Jessica Fletcher's Senbazuru was inspired by the story of Sadako Sasaki, a victim of the atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki who developed leukemia, and the Japanese tale of being granted a wish upon folding 1,000 paper cranes. Sadako folded 1,300 cranes in hopes of getting better, but she passed away at age 12 in October 1955.
"When I saw those cranes [in the photograph], I remembered this story and wanted to make an abstract representation of her," said Fletcher. In the process, she learned how to use abnormal shapes to make human-like features.
Blaise Kazadi
2011
Digital photography
The "Origami For Japan" project was spearheaded by Vicky Tsai in 2011 to send well wishes to Japan after the TÅhoku earthquake and tsunami. Nita Leslie and her Japanese students came to the Central Campus Library to teach people how to make paper cranes for the display.
Jessica Fletcher
2023
Paper on canvas board (8 x 10 in)
Jessica folded paper into cranes using the Japanese art of origami and shaped them to represent a human face, specifically that of Sadako Sasaki. Senbazuru is the Japanese word for "1000 cranes."
Jessica Fletcher is studying business and earning an Associate in Arts degree at Central Piedmont Community College. She's also the Vice President of the Visual Arts Club. Jessica has always been creative and imaginative, and while she usually prefers using paint and pencil in her works, she loves to experiment with all kinds of mediums.