About this website:
The website will always be partly incomplete by design. Much of the internet is devoted to definitions, reification, and purity- reductionism meant to define experiences before we even have them. I want to explore experiences which defy both categorization and description. I will share ideas here in the form of images, sound, and words, but I will do my best to acknowledge the limitations of these. I hope you can incorporate my ideas into the fullness of your own life. I also hope to use these pages to foster collaboration and in-person experiences. So, here are some example of what I will publish here in the way the website is laid out:
- Faerielore: Over the last two decades, I have researched folklore on the edges of what people consider human. While this includes examples from all senses, my primary focus has been on traditional music- from many cultures- which either served as primary sources for lore, or were considered the result of interactions with supernatural beings. I enjoy exploring these liminal spaces outside of the binary of sacred and secular music, and what these various subgenres say about the nature of creativity and how we think of the experience of being human. Some of what I will share here are descriptions of these specific subgenres, instruments associated with nonhuman/supernatural sources, and examples of specific pieces of music.
- Music of many other varieties will be covered under this heading. I will feature some original compositions, influenced by certain aspects of Early Music such as harmonic just intonation, veering into xenharmonic tunings. It makes more sense when you hear it. Depending on the circumstances in which I can create, I might use physical modeling synthesis, or a variety of acoustic and semi-acoustic instruments from different parts of the world. Under this section, I will also introduce some of my more unusual instruments.
- Storytelling: In live performances, I use storytelling to weave together music. I consider most of what I do storytelling, but the verbal form helps create a matrix for the direct experiences provided by the music. so one of the things for which I will use the Storytelling header is descriptions of the performance sets I do. Other posts in this section will be original speculative fiction.
- Visual Arts: I have created a menagerie of many fractal-flame images. My approach to fractals is much more narrative than many fractal artists. Each fractal that I create starts as a pattern that suggests a story, and I alter the pattern to better explore that tale. At times, I use this art in my live performances. I have also exhibited large prints in galleries, coffee shops, and conventions. I do not use generative AI, and if I link or refer to AI-created content by mistake, let me know. I will also use this section to showcase the occasional items I make by hand.
- Community: This is the wider concept to which all of the above points. In the past few years, and increasingly this year, I have been thinking about how artistic events and in-person festivals can contribute to more holistic thinking, long-term planning, interactions with other people and the natural world- a toolbox for building community and resilience. So part of this section will be essays in which I try to synthesize history , science, and personal observations toward this end. In previous versions of my website, I had linklists of people and groups I interact with, but in the current blog format, I will try to interview fellow artists and community builders.
- Contact: rather than having comments on each blog entry, I will have links to my profiles on Bluesky, Mastodon, and other AT Protocol and Federated social media, and should have an email widget installed soon. Bear with me as I learn how to fit all the parts together.
- Events that I am creating or to which I am contributing.
Now, about me:
I was raised with some aspects of the folklore I now study, as well as having family members who would sing Robert Burns songs, and quote Blake or Milton at random times. My academic foundations are in Linguistics and Anthropology. I have worked in non-profits, libraries and archives, done freelance research, and a fair amount of manual labor. For about a decade my life involved working as a stage show performer and instrument seller at various Renaissance fairs. I had to leave the road when chronic illness led to complications and I needed help that I couldn’t find living in the woods. I still participate in local events thanks to a number of people who let me contribute when I can. I live in a walkable neighborhood surrounded by the arts and a diverse community in an area you might recognize from Breaking Bad. I have elflocks on top of my head that have been growing for three of my five decades, but they don’t grow nearly as wild as the neurons inside my head. I will discuss some of these things in more detail in my writings on community.