Seattle Sketcher returns to Shoreline for crankie artists

Sketch by Gabriel Campanario
Courtesy Gabriel Campanario

Our old friend, the Seattle Sketcher, made a third trip to Shoreline to sketch and write an article about a local family of musicians who are using a very old art form to communicate their songs.

By Gabriel Campanario

Impromptu folk performances at the Léger household in Shoreline are not unusual for the self-described family of music geeks. 

Dejah is playing the guitar and singing a traditional French-Canadian tune, while her husband, Devon, accompanies on the violin, and her father-in-law, Louis, operates a “crankie,” an illustrated panorama brought to life by a hand crank, that tells the story of a little rabbit hiding in a cabbage. 

Dejah, a leading force in the local community of crankie artists, started incorporating this old visual-art form into her musical act to help non-French-speaking kids and adults engage with her songs in a different way. “Music and images make each other more powerful,” she said.

Read the rest of his article in The Seattle Times

Other ventures into Shoreline: Seattle Sketcher and Mural Artist in Shoreline again and Seattle Sketcher in Shoreline.