Exhibit Location: Perugia Board Room, a public meeting room at the J.W. Marriott Hotel, Grand Rapids, Michigan, a luxury hotel that opened in September 2007 and honors the city of Grand Rapids and its five sister cities in Japan, Italy, Ghana, Poland and Mexico. www.ilovethejw.com

Media: Invented origami collage using Italian papers, Perugina chocolate papers, Japanese yuzen hand silkscreened papers and handmade papers of the world.

Description: View of the hilled city of Perugia with the Etruscan walls. The griffin, a mythical beast with the intelligence of an eagle and the strength of a lion, is the city symbol of Perugia, flies in the sky. Created by artists who met and married in Grand Rapids’ first sister city (Omihachiman, Japan).

This is a view from the East entrance to the city and incorporates the magical feeling of the 2,000+ year old city of stairs on a hill with its old Etruscan walls. Historical monuments included here using Japanese silk-screened gold-gilted yuzen papers: Etruscan Gate, St. Peters, St. Domenico, Palazzo dei Priori (with bell made from wrapper of Perugina Perugian chocolate), Sciri Tower, Roman Aqueduct, Temple of St. Michael, and St. Francis Church. The griffin protects the city.

Fun fact: Perugia is famous in Japan because a Japanese soccer star – Nakata – played for the Perugian football team.