Jennie Smith - The Littlest Birds Sing the Prettiest Songs: Folk Music Illustrated by Jennie Smith

The first stories that we hear as children are so very simple, yet to a beginner at the practice of contemplation their territory is as vast as all of creation. A process begins even before one has learned to read. It is the hearing of a story in the language one has just learned to understand and it is the seeing of a picture that one can recognize to be of the world one has come to know. It is the finding of an action that alerts and impresses and may be remembered throughout ones lifetime. And from there it can be all the imagination can contain. And now the animals and plants of the land, air, and water may be remote from the visions of a child when mankind constructs a world all around us of synthetic materials.

So it is good to document the frog and the hill, the birds and the stars, the motivated actions of the people and creatures of the earth. We certainly see them in this book of folk songs. I wish I was a mole in the ground. She proved fickle and turned her back. And ever since then Ive dressed in black. If we didnt know what a frog looked like, or even a rat, still we might see their images as with some of the first beasts etched on a cave wall, now extinct, and might still know the heart of humankind, the love songs, the deeds good and bad.

When its all gone away, what is here to stay? I dont know. Im going out to play. OK. Michael HurleyAstoria, Oregon, Spring 2011

From traditional Scottish ballads to the folk songs of today, song writers have always been inspired by the natural world. Whether depicting the beauty of a spring day while out with a lover or comparing the darkness of winter to ones personal anguish and struggles, it is to nature we turn to describe our inner selves. No matter what time period we find ourselves living in, our human instinct is to seek solace in the oceans, forests, deserts, and other landscapes of the world.

Nearly every living thing makes musica whistle from a man, a chirp from a grasshopper, the sway of a branch in the wind. My inherent love of nature and its vibrant inhabitants has served as the source of inspiration for my drawings. I often find myself listening to folk music while drawing and one day came up with the idea to illustrate the classic ballad, And the Green Grass Grows All Around. It was with that song that this project began. I discovered that the story I heard in this song, as well as many others, naturally lent themselves to visual interpretations. Most of the songs I selected have been special to me at one time or another.

The Carter Family, a group that has had a profound influence on bluegrass, country, southern gospel, and other forms of American roots music, was the first country music I heard as a child. Most likely it was their famous Keep on the Sunny Side that captivated me then. For this project, I chose their Home by the Sea, a gorgeous ballad about the yearning to return to a place that may no longer exist, by the beloved seashore. As the book includes many songs from days long past, I decided to also bring in a few songs from musicians I listen to today. Gillian Welch, who often performs with her collaborator David Rawlings, has a rich voice that feels rooted in the past traditions of Appalachian and American Blues and, at the same time, contemporary. The collection features thirteen songs written and performed by an array of artists that share one common threadturning to nature as a source of inspiration, a metaphor for human feelings, or honoring its mysteries.

Following in the tradition of handing down stories and songs, Id like to pass these drawings on to you. Jennie SmithSan Francisco, Summer 2011

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