Mike Boldt grew up in rural Alberta. He knows about Gophers (Richardson Ground Squirrels, Prairiedogs).
Gophers dig holes. Cows step in those holes and break their legs. Gophers need somewhere to live. Cows need healthy legs. Farmers need their cows to be healthy.
Mike Boldt made an illustrated kids book about Gophers in rural Alberta making farm art, called The Gophers in Farmer Burrows Field.
I started the interview by asking Mike Boldt to read me the story. Mike Boldt tells a good story. He reads slowly with influence. Like playful mollases. You can tell in his voice that he loves his work, its lovely.
The illustrations convey silly, colourful renderings. His slow lovely voice is such a great compliment to the style of the book. Joy in his work. His pictures are live animation you hold in your hands.
For real, gophers are a nusance to farmers. Mike Boldt's books is a playful book, but its also discussing a real life, day to day challenge for farmers. I like it when people write about politics and challenges of the people who live around them. These are meaningful, or at least relevant stories.
Mike Boldt talking about thinking creatively about solving problems, expanding the way we think about "the gopher problem" and other problems in general.
Creating contemporary folklore.
Check out Mike Boldt's work: http://www.boldtmanstudios.com/
Musicians played during this show: Rae Spoon, Duzheknew, Wax Mannequin
No comments:
Post a Comment