Guardian of Wishes: a story created with ink and gold.
There’s something undeniably mysterious about cats, with their captivating eyes and elegant movements. It makes you wonder if their existence holds a deeper meaning. My artwork Guardian of Wishes delves into the idea that cats are the keepers of an ancient secret, entrusted with protecting our most profound desires.
The story of the guardians
Guardian of Wishes is a story created with ink and gold.
Legends speak of a time when the stars themselves blessed the world, bestowing upon cats the sacred duty of guarding wishes. These ethereal beings, with their knowing eyes and silent footsteps, move between realms unseen, ensuring that the deepest desires of our hearts remain safe from harm.
As you know, wishes are fragile things, easily twisted, stolen, or forgotten, so every night as the city slumbers, the guardians prowl the quiet streets, collecting the whispered hopes that drift through the midnight air in the form of delicate origami paper cranes. A child dreaming of adventure, an artist yearning for inspiration, a weary traveller longing for safe passage home, each wish is gathered with care and woven into the fabric of the cosmos, where they can bloom into reality.
The personal inspiration behind the artwork
Guardian of Wishes is inspired by two profound experiences in my life.
The idea of paper cranes as wishes comes from a deeply personal experience that is also rooted in Japanese tradition. In Japan, folding 1,000 paper cranes (senbazuru) is believed to bring good fortune and a grant wish. The practice became widely known through the story of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who developed leukemia after the Hiroshima bombing. Inspired by the legend that folding 1,000 cranes could grant a wish, she folded as many as she could before her passing. Her story turned the paper crane into a universal symbol of peace and perseverance.
After my accident, my family folded 1,000 paper cranes as a gesture of love, hope, and as a wish for my recovery. I still remember seeing them all together, delicate and filled with love, each one carrying a silent hope. That memory stuck with me, and when I started working on Guardian of Wishes, paper cranes felt like the right representation of a wish.
The idea of a cat as a guardian of wishes came from my experience with my cat, Charlie. Before I adopted Charlie, I did not have much experience with cats. I was struck by his mysterious nature, the way he observes the world with quiet understanding, as if seeing something just beyond my perception. His presence feels almost otherworldly, as if he is a silent guardian of things unseen.
I imagined my paper crane wishes drifting into the night, fragile and uncertain with Charlie, silent and watchful, collecting them, ensuring they were not lost, forgotten, or stolen before they could become reality.
My artistic process
I created Guardian of Wishes using alcohol markers, fine liners, and 24k gold, this piece was brought to life by layering thousands of tiny dots in different shades of purple and red, the artwork was then hand embellished with a 24k gold border.
I had the original artwork framed in a classic black frame with a white custom matboard that follows the shape of the artwork.
Owning a piece of the magic
Guardian of Wishes is the second artwork I completed in 2025 and is now available on my website. You can own the original artwork, buy a beautifully hand-embellished limited edition print or get a set of greeting cards.
- Guardian of Wishes (Original artwork)
- Guardian of Wishes (Limited-edition print)
- Guardian of Wishes (Cards)
Art is a way of exploring the unseen, of bringing to life the stories that whisper in the quiet corners of my mind. Guardian of Wishes is a tribute to the dreamers, the believers, and the ones who still look up at the night sky, hoping their wishes will come true.