ArtPrize Update & Michigan's Sandhill Cranes

Remember when I flew out to Grand Rapids in March/April of this year to visit the ArtPrize district for the first time? And I saw Sandhill Cranes both in the country and flying over the highway while driving to the city? I also tweet a bit on twitter that I hear them calling from the marsh in the mornings and they do fly-bys over the house but until now I'd never gotten a picture of them.

I think this was a family. The juvenile is the one without the red head.

But just the other day I was driving in the countryside while on an errand and guess what I saw in a field? Sandhill Cranes! I was so excited. I didn't pull over on the highway (because that wouldn't have been safe) so I made the first turn I could and guess what? There were three at the far end of the field. I wish I'd had my 300mm zoom lens with me but this was taken with my 140mm. Still, I'm thrilled to have both seen them up close and to have finally gotten a picture of them!

It just feels so right that there are cranes here as I hang my 4000 miniature origami cranes for my ArtPrize entry.

I'm still documenting the process on Instagram . . .

So if you're curious you can follow my progress there.

Spring is done. The finished piece is approximately 8" wide by 30" high. The strands of cranes themselves are 24" long.

Now I'm working on summer. . . It's a lot more work than you might imagine. In brief steps here's the process:

1. Find the right origami papers to use
2. Cut the paper into 1000 1.5" squares with a metal edge ruler and X-acto knife
3. Fold the cranes
4. Divide the cranes into colors and patterns. This is so that they are evenly distributed within each strand. 
5. Divide the cranes into as many small piles as there will be strands
6. Begin hanging the cranes. This is perhaps the most thought provoking part of the process. I make sure that no two patterns or solid colors end up side by side. I also make sure the cranes themselves are facing different directions so that two consecutive cranes aren't perfectly aligned.

And in case you'll be in Grand Rapids September 24th through October 12th this is where you can see my tiny cranes on display in the window on the far right. They'll be at the:

Grand Central Market Deli - website
57 Monroe Center NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
616-454-5300