Videos
Crankie "Who Killed cock Robin"
​
This is my crankie version of this ballad which goes at least back to 1744, this among many others was passed along to whoever cared to listen and remember. The crankie is an art form going back before radio and TV. You can find beautiful examples done with quilting and on paper. I was inspired by the amazing work of Anna and Elizabeth. This one is backlit and frontlit to give the luminous quality. I was haunted by these lyrics and the tune. The theme of the unjust death, the community united around mourning the loss of the beloved among us. Some believe this refers to Robin Hood, others think it refers to the death of King William II (see the wiki article for details). Mourning loss and injustice, the death of our beloved members seems to me a very human response to tragedy and possibly the start to positive and lasting change. I am playing the tenor banjo and singing.
Jump
This piece was a collaborative effort with children from the day center in Galati Romania run by Cuvantul Intrupat. I had the kids trace themselves from photos of them jumping, then cut them out, then tape them to a page. They were given the instructions to make two colors and some kind of horizon line through the card. We dumped them together and added some cello, thank John!.
This is a compilation of shots gathered from travels through Romania, Bolivia, Peru and Kentucky, USA. I played the classical guitar for the sound track. I almost dropped the camera when the crow drops off the wire in front of the church and politely stays within the frame and comes back up to land on the other end of the power line.
These images are from Galati, Romania. I was amazed to see the child walking across the cobblestones with a bright red shirt by a stop sign in front of the Romanian Orthodox Cemetery Chapel with the sun setting behind it all.