The fortune cookie is a beloved tradition associated with Chinese restaurants -- even though it鈥檚 a custom born in the U.S.
鈥淚 remember as a kid always looking forward to digging in the bag to get the fortune cookie because there鈥檚 something neat about having to break something open, take out a tiny piece of paper and see what it says,鈥� said Jess Killingsworth, marketing coordinator for the Loveland Art Museum.
Killingsworth has been thinking a lot about fortune cookies lately. In a maze of rooms in the museum鈥檚 office space are hundreds of boxes lined up along the walls, stacked almost to the ceiling. Printed both in English and in Chinese next to a cartoon panda, the boxes announce their contents: 鈥淔ortune Cookies.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 not every day that you鈥檙e going to be able to come to an exhibit at the museum here in Loveland and see an art installation in the middle of the room that is made from 250,000 fortune cookies,鈥� she joked.
The cookies will be part of Chinese-born, California-based artist . 鈥淛iu Jin Shan,鈥� Chinese for 鈥淥ld Gold Mountain,鈥� will feature four lengths of railroad tracks all leading to a gigantic mound of fortune cookies in the center. It鈥檚 a commentary on the American Dream and the role of Chinese immigrants in that dream, specifically during the 1800s when they were the labor behind the first Transcontinental Railroad.
But getting the installation ready required some help on the part of the museum, including obtaining 250,000 unwrapped fortune cookies. Sounds simple, right? Not so fast.
鈥淭hey do manufacture them unwrapped, but they are almost double to triple the cost,鈥� said Killingsworth, who declined to say how much the final cost for the cookies actually was. 鈥淪o that鈥檚 why we decided to purchase them wrapped and just decided to unwrap them ourselves.鈥�
But with the museum鈥檚 staff at just under a dozen employees, unwrapping 250,000 fortune cookies in just over four weeks seemed an enormous task. That鈥檚 when the museum鈥檚 volunteers stepped in.
The repetitiveness of the work is familiar to Kay Saelens. She used to work the assembly line at the Green Giant canning plant in Belvidere, Illinois. The 79-year-old volunteers at the museum as a docent -- and now cookie un-wrapper.
To make the time pass faster, Saelens and the four other volunteers on duty chatted, ate the occasional broken cookie and read their fortunes aloud.
鈥淚 belong to a singles group and we used to read the fortune cookies after we were at a meal at a Chinese restaurant and then if you add the words 鈥榠n bed鈥� at the end of the fortune cookie, it can be rather hilarious,鈥� Saelens said before reading one.
鈥淵ou are known for being quick in action and decisions -- in bed,鈥� she chuckled.
Soon, everyone was sharing their fortunes and their versions of the game.
鈥淵ou have an uncanny willingness and ability to help others -- in the bedroom,鈥� read Karin Bierstein, 63.
鈥淲ho has confidence in himself will gain the confidence of others -- between the sheets,鈥� countered Beirstein鈥檚 friend, Nancy Garcia.
Garcia, 67, is also a docent at the museum. She said she loves the idea of taking part -- even if it鈥檚 just a small one -- in the artistic process.
鈥淚 think art should kind of blow your mind and expand your consciousness and be different and the visual is just so interesting,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his mountain of cookies -- I can see it in my mind. I can鈥檛 wait to see on the floor.鈥�
Time is of the essence. All of the cookies need to be unwrapped in time for the December 8th opening of Hung Liu鈥檚 exhibit, 鈥淭ransformation.鈥� While they still have a ways to go, Garcia has her eye on the show鈥檚 closing.
鈥淭he mystery for me is what鈥檚 going to happen to them after the exhibit,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 very big on recycling, repurposing, reusing so I鈥檓 just really hoping we can find a good use for these 700 boxes of cookies.鈥�
Museum officials are still working on that one. One of the options they鈥檙e talking about is donating them to a wildlife refuge in need of high-caloric foods to help prepare the animals for hibernation.
In the meantime, Killingsworth said the project has been a fun way to bring people together, much like fortune cookies themselves.
鈥淎 lot of people keep those fortunes -- I have some in my wallet right now,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hether you believe that that little piece of paper brings you good fortune or not, it鈥檚 a nice sentiment to think about. It can make you smile, it can make you laugh, it can make you hold onto it. Anything in this day and age that can do that, we need to continue on.鈥�
