One thousand origami cranes

December 17, 2018 5:23 AM

Christian Marianciuc is a Romanian artist creating elaborate variations on the origami crane. From 2015 to 2017 he folded a different crane every day, a nod to senbazuru, and has continued the practice at a slower rate since.

He discusses his process further in an interview with Leyla Torres.

posted by serathen (12 comments total)

these are beautiful
thank you for sharing this
posted by kokaku at 5:57 AM on December 17, 2018

Good to see someone is doing this!
posted by snofoam at 6:14 AM on December 17, 2018

I folded one thousand cranes about a decade ago. (Amazon sells kits!) It took me four or five months and was a very good meditation practice. (I haven't gotten my wish yet, though.)

Mine were not nearly so beautiful. I really like this violin one!
posted by ragtag at 6:23 AM on December 17, 2018 [1 favorite]

I once folded 700 cranes in 7 days (and one of those days was Christmas) because 14 year old me got the idea to make a senbazuru for my best friend (now partner) 10 days before their birthday. I cut all my own squares out of printer paper too because I couldn’t afford that much origami paper. I would have absolutely made it to 1000 but they invited me over for New Year’s and just had me sleep over for the next two days until their birthday so my time frame was cut short. I figured, “Eh, 700 years of good luck is probably enough” and just strung it together as is.

This is definitely more impressive though, jesus.
posted by brook horse at 6:35 AM on December 17, 2018 [8 favorites]

These are gorgeous; nice post. *followed*
posted by heyho at 6:40 AM on December 17, 2018

Wow.

I initially thought the post was saying there were a thousand small variations in the way the crane was folded. Which sounded really technically impressive, but rather uninteresting, otherwise. Then I clicked the link and started scrolling. These are incredible!
posted by darkstar at 7:24 AM on December 17, 2018

These are so lovely, I imagine they look stunning all together. I hope he's found a way to display them effectively in his home, it would be such a shame if they're all just packed in a box somewhere!
posted by stillnocturnal at 7:36 AM on December 17, 2018

These are so gorgeous! What an extra-lovely surprise. As others noted above, not exactly what I expected. I love that something so simple, a piece of paper, can be loved into something so intricate. It's a great lesson in life about patience, commitment, and vision.
posted by anya32 at 7:55 AM on December 17, 2018 [4 favorites]

I tried to do the 1000 with Hubba Bubba wrappers. They turn out about a quarter of the size of these. The smallest I've made was with half a cigarette paper, about 8mm^2. I never finished because I got sick of bubble gum, but I'd keep buying it and giving it away, as long as I get to keep the wrapper. Then they changed the colour of the wrapper. I wanted them to all be the same and I wasn't starting over.

A ticket inspector on a train once took my word for it when I produced my ticket in crane form. Before smartphones waiting for a train was pretty boring.

AFAIK it's not origami if you cut the paper as this person has done.
posted by adept256 at 8:22 AM on December 17, 2018 [1 favorite]

adept256, I always carry a small packet of patterned 7.5cm squares for folding during the various dead spaces of the day. Cranes are common, but I've memorized a dozen or so models that work well at that size, for variety. A certain fad from a few years ago let me finally put it in words: origami is my fidget-spinner.

Touching on the post-link: I like the Etsy store but the prices are a bit above my touch...
posted by Quasirandom at 8:31 AM on December 17, 2018 [2 favorites]

I too have folded the 1000 cranes. I did it by myself, within a year, and I've still got them all strung up hanging from the antlers of my beloved trash-picked buck.

I love what Marianciuc has done with the form, even if it's not strictly origami. What beautiful little pieces.
posted by fiercecupcake at 11:37 AM on December 17, 2018 [5 favorites]

A certain fad from a few years ago let me finally put it in words: origami is my fidget-spinner.

Heh. Me too, although less so as my hands get older. (The first time I ever did 1000 paper cranes, it took a week on 1.25" squares, but it was back in high school. Loads more energy than I have now. I do still prefer to work tiny though. Much less mess.)

These are neat. Nice to see someone playing with the form, even though the cuts do move it out of strictly origami territory.
posted by mordax at 12:27 AM on December 18, 2018 [1 favorite]