1 000 Days of Paper Cranes by Cristian Marianciuc

WORDS Mary Garner

Cristian Marianciuc, an origami artist from Taunton, England, has a passion for folding and cutting paper.

An avid origami enthusiast, Cristian has designed and made 1 000 paper cranes every day for over three years. The challenge first began as a 365-day project on Instagram, but when the year was up, Cristian decided to keep going.

#988 “I see feathers” crane Song of the day: Kiss of life by Friendly Fires @friendlyfiresofficial I find myself quite often looking around me when I am bored or just resting and trying to find things I can use for the next crane. Most of the times I look for feather-shaped things. Or at least things that can be made to look like feathers. Today I took out my good-old flower press. It took ages to unscrew the four nuts. And I had completely forgotten what I had put inside. I was all smiles when I saw these gorgeous leaves that I picked last year. They embody autumn so well. And, you guessed it, I turned them into feathers. Off I go to enjoy today’s lovely weather! x #origami #icarusmidair #paperart #papiroflexia #delicate #theweekonintagram #wings #wing #origamicrane #abstract #leaves #leaf #pressedflowers #pressedplants #floral #feather #feathers #mixedmedia #friendlyfires #kissoflife #autumn #september

A post shared by Cristian Marianciuc (@icarus.mid.air) on Sep 14, 2017 at 5:55am PDT

#990 “made with love” crane #WHPmadewithlove Song of the day: At home & in my head by Hundred Waters @hundredwaters Today, I took you with me through pretty much all the steps of the creative process behind crane number 990 with my Stories. There are only 10 cranes left until I reach “senbazuru”. And I get a wish! It only took 2.73 years to get here, but hey, wishes don’t come easy! I am also excited to take part in this weekend hashtag project. The theme is “made with love”. And with all modesty I have to say that for the past 990 days, I managed to find at least a few minutes every day to make each of these cranes with love. I painted my heart purple and pink and red and brown to match today’s crane. Sending love to each one of you! x #origami #icarusmidair #paperart #papiroflexia #delicate #theweekonintagram #wings #wing #origamicrane #abstract #autumn #floral #feather #feathers #mixedmedia # #hundredwaters #flowers #flower #petal #petals

A post shared by Cristian Marianciuc (@icarus.mid.air) on Sep 16, 2017 at 3:41am PDT

#WHPpretend A small crane pretending to live in the heart of a larger crane, who is in fact paper pretending to be alive. More paper pretending to be feathers and petals while ink and watercolours pretend to step out of their dimension. And here I am, at a desk that’s not my own, pretending to be in my room, under my ceiling window, enjoying the silence and just my own company. For the time being, pretending is the next best thing.

A post shared by Cristian Marianciuc (@icarus.mid.air) on Oct 29, 2017 at 3:01am PDT

“Since the 1st of January 2015 I have been folding and decorating one paper crane each day,” he explains on Etsy. The cranes are adorned with flowers, beads, leaves, thread, feathers, watercolour paints, foil, and more.

To shop a selection of Cristian’s designs, visit etsy.com. To see more paper crane creations, follow Cristian on Instagram.

(h/t) thisiscolossal.com