To All of Us Who Have Been Affected by COVID-19,

I created the Memorial Crane Project as a way to honor the victims of the Coronavirus. I started folding Origami Cranes in May of 2020 to help me process and contemplate the volume of the Souls we were losing from the Pandemic. On May 14, 2020 the number ticked up to 88,000 deaths. It shocked me and I did the math to figure out how long it would take me to fold a crane for each of these lost souls. It would have taken me approximately 24 years! I decided to invite people from my social media platforms to help me recognize and honor all these loved ones lost. I started receiving packages in the mail daily! In my art Gallery, I created an installation of close to 7,500 cranes suspended from copper wires, creating a maze that could be walked through as the visitors commemorated those that we have lost. I received some national, and international publicity. This exposure brought even more cranes, and stories of lost loved ones. Today as the numbers exceed 500,000 in the US alone, I have received over 80,000 Cranes, 19,500 names and numerous stories as well. My intention in this installation is to display these cranes, by hanging them from copper armatures in the window of a well traffic location. I will also install a list of names on a 'Wall of Remembrance' and I will have a QR code visible for viewers to scan in order to hear the beautiful precious memories of those loved ones lost, told by those left behind. My goal is to eventually create Memorial Crane Project installations in each US state to commemorate each individual from each state as a means to mourn and heal collectively, as a Nation united in Love, Respect and Spirit

"You are not a single drop in the ocean, you are the entire ocean in one single drop." - Rumi

Sincerely,

Karla Funderburk

Owner, Matter Studio Gallery