1,000 Days, 1,000 Cranes ...

The simple elegance of the Japanese folded paper origami crane. The Japanese word 'origami' is a combination of two words in Japanese: 'ori' which means "to fold" and 'kami' which means "paper." It is believed that Japanese origami began in the 6th century and because of the high costs of paper, origami was only used for religious ceremonial purposes.

In Japan, the crane is a mystical creature and is believed to live for a thousand years. As a result, in the Japanese, Chinese and Korean cultures, the crane represents good fortune and longevity. The Japanese refer to the crane as the 'bird of happiness.' The wings of the crane were believed to carry souls up to paradise. Mothers who pray for the protection of the crane's wings for their children will recite the prayer: "O flock of heavenly cranes, cover my child with your wings."

 

Traditionally, it was believed that if one folded 1000 origami cranes, one's wish would come true. It has also become a symbol of hope and healing during challenging times. As a result, it has become popular to fold 1000 cranes (in Japanese, called 'senbazuru'). The cranes are strung together on strings, usually 25 strings of 40 cranes each, and given as gifts.

The origami crane has been taken up and used in myriad ways to wish luck or ask luck or send good wishes. They have been used as 

Mobiles

Ornaments

 Jewelry

 Wreaths

 Centerpieces

 Cake Decorations

even Tattoos

 Sometimes an origami artist will add extra bits to the crane for variety and interest.

 

Cristian Marianciuc is a paper artist who started a project 2015. His goal was to make 1000 origami cranes - one per day for 1000 days. He successfully reached his goal on September 27th, 2017. During his project he created some exquisite works and expanded the vision of the traditional origami crane to include paper cutting as well as folding.

These are just a few of his creations. When you realize how small they are in comparison to the hand that is holding them, they become not only beautiful but remarkable for their miniature size and speak to the skill he acquired working on 1000 cranes!

To see more from his mini series "My Cranes Take an Imaginary Trip Around the World" click image below

This next photo is just for Beverly at Beverly's Pink Saturday because she's such a deer  dear to host the blog hop every Saturday!

After visiting the other participants at Beverly's Pink Saturday blog hop (click here), it will be time for you to...
go make something beautiful!

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(¸.•´ (¸.•´? Tristan  

Try an origami crane yourself!