Indian Steel Guitar

Inspired by the cd of BOLLYWOOD STEEL GUITAR put out by the awesome Sublime Frequencies record company.

The Tool Shed

Inspired by our day trip to Everett, WA. Soundtrack is Tennessee Ernie Ford singing (a song that I used to think was written by Michael Hurley) Cry of the Wild Goose.

Watercolors inspired by Foxfire Books

Thanks to my Uncle Al for letting me borrow two of his Foxfire books. The two I grabbed have sections on banjo and dulcimer making as well as violin making, knife making, hide tanning, animal care and wood carving. Not only are the books focused on the most interesting aspects of American rural life, they are beautifully designed books/manuals/artifacts. Foxfire was started as a high school project in the 1960's and ended up becoming a popular how to/interview series on simple living. Soundtrack provided by Curt Bouterse- his albums are available here.

End Pages for Nonexistent Books

Some possible titles for these books could be American Hemlocks, The Seahorse In English Literature, American Tallships of the 18th Century, The Reindeer Mailmen, Song of the Sami: The Laplanders in Music, The Athabascan Snow Shoe, and Tugboats of the Pacific Northwest.

Russian Ladder House

Initially inspired by a wooden Russian church whose name now escapes me. Also inspired by Brodsky and Utkin-The paper architects. Soundtrack is from an album whose only english in the title says: Unique Music of Old Russia.

Crocodile Pattern

The Legend of the Jet-Ski Crocodiles...they learned how to drive jet -skis and motor boats. A guy tried to stop them but they drove over his head and killed him. The ruled the lake for a thousand years with their jet-ski technology.

Harry S. Treeman

Fire, Fire, I Heard The Cry (A Linocut Animation)

Fire Fire I Heard The Cry from Drew Christie on Vimeo.

Finally, A linocut animation.

Wallace, Idaho

Audio Accompaniment provided by Jimmy Driftwood playing the fiddle in C minor tuning. The song is called Goin' To Hunt The Buffalo. You can download the whole album over at Allen's Archive.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

Inspired by the book Timber by Ralph W. Andrews. Soundtrack provided by Buzz Martin, the fantastic logger/country singer and songwriter from Oregon's coast range. He was born in a tent and died in a hunting accident in Alaska in the early 80's. I was told about Buzz by Lelan at M&L rare records and models in Ravenna. Thanks Lelan!

Monks with Guns

I was recently at the Vatican and while strolling through one of the Pope's libraries I stumbled upon this picture. I believe these monks were a vigilante sub-sect of the Benedectine order of monks. They stockpiled weapons and artillery well up into the 1970's.

The Continuing Adventures of the Bishop Perry Tillis Episode One: In which Bishop Tillis gets a boombox.

Inspired by the Mississippi Records release In Times Like These by Bishop Perry Tillis. Listen to the first track from the album right here.

The Parade

Snapping Turtle

Audio accompaniment.

My Dream Had No Name (Raiding of Baranov's Castle)

A new scene from My Dream Had No Name. Wherein something ancient and strange is stolen from Baranov's Castle in Russian Amerika. Soundtrack provided by myself finger picking the dulcimer to the archaic tune Nine Hundred Miles (a relative of Rueben's Train and Train 45). This tune will be on the limited edition vinyl lp soundtrack to accompany the book.

Spring Sale! Everything Must Go!

All linocut prints and drawings (that I still have) available for 75 bucks each. You can purchase a couple from my Etsy store (which I started 2 years ago and forgot about) or just directly from me for the rest. Plus Etsy takes some percentage of the sale. So email me for inquiries at geniuschristie@gmail.com. Be part of the Mercantile Experience!

My Dream Had No Name (interior cabin scene)

Audio accompaniment provided by myself on the cardboard mountain dulcimer. The tuning is C minor I believe and I learned it from Davey. The song is a medley of Shady Grove and The Cuckoo. Jean Ritchie does a similar thing on one of her early albums (perhaps her first album for Elektra).

Drawings from the Yuri Norstein Presentation/Lecture

Master of Russian Cut Out Animation Yuri Norstein gave a presentation/lecture at The Evergreen State College last night. We were lucky enough to get tickets (thanks to Stefan)- although the ticketbooth turnips tried to sell my ticket to someone else. I had him sign the top one and he thought it was funny. Here is a link to his great animation Tale of Tales. And here is his Wikipedia.

My Dream Had No Name

First page from my new book I'm working on called My Dream Had No Name. Audio accompaniment provided by myself on the cardboard mountain dulcimer. The song is Happy Land and is a Christian hymn written by the Scotsman Andrew Young in 1838.

Raccoon Dogs

Inspired by the wonderful book Monarch of Deadman Bay: The Life and Death of A Kodiak Bear By Roger Caras.
The raccoon dog is native to China, Korea, Japan, and Northeastern Russia. Here is the wikipedia. Soundtrack provided by the Korean Psych guitar hero Shin Jung Hyun.

Prototype Versions of my Book/Zines available

Available from Ms Valerie Park Distro in Olympia.

2009

2007

Ghana Brass Band

Thanks to Spencer for sending me the photo that inspired this linocut. Audio accompaniment provided by an Ethiopian High Life band. For more great African music head to Awesome Tapes From Africa.

The Antler Attic

Inspired by an actual photograph of an attic full of antlers which I took in Eden, Wyoming. Audio accompaniment provided by myself and Davey on banjo (tuned down to a low D Dock Boggs tuning) and guitar (respectively). It is an instrumental interpretation of Ed Sturgill's song '31 Depression Blues (famously covered by the New Lost City Ramblers).

The A.L. Lloyd Treehouse

A. L. Lloyd or Bert Lloyd, was an English folk singer and collector of folk songs, and was a key figure in the folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s. Lloyd was sent to Australia as a youth and began collecting folk songs while there. Lloyd was a communist and pioneer in the field of collecting and recording "Industrial Folk Music". You can download a great album of his here. Audio accompaniment provided by the 70's Norwegian folk rock band Folque.