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Art Shows, BRC Activities

#100: The Humming Bird

November 4, 2023

The hummingbird is a familiar visitor to the BRC domicile, as red sweet water feeders are stationed on our upper deck every summer to attract these flighty avians. The below photo was taken with a cellphone by speedily photographing multiple images to capture a freeze-frame of the hyperkinetic fluttering of the bird`s wings.This autumn, a Humming Bird banjo was crafted in the BRC workshop for the 64th Annual Central Bank of Boone County Art Show. The peghead head featured feathery birds airily fluttering to and fro. In the scientific nomenclature, this specie is categorized as belonging to the Order of Apodiformes, the Suborder of Trochili, and the Family of Trochilidae.

Flowers appear on the truss rod cover and fretboard representing the vital food source of nectar that fuels the birds` high-powered energy requirements during flight. For the winter months, hummingbirds migrate south via a long airborne journey to Mexico or Central America.

BRC banjos feature an inlay on the heel of the neck for the eyes only of the musician. Adjacent to the below (inverted) flowery image appears an inscription indicating that the Humming Bird is the 100th banjo produced by the BRC workshop. Since the inception of the Banjo Rehabilitation Center in 2011, thirty-nine of its banjos have appeared in art shows.

On display below in the mirrored lobby, the Humming Bird banjo won a ribbon and was sold during the yearly weekend autumnal Boone County Bank Art Show. The BRC couple missed the awards ceremony, as they were away visiting grandkids in Texas.

When the grandparents returned from the Lone Star State, they were welcomed home with a spectacular rainbow that arched over their mid Missouri neighborhood. In a photograph from the upper deck above the BRC workshop, the colorful atmospheric phenomenon is admired by the banjo craftsman seen standing in the nearby shadows.

From the BRC:  Best Wishes to all for a lovely autumn season.

Art Shows

An A.I. Banjo?

October 14, 2023

The autumn exhibit at the community art league this year is an interpretative show entitled, “OK, Computer.” Participants chose titles from a list provided by an Artificial Intelligence Title Generator, and the artists were thus challenged to interpret and transform the selected title into their genre of work. The exhibit was an experiment to show the personality and imagination of the artists. The BRC craftsman picked-out the title “Playful Moment” from the computer list, as this agenda seemed to lend itself to a musical instrument. Eighty-five works were submitted to the juried show, and 27 were rejected. The Playful Moment entry was among the 58 submissions that were accepted into the competition.

While designing his A.I. titled 5-stringer, the BRC banjoist strove to explore the concepts of music and time. Does music exist when merely transcribed on a written page, or does it actually exist only when played on an instrument that vibrates the listener `s eardrums? Regardless of the instrument, each note has a finite and fleeting existence when performed – like a shooting star. Music is governed by time signatures, and as we all know- time flies, and sometimes with wings.

These concepts are echoed on the upper neck of the instrument. At the gala opening reception, gallery visitors closely study the BRC`s Artificial Intelligence themed banjo.

From the BRC: What might an A.I. generated Scruggs style breakdown sound like?

 

BRC Activities

Summer Falls to Autumn

September 23, 2023

A sunny lakeside photo of the BRC domicile taken from the opposite shoreline earlier this month shows our abode surrounded by leafy trees. The back door to the banjo workshop is seen on the ground level next to the shaded stairs. Despite the blue skies and a mirrored reflection on the still waters, close inspection of the trees shows several shades of fading greenery. Summer in the Heartland was on the wane.

Last winter, the “Snowy Owl” BRC banjo #94 was purchased by an out-of-town buyer during the annual Holiday exhibit at the local community art gallery. The new owner has local kinfolk, and he stopped-by the BRC workshop a few days ago to have his 5-stringer signed by its craftsman and to get a few tips on tuning and picking style. While visiting the BRC workshop, he purchased the “Peace Eagle” BRC banjo #99 which was then also signed.

A photo on the upper deck shows the customer with the banjo-builder. In the background appear the very early beginnings of autumnal coloring of the nearby valley where a previous BRC homestead was located years ago.

From the BRC: Have a colorful autumn season in your neck of the woods.

 

Jamming

Out on a Limb

September 2, 2023

A few years ago, several of the ladies in our mid week jam session in a Lake of the Ozarks township formed a splinter group  called “Out On A Limb.” These musicians perform regularly at nearby retirement homes and church functions, and they regale their audiences with lilting three-part harmony singing. In addition, one band member is a veteran clogger and a burgeoning harmonica player. Recently, the band was scheduled to perform at a local church luncheon for handicapped citizens, but at the last minute one of the musicians was unable to attend the gig. The BRC banjoist was hurriedly recruited to round-out the quintet.

The church staff provided a splendid sound system, and the banjo picker filled-in baritone harmony vocals for the missing voice. During the performance, the BRC craftsman also played a novel harmonica duet with the clogger in a nostalgic rendition of “Red River Valley” as seen above. The delighted throng of luncheon guests, their care providers, and church staff applauded approvingly.

After the gig, the banjo guy was presented with  a marvelous jar of peach preserves freshly canned by the guitarist. He gratefully thanked  “Out On A Limb” for inviting him to share in their music before such an appreciative audience.

From the BRC:  Ladies, please call upon him again, soon.

Art Shows

Together

August 19, 2023

The business community in our township sponsors a social meeting hall that hosts monthly exhibits by invited area artists. The curator of this private gallery is an erstwhile director of the local art league. This month, the BRC craftsman and his artist wife (below) were invited to present a joint show to mutually display their diverse works.

An evening opening reception included club members and invited guests who milled about studying the unusual admixture of oil paintings and banjos. The crowd delighted in the painter`s commentary of vision and style as translated on her seventeen canvases that were hung in the gallery, and the banjo builder explained the features of his banjos to curious visitors.

The festive event included a Q&A intermission where both the BRC wife and her craftsman spouse addressed the assembled crowd to explain in detail their uniquely individualized media and answer many questions. The BRC musician demonstrated one of his three displayed banjos by taking a 5-stringer down from its wall hook and performing “Greensleeves” in four movements with three successive time signature changes and four styles of finger picking.

Generous applause was offered to both exhibitors concluding a gala opening reception on a warm and humid summer evening. With a wink, the banjoist quietly joked to his artist wife that his nickname for the show was “The Sacred and the Profane.”

From the BRC:  Keep it cool and together. Autumn is just around the corner.