or maybe, good people are making good things happen. both, really. i have this very confident feeling that right now is an excellent time to set things in motion, to do things you’ve always wanted to do. the economy might be in the shithouse but creative people still create--we can’t really help ourselves.
but we can help each other! and that’s key, i think. it’s not so much about going out on your own and doing it all for yourself anymore; it’s about collaboration and community support. away from the individual and toward the collective.
here are some happy things happening right now:
jason is releasing an album! right now he says it’s just for xmas presents, but i have a feeling he’s going to start selling copies once we get everything finished. ever since july when we went on that magical ghost town tour he’s been wanting to use a photo i took of the four pines (around the “fiddlers murdered at ophir creek” plaque) as an album cover. he even wrote a song in honor of the fiddlers.
i’m helping him design the covers and booklet--the front cover isn’t finalized yet, but this is what we have so far. (any ideas for improvement are totally welcome!) initially he recorded seven tracks of solo banjo but now he’s thinking about doubling that, possibly bringing in other instruments, and maybe re-recording all the tracks, hopefully at my house where we can jimmyrig a little makeshift recording studio. i have a quality microphone and decent software but i need to look into creating good acoustics. so much to learn, it’s exciting.
he just finished writing a story for the inside of the booklet. it’s about the fiddlers and the day of our grand adventure, and it’s fabulous! he hasn’t written anything in a long time and he was a little self-conscious about reading it to me, but i love it, his writing has so much character and vivacity. i’ll post the story along with all the images (and maaaaybe a music video) once everything’s finished.
rifka is bringing her “my father’s idaho” show to the dawson taylor on 8th street in downtown boise during the month of december, with a special event planned for first thursday (this thursday, december 2nd.) she’s undertaken a (so far) nine-year-long project, scanning and restoring old kodachrome slides taken in idaho by her father during the 50s and 60s.
and now she’s created this wonderful 15-minute DVD, “my father’s idaho in winter,” showcasing select wintery photos from her collection. (the above photo, “patches,” is one of my favorites--she said kids and adults have very different reactions to it. apparently most kids notice the horse right away, but most adults at first just see a winter scene and miss the horse until it’s pointed out to them.)
she composed and recorded some *fantastic* music on piano that plays along with the images in the DVD. on the evening of first thursday she’ll be at the coffee shop playing live while the DVD rolls (starting at 7pm.) i got a sneak preview of this thing before it was totally done, and let me tell you, it’s mesmerizing. she said she intends for people to play it on repeat in the background during holiday parties, dinners, etc., and it’s perfect for that. i’m getting a copy for my dad for xmas. rifka’s also selling calendars and prints, and of course pieces from her winter collection will be hanging on all the walls in the shop.
meet gretchen and knut, a pair of adorable amigurumi woodland gnomes bethany made me for xmas last year.
bethany’s going to have a booth of her crafts (under the name “zazi designs”) at the flying m “hip holiday craft market extravaganza,” december 4 from 9am to 5pm in nampa. this year the craft sale has expanded to five locations in a two-block area of downtown nampa: flying m, the shed, brass razoo, the white pine and puffy mondaes.
it’s inspiring to see people close to me doing what they love and being successful. i’m feeling motivated. so, i have a surprise endeavor of my own in the works. stay tuned...
anyone else have a particularly exciting event or project you're working on?
