- And now we have Soulcraft Bloomington with their first cranky, the story of the Fox and the Dog. And
- this is the children one. Welcome everyone. This year, our story is called The Fox and the Dog, a Scottish
- roll tale.
- was a beautiful red fox, living in the hills of her means of a lush forest, giant tulip trees and sass
- grass, near a beautiful flowing river lined with geodes and primates. These forests had the life and
- fear of a long-spurred squirrel with scars. At this moment in the story, colorful leaves borrowed from
- all but one, covering the ground with crunchy leaves. The blinking firefly of summer and wolf spiders
- had all tucked themselves into loose, warm soil. The monarchs had all begun their journeys south of
- Tijuana weather,
- He could sometimes see the trails of the Sandhill Cranes as they followed. The moles and wolves had
- already begun to lighten their wood stoles in their underground bones. The fox had been out hunting
- this early winter day, but hadn't had much luck. He followed the river and was content, feeling a part
- of this lush forest, actually feeling at peace. I've never felt so at peace in all my life. What a beautiful
- place this is. He sits and stretches his legs. Even though he's a little hungry, he decided to lie down
- and listen to the water in the creek.
- Just as he began to fall asleep, he heard a sound in the distance. He is still with him. Heard the hunters
- and their dogs so far, and the fox knew he needed to run back to his den. From now on, he would have
- to be more careful in the forest. That night, while he hid in his cozy den, he felt the freezing cold
- north winds within the house. The temperature was dropping. The next few days, he carefully went hunting
- in the cold, but had to retreat sooner to his den because of the snow and ice coming down each day.
- Many days passed, and his stomach was growling like it had never growled before. He couldn't sleep well,
- and the rumbling of his stomach were loud and clear. He knew he wouldn't make it to December like this,
- much less March. He thought and thought and thought, and thought of one thing to do, but it would be
- dangerous. What chance did he have? The next evening, when fog sniffed the change in the air, he saw
- the colors of the sky changing as the sun shone. He heard the hooting of the barbell and the beautiful
- trill of the Louisville shell, and left to die.
- He traveled through the forest and passed his familiar friends and favorite animals. He hopped across
- the stones of the creek and up the trees of the forest. After many hours of slow but careful travel,
- he was an empty pit in his stomach. He reached the edge of the forest where there was a road. He had
- to be very careful of any cars at the right lengths because they wouldn't slow down for a box. He crossed
- the road and stood on the edge of a great valley, field after field, and off in the distance, he saw
- a small orange boat.
- Fox traveled through the fields often sticking with the fence line, and although his friends and the
- deer were there, he knew he couldn't stop to talk. Occasionally, he heard a familiar sound, and he knew
- to report it. But he was too hungry and desperate to stop. Finally, he saw the glow, the light coming
- through a window on the old, familiar farmhouse. Sticking to the shadows, Fox began to move closer to
- the barn and house of Morris, getting a little energy from the excitement. As he passed the house in
- a moment, he saw a farmer stirring a pot of soup and settling down for the evening.
- The farmer had fresh bread and soft butter, a warm drink and some apple pie too. Fox then caught a scent
- of the delicious aroma walking in the cold air and could hardly wait. What I wouldn't do for a taste
- of that, but no, I can't get strapped in and carried on. We traveled always on the edge of the light
- being careful not to be seen as we knew how dangerous this place was. Fox knuckled to the barn and heard
- the familiar sound.
- When I went over, I tasted a plump one-cheaper. I tried to grab one, but they were too fast and he was
- too tired. They jumped and kissed and flew all the barrels. The squeeze was too fast and created quite
- the ruckus. The boxing exhausted the nuts of chicken's feet. It was quite scratched up and the shovel
- wound quite heated. I crept to the next room of the barn where I saw a candle and happily, loudly, snoring dog.
- The dog stirs only once the fox is right next to him and says, why cousin fox, what brings you here?
- Fox smiles weakly and says, I don't come here often. You know, it's quite dangerous for me to come here,
- but time's so tough and I felt I had no choice. I've been hunted and it's cold and I'm so hungry. I
- was wondering if you could spare a morsel of food for an old friend. Of course, I have some delicious
- spare food for you here in this shiny bowl. I couldn't nearly finish my food tonight, as he now just
- growls at the fox.
- The fox started devouring the food right away as his stomach rumbled in appreciation until the bowl
- was shiny and he could see his own reflection in it. It was then his cousin dog says, Fox, you need
- to change your ways. You are getting much too old for this running around, trying not to be hunted,
- catching chickens, always looking for foodstuff. You need to get a job. A job, says the fox as he looks
- his lips in the empty bowl.
- What's a job? What am I to do? I'm a fox. Those are the things I'm meant to do. What do you mean a job?
- Explain what a job involves. Husband dog says, yes, a job. I'll start with the best part. You get two
- meals a day of yummy food. It's wonderful. Well, you live in a warm and toasty barn like this with a
- personal kennel and lots of warm blankets. Well, that is a mighty fine necklace you have there. And
- two meals a day sounds really nice right now. That bed also looks really warm and soft.
- What would I need to do for this job? Says the fox. Oh, not much, says the dog. It's mostly barking.
- You bark when you hear something loud approaching the farm. Sometimes you bark, you're in shadow. Or
- sometimes you bark at nothing at all. The farmer thinks you're always working. You get to have a shiny
- necklace like this, and you get food two times a day. That's amazing. Well, I'm great at barking. You
- need to tell me that just for my barking, I can get a comfy bed, food twice a day, and a nice necklace
- with my name on it?
- That's it, bark a lot, be good with the kids, and that's it. Get good food, a soft bed, and a fancy
- necklace. Get a job, as a dog, like me. Fox thought about this for a while, thought about the bed,
- the food, and about how handsome he would look with a fancy collar like the dog. It was then that he
- noticed another shiny thing behind the dog. It was a chain attached to the collar. Wait, what is that
- attached to the necklace, cousin dog? Fox says.
- Oh, that? That's my change, says the dog. Wait, are you telling me you're a prisoner? No, no, of course
- not. I am treated very well. I get water at least once a day, and always get the most delicious pedigree
- food. I'm definitely not a prisoner, or a servant. It's a job that I've got. Just a job, says Cousin
- Dog. Fox thought a lot about this. He thought again about the cozy, warm bed, the easy food, and the barking.
- Cousin dog, I like those things you have. I do, but the thing I love most in life is my freedom. So
- I know the life of the dog is not for me. I thank you for the food and company you share with me tonight,
- but I must go now. And with the flick of his bushy tail, he was out of the barn and traveling again
- in the shadows and back through the fields, more quickly and with energy this time. He knew it would
- be the last time he would see his cousin, the dog.
- He hurried across the street and backed into his forest home. It seemed he couldn't get there fast enough.
- The colors of the sunrise were just beginning to show as he stopped by the river again for a moment,
- took a sip of the cold, refreshing water. He breathed a sigh of relief and joy. It was good being back
- in the beautiful forest and with his wild friends again. Once the sun rose, he was back in his den sleeping
- soundly with a full belly, dreaming of the friends he would visit tomorrow and mice he would chase and catch.
- He was content. His cousin the dog would often stare at the moon, and when he would sometimes hear the
- growling, a high-pitched yip and yelp off far in the distance, and he would wonder what his wily cousin
- the fox was up to. The end.
- It is a battle many of us feel internally, even if we are not always conscious of it. It comes from
- the old Scottish travel communities, but it's told around the world now. I teach at Harmany School,
- and my name's Elaine.
- We have at Harmony kind of a rotating every three years situation with an art year, a multicultural
- year, and a science year. And this happened to be our art year. So last month was art month. And so
- each teacher paired with a local artist. And we focused on some sort of art project. And we have a big
- display right now over at Fountain Square.
- if you get a chance to head over there too. Some of our art is still over there. But I got paired with
- Elizabeth and she came and taught me and about eight-ish, middle, fifth or sixth grade up to high schoolers
- about making crankies. So our kids, we just kind of, we spread a scroll down the hallway during pizza
- day a couple weeks ago and just told the kids, just fill this thing up with
- messages and pictures of hope and love and peace. And there's a lot of chihuahuas through here. This
- was an unmonitored activity, so no telling what's going to pop up here. I tried to look through it.
- I think it's all OK. We let basically preschoolers up through seniors in high school loose on this scroll.
- It was primarily the younger kids that got into it.
- So yeah, this rhino that we have housed ours in was made for a previous art year. We've been trying
- to figure out how many years ago. At least 10, maybe 12, 15 years ago, this rhino was made to promote
- a former art show. These were put around town. I don't know. Some of you guys may remember seeing them.
- They were promoting the Harmony Art Show that year. And so we cut a couple holes in it and kind of made it
- 20-year art collaboration with the idea that we may make some future scrolls and future art years and
- change it out. So, yeah. I really don't know what I did. I know it's not as long as some of the others,
- so I'm really incredible. Scrolls here today.
- A potato. Mr. Potato. And a cat potato. Some bread. It was clearly lunch time. There was a pizza. Here
- came the chihuahuas. Once the chihuahuas started, they didn't stop. But all the kids in our group, they
- made individuals smaller.
- And we had those over at the Fountain Square Mall display when we had our opening night on April 3rd
- and 1st Friday. But we sent those home with kids and we kind of worried about them sitting out at Fountain
- Square Mall for the month while the rest of the exhibit is still there.
- Does this guy get away? No. He's eating him. And they don't care. Freaked out. The fish eat the stars?
- The universe is so huge. It's scary. It's beautiful. But is it really eat or be eaten?
- Yes, everyone must eat, but they shouldn't over-consume or devour. Each life form contributes to the
- lives of others in some way, at least hopefully once. So eat and respect what is eaten. But what about
- the beings who devour?
- Those who devour should always fear those they aim to destroy, because beings will fight back, maybe
- not today or tomorrow, but someday, so they can live, so they can eat. Life is resilient. They're chopping them up.
- based on an old song that goes back at least 500 years. There's a fresco in England that has parts of
- this song on it that is a 500-year-old fresco. Some people think this is about the story of Robin Hood.
- And one of the things about the Robin Hood story is that it was
- looking for saw Robin Hood as someone who was fighting for justice. So it may or may not have to do
- with something like that. Oh, Kilcock Robin, me said the sparrow with my little
- It was I who killed Cock Robin. And but who saw him die? Me said the fly with my teeny tiny eye. It
- was I who saw him die. Oh, but who caught his blood? Me said the fish with my
- My little silvery dish was I who caught his flood. Oh, but who will make the shroud? Me said the beetle
- with my little thread and needle was I who made the shroud. Oh, but who
- dig his grave. Me said the crow with my little spade and hoe was I who dig his grave. Oh, but who will
- be the clerk? Me said the linen, I will be there in a minute. Oh, I will be the clerk.
- the parson. Me said the rook with my little tiny book. Oh, I will be the parson. Oh, but who will be
- chief mourner? Me said the dove. I mourn for my love. Oh, I will be chief mourner.
- sing his song. Me send the swallow just as loud as I can holler. Oh, I will sing his song. Oh, but who
- will bear the paw? Me send the wren, both the cock and the hen. Oh, we will bear the paw.
- I will toll the bell. Please send the bull because I can't pull. Oh I will toll the bell.
- a sighin' and a sovin' when they heard the bell toll. Poor, poor, poor car.
- The life of a lotus nut, a lotus seed, is going to travel a river and through time, in this case for
- 200 years. If needed, this kind of seed can remain dormant that long before sprouting. American lotus
- used to be one of the best staple wild foods here. Almost all parts of the plant are edible. Our inspiration
- to use the lotus nut as
- The main character of this cranky came from many adventurous trips gathering the seeds and lotus roots,
- also called mud bananas, with Soulcraft kids and adult classes. At the very end there will be a boomerang.
- seven years ago. Our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated
- to the proposition that all men are created equal.
- decided not to fly south for the winter. However, soon the weather started to turn so cold
- that he reluctantly started southward anyway. In a short time, ice began to form on his wings.
- Very quickly, he fell to earth in a barnyard almost frozen.
- was passing by and ended up crapping right on the little sparrow. The sparrow thought it was the end,
- but then the manure warmed him and defrosted his wings. Warm and happy and able to breathe, he started
- to sing. Just then a large cat came by, cleared away the manure, investigating the sounds. He found
- the chirping sparrow.
- and ate him promptly. Now it may seem that there are no lessons here, but in fact, there are.
- There are three. Everyone who shits on you is not necessarily your enemy. Number two.
- Everyone who gets you out of shit is not necessarily your friends. And lastly, number three, if you're
- warm and you're happy in a pile of shit, just keep your mouth shut.
- I'm a casting artist. I typically work in iron and bronze and all that stuff, but I got into crankies
- and learning about them through Elizabeth. We met during an internship. But yeah, so this is actually
- supposed to be a cast iron furnace, which is a blast furnace. So this is what you would see if you were
- melting iron. And bear with me, because this is my first cranky. Yeah, so when I was 21, I went to my
- first iron fort.
- So it was just really hot and overwhelming.
- So an iron core is an event where an iron furnace melts iron for past metal sculpture.
- It's a place where, one, you learn about hot metal. You learn how to make some mistakes.
- And it's also a place for found family. So every cast iron artist is part of the ongoing family tree.
- So I started learning through Cast Iron, through Marjole Beans, who teaches over in Boston, Massachusetts.
- So she was really the person who first taught me and got me going into iron.
- and also Jerry Massey. Now I'm 26 and I've gone to multiple iron cores and also ransom and I've learned
- a lot throughout the process.
- all the way to the end. Be sure to check out Sculptor Trails in Salisbury if you want to do some iron
- core. And now we're going to invite everyone to come on stage, check out some crankies, and make a scroll.