Dream Boats

My love of origami was an unexpected journey. 

It began with making paper cranes with my own children on New Year's Eve of 2000.  My girls were then just 12 and 8.  Looking for something interesting to occupy the children visiting our house that evening, I thought of paper cranes.  As we sat down to fold our papers, we decided to write something secret inside---our wishes and hopes for the coming year.  Just before midnight, one of our guests thought that it would be a great idea to go out onto our deck and burn the cranes just as the new year arrived.  We watched as our secret hopes and dreams drifted up into the night sky of a new millennia.  

When origami paper is set alight, the dyes cause it to burn in beautiful, brilliant colors.  It was just the kind of magic we had hoped for as we rang in the new millennium---and thus, it began...the tradition of paper cranes on New Year's Eve that is followed religiously at our house each year.  I have also shared this with my students over the years and has been adopted by many other families and friends along the way.

The origami "dream boats" are a shape uniquely reminiscent of childhood to me.  I love their sharp angles and child-like quality.  I painted and hand colored book pages before folding them, then strung them with other found and natural objects to create the piece.

Dream Boat 1 - "Stars Shining Bright"

Detail of "Dream Boat"