Taking Flight

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 First Ward, is one of two neighborhood public art pieces which commemorate the Fairy’s work. The other is located at Henderson & Kane General Store, on Henderson St, in Old Sixth 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.”  In this mural, the artists depict paper cranes turning into real cranes.  These inanimate objects grow, move, change and eventually take flight.  The mural is a wish that we all are able to fly free.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Allan Rodewald owns Expressive Design Inc. which creates specialized art projects for residential and commercial clients globally. The completion of his First Ward studio in 2001 led Allan into the exploration of abstract painting where he can escape the limits of the real world through self-expression and exploration.  Learn more at www.allanrodewald.com or @allan_rodewald_art.

Tra’ Slaughter is a self-taught artist. Creating art is his way of finding the beauty that resides in the day-to-day and releasing it back into the world. As an artist, he sees it as his duty and responsibility to show the everyday in a new way. Beauty is everywhere. Finding it is all in how you look at it. Learn more at www.traslaughter.com or @artist_traslaughter.