Origami cranes.

I fold a lot of origami cranes. I do other origami as well, but nothing to me is more relaxing or second-nature than folding origami cranes. There is a saying that folding one thousand paper cranes will bring you inner harmony as well as grant you a wish. I'm probably pretty close to that number by now.

For my Water Media project, I'm making even more cranes, two very large ones and several small ones that all hang from the ceiling. My inspiration for this project is the city of Kyoto: a former Japanese capital where you can still find tea houses, geisha, Shinto temples, and other interests of old romanticized Japanese among a sprawling and modern city. It's interesting to see so much tradition and antiquity in a city filled with the uniqueness of modern Japan.

One large crane will represent old Japan. The crane will be painted with traditional Japanese watercolor and calligraphy of scenes of life in this era. The other crane will be new Japan, painted with its bright, colorful, and really strange happenings, styles, and media of the country's today. Each crane will have an army of smaller cranes, each representing one thing of each era. I've five so far, so I'd thought I'd share. My camera is terrible and cheap, so I'm sorry for the blur.

Geisha crane, Orizukuko-chan. She is holding an origami teapot in one wing and a teacup in the other. She wears her hair in the typical style of a geisha past her apprenticeship, with decorative chopsticks in her hair.

Hello Kitty crane, Hello Craney. She loves pink and flowers. She loves flowers so much she has one in her hair and some on her wings. KAWAII DESU~~

Kamina crane, Cramina. He wears his trademark glasses and the collar of his cloak (a real cloak would be awfully hard to fly in), with his blue tattoos seen. Quotes include "Don't believe in the crane that believes in Cramina, or the Cramina that believes in you. Have faith in the crane that believes in you." and "Who the hell do you think I SQUAWWWK?!"

Generic mecha crane, Crundam Wing. This picture is simply awful since I used metallic paper and my camera sucks, but Crundam Wing is covered in wiring. It is the combination of five smaller cranes that come together as a team, proving that only friendship and teamwork will defeat the evil aliens/Cranezilla/other mecha cranes that hate Japan.

Cranichu, the Pikachu crane. Despite the crane's love of water, Cranichu is coursing with electricity, which is a bummer for other fauna in the waters nearby. Cranichu's best friends are Bulbacrane, Charcraneder, Craquirtle, and his trainer, Crash.

If you have a crane you'd like to see in this project, let me know. The only restrictions are the crane must have a Japanese background, either old Japan or modern Japan. Arigatou to ja mata ne!