Pamela's ArtPrize 2013 Series

Wing and a Prayer

Celebrating the children on the Autism Spectrum
Amway Grand Plaza Hotel • Grand Rapids

Wing and a Prayer: The Inspiration

Young Sadako was diagnosed with leukemia after the 1945 atom bomb destroyed Hiroshima. Although Sadako loved to run, she was soon too weak. An ancient Japanese legend states that by folding a thousand paper cranes one's wish for health would be granted. So Sadako began folding cranes.

Sadako didn't finish folding all the birds before she died. But because of Sadako's tenacity for life, her classmates completed the cranes, and her father placed the thousand paper cranes in her casket. Since then, Sadako's hope has inspired other children around the world to soar above adversity.

Over twenty-thousand ArtPrize visitors responded to Wing and a Prayer by hanging a wish or a prayer note on the wall for a child. Like the draft under a bird's wing, each prayer uplifts a child in need. As these notes rise up the wall, they transformed into thousands of paper birds—giving healing wings.

Read the inspirational story behind Wing and a Prayer and/or learn more about our creative programs.

Wing and a Prayer exhibit at ArtPrize 2013 • Photo by Paul Willis

ArtPrize visitors added nearly 20,000 wishes and prayers to the Wall of Hope!

Visitors Respond

You weave struggle into such beauty! You have a definite gift for looking within and showing the world.

When I walked in here, my heart got big.

I wish I could stay in this room a very long time or return to it regularly. It gave me peace.

Good job using your art for “caring about people.” SB

I love your art. It makes me want to live here. Paige

A Special Thank You…

• To the models who posed for the artwork
• To the families who shared stories of children within Hope Network
• And to the thirty volunteers who spent 630 hours assembling almost 4,000 paper birds

Pamela has been an ArtPrize artist since 2009