December 2020 ScarabCreative Arts Academy in Salt Lake City hired me to direct a film of this performance choreographed by my sister-in-law, Alissa Schirtzinger Baird.
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December 2018 Women Who Play With Fire Short FilmThis short film is a collaboration with my friend Mike McTeer. We teamed up one day while and Cathie McCormick and Bonnie Dunn were firing their Raku ceramic-ware to document their process, honor their creativity and highlight their ongoing annual collaborative exhibition called "Women Who Play With Fire".
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July 2018 W Duo & American TrainOur little band drove up to Provo to perform live, without a net on the Highway 89 radio show.
Listen to the full episode here: www.byuradio.org/highway89 |
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March 2018 Elephant ScrollThis design is a pretty dramatic departure from what I'm used to. The idea was to create some sort of image that could be used to print on merchandise and sell to raise money for elephant sanctuaries. I've also been inking the design on large Japanese style scrolls to sell for fundraising purposes. The scrolls cost $250 each.
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January 2017 Women's March Prayer Flags ProjectA prayer flag is a rectangular piece of cloth on which a prayer is printed. They are often found strung along ridges and cliffs in the Himalayas and are believed to bless the surrounding countryside and its inhabitants." –Wikipedia
My wife, a number of friends and I collected around 800 prayer flags from the USA and other countries commemorating the massive women's march event in early January. My wife carried a few hundred of the flags in the Washington D.C. march with friends. We organized an installation exhibition around the flags at Raven Heart Gallery in Kanab, Utah where attendees who hadn't already made and donated flags had the opportunity to make a flag, have it sewn to strand and installed during the exhibition. |
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2017 Virga2017 Audience Choice Award winner, Utah Dance Film Festival
FILM DESCRIPTION The true motion of clouds is almost imperceptible. Timelapse photography reveals their motion is quite complex; like dancing. They roll and twist, rise and fall, shrink and expand, appear and disappear. Virga is a tiny reciprocal act of acknowledgement, imitation and appreciation for this aesthetic natural wonder that has been occurring for over 4 billion years. This performance took place during monsoon season on a plateau near Kanab, Utah. While being filmed in real time and timelapse, the performer, Alissa Schirtzinger Baird, moves at a speed similar to the perceived motion of clouds, approximately 2 inches every 6 seconds. DANCER / CHOREOGRAPHER STATEMENT "I was intrigued and eager by the challenge to dance as slowly as a cloud. What I didn’t expect was the absolute feeling of serenity. Just as the wind moves clouds, I was inspired to feel the wind and reflect it’s touch. To discover how a small initiation reverberated into every inch of my body was so powerful and a lesson in the unification of mind, body, and elements." -Alissa Schirtzinger Baird |
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2017 Canyon of Motion Film2017 Arches Director's Choice Award, Utah Dance Film Festival
FILM DESCRIPTION The Grand Canyon is typically recognized as a spectacular landscape of light and space. Most people visit to catch a sunset or witness the extreme distance beyond its rim. This film is about the canyon being a landscape of time and motion. No part of the canyon is at rest and every element is in constant motion. Even the old walls of the canyon are moving on a geologic timescale. This performance filmed in real time and timelapse at Angel's window, expresses many of these movements found above and below the canyon rim. The duration of the actual performance was over 40 minutes during which time the performer moved approximately 2 inches every 6 seconds to create a total of 30 seconds of timelapse video. This video and other realtime footage edited to varying speeds was used to create this film. The film is monochrome to better help the viewer focus on the motions of the canyon without the distraction of color. DANCER/CHOREOGRAPHER STATEMENT "With the world moving so fast and everything right at your fingertips, the idea of slowing down to reflect natures speed perked my curiosity. To feel the texture of the stone under my feet; the wind push against against my body; the ants discovering the crevasse of my toes; the trembling of my limbs; and to look over the abyss of the Grand Canyon’s extraordinary North Rim gave me the deep sense of spirituality. Mother nature enlightened my soul about patience, acceptance, and discovery which I tried to reflect within my movement." -Alissa Schirtzinger Baird |
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