A Fairy’s Wish

During the COVID 19 pandemic, an Old Sixth Ward resident began a project to fold 1,000 paper origami cranes and share them with neighbors.  The cranes appeared on fences, doorsteps and in mailboxes in the First Ward and Old Sixth Ward (the neighborhoods that make up Arts District Houston).  What began as a wish for an end to the pandemic became a way to spread joy, wonder and magic to neighbors and beyond.  Neighbors began posting pictures of the cranes that they received and started to refer to the mystery neighbor as the “Origami Fairy.”  This mural, located in the Old Sixth Ward, is one of two neighborhood public art pieces which commemorate the Fairy’s work.  The other is located at an FW Heritage “Respectfully Restored” property, on the corner of Sabine and Shearn Streets, in First Ward, further solidifying the close relationship between the two neighborhoods.  When she was interviewed for a November 2020 Houston Chronicle article, the Fairy said she didn’t have set goals for the project.  She only hoped that others would consider taking up the mantle in their own neighborhoods.  “We should all try to make everybody smile just a little bit,” she said. “It doesn’t take much. This is a very simple project, and we should all do our part.”

ABOUT THE ARTIST

This community mosaic was created by Juan Alvarado, Gladys Arenas, Veronica Avila, Patty Campagna, Josephine Capistran, Cynthia Card, Bob Card, Tina Cardona, William Carlson, Stephanie Carlson, Pei-Lin Chong, Blake Christensen, Tori Christensen, Marci Dallas, Pablo Diaz, Michelle Dugan, Estefania Espindola, Amanda Field, Michael Galko, Roy Guajardo, Azura Hardin, Mitchell Hawkins, Oscar Hernandez, Isman Herrera, Amanda Howard, Kim Kressenberg, Roland Macias, Deborah Mann, Buddy Martin, Michael Martin, Paul Michaud, Jasmine Miller, Sage Mosley, Sheldon Mosley, Silas Mosley, Evalyn Navarro, Fernando Navarro, Jeny Nguyen, Norma Perez, Elena Rabin, Janette Ramirez, Maria Ramirez, Floresmira Rivas, Adrianne Rodriguez, Nicole Rodriguez, Victoria Rodriguez, Yosely Ruiz, Doug Shoemaker, Gertrudis Sosa, Jesse Sosa, Pete Sosa, Simon Sosa, Zabastina Sosa, Zamantha Sosa, Zaundra Sosa, Elizabeth Sosa Bailey, Gene Straka, Ryan Stroud, Harwood Taylor, Dan Tidwell, Rachel Toombs, Johnathan Vasquez, May Vorarath, Kathy Vossler and Mimi Vossler under the art direction of Ruth Sosa Bailey.

Ruth Sosa Bailey is a folk artist whose works are predominantly expressed through three dimensional mosaic objects. Many of her works are inspired by the brightness of color, nature, femininity, music, and outer space.  Raised in Houston’s Historic Sixth Ward, Ruth attended Dow Elementary, where she continues to have deep ties with the building now known as Multicultural Education & Counseling through the Arts (MECA Houston). She has taught classes to both children and adults, as well as mentored other artists through her mosaic art instruction.  About this mural, Ruth said, “In Japanese culture, if someone folds 1,000 cranes, they are granted a very special wish.  In return, the community placed 1,000 mosaic pieces to commemorate all the joy we experienced when we received a crane on our porch.  Let us all hope that our local Fairy has been granted her wish.”  To create this mural, Ruth hosted two community mosaic-making events at Henderson and Kane in August 2022.  We would like to thank everyone who participated.