Emily's tattoo...

"I got my tattoo because of my unyielding beliefs of peace and interdependence.  It is a simple, exquisite symbol of peace.  As a social work student who works for a non-profit organization, I meet people on a daily basis from all walks of life.  I learn so much from them; we have a give and take relationship.  We depend on each other to be givers of peace.  We are our brother and sister's keeper.   Additionally, I wanted my crane to be a reminder of peace within the self.  A paper crane is only a piece of paper, a simple object manipulated in to beauty, my tattoo is also an ode to creativity.  As for the design of the tattoo, it is a custom design, I haven't seen any identical to it.  I just wanted clean, black lines to create a simple, humble image."

(I am Emily from St. Paul, MN)

Peace on many levels

"Four years ago this December my boyfriend went off to join the army with the promise that when he came back home he would marry me. He made me promise him that I would fold him 1000 paper cranes and keep him safe so he could come home to me. Well, I didn't keep my promise. I folded 914 cranes in the first three years (I know I'm slow) and I never finished. James died January 9th of this year. I finished folding his cranes and his parents let me burn them at his funeral. I imprinted it in my skin to let everyone know that James will always be with me, until the day I die no matter what happens. It scares me to believe that if I had finished folding them, maybe he would have come home to me."



This is the tattoo. It goes from just under Cassidy's arm to her hip. It is a little hard to see that immediately but for modesty's sake, this is the shot of this beautiful tattoo.

Some of the stories that I expect are about working toward world peace... peace among people. This story is a story about peace with one's self. We are honored to have heard it.

Emma's tat

After finding the site, Emma (ZOO) wondered how she could post. Easy! Email me the pic and story!

It seems that Emma's loving husband has folded paper cranes for her since they first met. What a great thing. I love love! Below is a pic of her tat. He'll have a matching one soon!

Join the movement. Celebrate love, peace, creativity!

Another blog you should visit...

paper crane project

And let's get some pics of that new tat!

Healed!

I am healed. This is a phone cam pic because I still don't have a new camera. Several more people are on board! Several who have never gotten a tat before. How awesome is that?!

New tats...

I finally got my tattoo. I don't, however, have pictures of it. I was waiting until it healed up a bit. It was a 4 hour tat. It was definitely red, swollen and angry looking. During that waiting period my house was broken into and my camera stolen. Just my camera... and the charger for its battery that was in a different room. Very odd. At any rate, the tat looks awesome. There is one spot that I 'tore' in karate class but it's pretty well healed save for that one spot.

I'll post pics soon!

I'm excited to hear from folks. Hope you are all working on designs and stories!

The Promise of Peace

My tat was inspired by the 1000 cranes story. Traditionally if a person folded 1000 cranes, then the ancient ones would grant that person a wish. It was thought that if the person was patient and driven enough to fold 1000 cranes, then she was deserving of such a wish. Families also folded 1000 cranes for weddings to bless newly joined couples. A crane is known for its fidelity, its loyalty to its partner.

More recently, the 1000 cranes tradition entered the international consciousness because of the story of a Japanese girl named Sadako who got sick with Leukemia caused by the radiation from Hiroshima. Sadako was hospitalized when she was 12 and a friend brought her a folded crane and told her of the tradition. Sadako started folding and had folded well over 1000 cranes wishing for peace in the world. When she died, she was buried with those cranes and a monument was erected in her honor with "This is our cry, this is our prayer, peace in the world" etched at the bottom. So in additional to the traditional meaning, they are now a universal symbol for peace.

It was because of these connections with all those symbols that my husband folded 500 cranes for me when we married in 2001. He told me he would give me 10 more each wedding anniversary until we reached our 50th year when the 1000 cranes would finally be completed. We joined the Peace Corps just after we got married, which meant that the peace connotation of the 1000 cranes was just as important to us.

With our separation in 2006, I folded my own 1000 cranes and
essentially reminded myself, with my wish, that I was okay on my own.

So I wanted to remember that with a tat. I asked Susan Behney, a
tattoo artist based in Washington DC at Jinxproof Tattoos, if she could combine a design with origami cranes, cherry blossoms (for DC) and a moon (for guidance). She did. This is the result.

Julie Hochgesang