Crankies, also known as Moving Panoramas, are analog storytelling devices originating in Europe in the 18th century. (This website has a fantastic collection of artist-made crankies for your viewing pleasure!)

The basic form is a box fitted with two spools, upon which is wound a long scroll illustrated with the story you would like to tell. The story is then hand-cranked as a song is sung or the story is told. Crankies can be as small as a matchbox or as big as a theater stage, and they can be lit from behind in silhouette-form, or even sewn from colorful cloth.

When I saw the call to submit a crankie for this years virtual Crankie Cabaret as part of the Berkeley Old Time Music Convention, I couldn’t resist the challenge to try out something new. The prompt was to feature an old-time song, and I immediately thought of one of my favorite murder ballads, Wind & Rain. And after doing a bit more research into the history of the song, the serendipity of my choice felt very resonant.

Wind & Rain is known by several names - 'The Twa' Sisters', 'The Swan Swims', 'The Bows of London' - and the very first written record of the song dates back to 1656 in England! It also may have roots in Scandinavia because versions of the song exist there as well. I chose to use the lyrics from the Gillian Welch version published in 2001, which I felt lent itself well to a crankie.

Both England and Scandinavia are part of my ancestral lineage, so this connection felt very fitting. And, as part of my journey to get more in touch with my ancestry, I had actually recently purchased a book on Scherenschnitte, the Danish art of papercutting. So, incorporating cut paper imagery felt like the perfect way to bring it all together.

Since I’ve never made a crankie before it was a lot of fun to figure out the mechanics of the scroll and sketching the imagery. I chose to make the scroll the size of an 18” roll of paper to keep things simple, and I rigged up a ‘window’ so I could sketch and see what each scene might look like in the box.

Once I figured out the sketch it was time to start papercutting! I had a lot of fun drawing each scene and working on my scherenschnitte skills. I chose to use black tyvek for the cutouts because it’s super durable and hard to tear.

Working on this project had a lot to do with connecting with my English roots, so I wanted to incorporate native trees and shrubs as a part of the imagery. I decided to feature Alder, Birch, Hawthorne, Hazel, Rowan, and Willow, all trees that are important in the Druidic tradition. And they are placed throughout the story in ways that reference their magical associations (Birch, for example, is often associated with new beginnings or welcomings, so it is the first tree that appears in the story, right before the Mill). I also included Gorse, Hazel, and Heather shrubbery, which are all native to the English countryside.

Because I’ve never made a crankie before I also had to figure out how to make the box. And I am lucky to have a husband who has some woodworking tools and was willing to lend me a hand!

Very proud of how the box turned out - the velvet curtains were such a good final touch! Once the box was finished I felt confident starting in on constructing the scroll - which meant gluing down all of the papercuts I had been working on.

After all the glue had dried I was finally able to see it in action. Loading the final scroll into the box was SO exciting! Seeing a project you’ve been working on for over a month finally come to life is really an incredible thing.

And now, I am proud to officially present my Wind & Rain crankie!

Now that I have the box I feel tempted to keep making crankies - we’ll see what might come next!

Wind & Rain Crankie

And now, I am proud to officially present my Wind & Rain crankie!