Crankie
‘Crankie’ is an old visual storytelling art form, historically known as moving panorama. An illustrated scroll is wound onto two spools within a crankie box, the handles are then cranked to move the images along and bring them to life. Shadow puppetry and music can play a significant role, adding atmosphere and magic to a performance. Popular amongst folk artists, crankie scrolls sustain those voices of our cultural heritage, revived and reimagined.
Watch some of my Crankies!
A short documentary on the making of ‘The Boatman’s Floating Chapel’
The Crankie Box
Crankies can be made any size, using almost anything. From a matchbox to a suitcase……
A Crankie Box made from an old upcycled drawer
Painting a Crankie Box
Performance, Puppets & Shadows
As as an artist, a storyteller and a musician, micro theatre ticks all the creative boxes as a medium to explore. It involves scene design, prop making and shadow puppetry, as well as putting narratives and soundscapes together. Some of my puppets and scenes become inspiration for animated works too; I love to merge the physicality of material characters in live theatre with fantastical animated worlds, in an effort to blur the line between real and unreal.
Demos and workshops
Taking the crankie to events such as exhibitions and art markets, allows me to interact with the public, demonstrating how the device works and having a lot of fun with puppets.
I run workshops on how to construct simple articulated puppets for all ages.
‘Dive into the night’ Wild Swimming Exhibition. Frog puppet workshop at the Museum of Oxford
World building with art students
I did a shadow puppet crafting and world building workshop as part of a work experience week. Two A level art students joined me aboard and we created characters and scenes for them to inhabit. These were then setup in a light box and photographed to create marketing materials and an animated intro. We explored suitable materials, ways to articulate using wire and split pins, as well as collage techniques.
Smaller Projects
Dance of the Death Sprite is a concept in motion, with the intention to eventually perform the stories live. Here are some experiments in conveying emotion and atmosphere utilising soundscape and shadow puppetry!. The beginnings of a tale about the forbidden evoking of a death sprite, who is then plagued with a lifetime trapped inside a crankie box.
Building Soundscapes and emotion
