More than 10,000 of Pam Douglas’ origami cranes hung at Loras College in Dubuque last summer.
The Clive artist Pam Douglas started folding origami cranes in early 2020 to commemorate each Iowan we’ve lost to COVID-19. As the death toll has increased, so has the paper flock, migrating to public exhibitions in Ames, Ankeny, Dubuque and West Des Moines.
Part of the memorial project “Folding Cranes, Enfolding Community,” is on display through May 30 at the Waukee Public Library, where a total of 406 birds represent pandemic deaths, as of March 23, in Dallas County (160) and the surrounding counties of Boone (71), Greene (28), Guthrie (48), Madison (47) and Adair (52). But the numbers tell just part of the story: Douglas writes names on some of the birds to honor the individuals, the people who loved and were loved.
It’s “a meaningful and beautiful artistic tribute to the value of each life lost,” said Alex Coggeshell, who works at the Waukee Public Library, where visitors can learn how the origami-crane tradition started in Japan after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The Waukee exhibit also includes a pandemic timeline – with state and national turning points – as well as some of Douglas’ other original artwork. The bigger collection of origami cranes will move in June to North Iowa Area Community College in Mason City and then on to Western Iowa Tech Community College in Sioux City.
As of March 23, a total of 10,769 Iowans have died of COVID.
