about the size of my fingernail. . . Not my whole freaking finger!

Here's a sampling of random bites I've received in the past month.

The mosquitos are winning by the way. I guess you could say "I found the place" where I can't stop scratching. But that's a blog post for another day. I did purchase a ThermaCELL and will update you on how that's working out in a future post.

For now you can imagine me sitting in Michigan happily folding cranes while trying not to scratch my mosquito bites. I have had two bite-free days since arriving four weeks ago. LOL. Hoping for more.