CRANKSTERS L - Z

Dejah with her father-in-law Louis Leger

From Seattle, Washington - Dejah began making crankies in 2011. She creates the gorgeous paper cut scrolls and her father-in-law Louis is the crankist!  dejahleger.com. They are in the family band La Famille Leger, bringing Acadian and French Canadian tunes and lore to the Pacific Northwest. Dejah and I have performed in almost every crankie festival in Seatlle. In addition, she often plays with me in the band PODORYTHMIE.

This is Matt performing his 2018 "cat crankie" at the 4th Annual Baltimore Crankie Fest. Photo by Matt Kelley.

From Balimore, MD, Matt Muirhead is a painter, musician and pioneering crankie technician! He uses a form of  silk screening to create the images on the scroll. He adds music by using mbira and other instruments (some connected to the crank). In this video he has also added a  foot-operated puppet (shown in the photo) to create a kind of "one man band" kind of crankie performance. To watch a video of this crankie, click here.

Visit his website

Pamela Wyn Shannon

Pamela Wyn Shannon is a gifted singer, guitarist and artist from Wales.  Read about her crankies here.  Watch one of her crankies "Caravan Crankie Lullaby" here. Enjoy!

Rhyfel y Sais Bach, at Aberystwyth Storytelling Festival. Photo c Felix Cannadam

Peter is a storyteller, illustrator, writer, artist, folklorist, and crankie-maker from
west Wales who has written several books of Welsh Folk Tales and illustrated plenty
of children's books. He makes crankies to complement his storytelling, and
frequently wanders around Appalachia telling tales.  In 2019 he organised an
exhibition and festival of Welsh Appalachian Folk Art and Storytelling at the
Monongalia Arts Center in Morgantown WV. Watch a master storyteller in action! Visit his website cabinetofcuriosities.moonfruit.com

Brendan Taafe

Brattleboro, VT Singer, instrumentalist (fiddle, banjo, guitar, mbira), crankie-maker! He has coordinated several crankie festivals in Vermont.  Watch one of his crankies All I Ask is a Tall Ship.   Check out his website!  brendantaaffe.com

Blair Thomas founded the national and international touring puppet theater company Blair Thomas & Co.  in 2002. Based in Chicago, IL, they have twice received the international UNIMA awards for excellence in the art of puppetry. Watch "The Blackbird" crankie in the "MOVING BACKDROPS" page.  blairthomas.org