IN FOCUS: News from Sutton Studios

Issue No. 36

July 2010

SPOTLIGHT

Radiant Rodentia
Many families decide to have cats, dogs, birds or fish as pets.

Others have rats.

The Hoglunds settled on rats as pets because "Kari, our 6th grade daughter, went to a friend's house and saw their pet rat. She decided she wanted one. . .came home, researched, saved all her money and we (Jen and Dan) decided that she was responsible enough to own a rat of her own. As the months went by, Annie, our 4th grade daughter, decided she wanted her own rat. Rats need companions anyway, so we easily gave in!" (Little brother Danny looks like he enjoys Minnie and Daisy, too!)

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Having rats as pets can be challenging. Jen recalls the time when, "unbeknownst to any of us, Minnie and Daisy's cage was left open - Kari didn't want to tell anyone, but from the look on her face, we all knew something was up...Minnie had escaped! We looked high and low in every room in our house, except the one she really knew best...Kari's bedroom! Minnie had scurried all the way from our den (where we keep the cage), through the kitchen, up the stairs and situated herself in her owner's bedroom! They don't call a pet a best friend for no reason, eh?"

This was the second visit to Sutton Studios for the Hoglund family, who had come in 1999 when the family had fewer rodents. "We have always admired David's work at EAC (Evanston Athletic Club) and we know his reputation with pets is outstanding, so we couldn't wait! Our experience with David Sutton was UNFORGETTABLE - David instantly bonded not only with our children, but with the rats as well! He got down on their level, greeted each of them with enthusiasm and captured their interest immediately - 'Which one of you is Minnie and which is Daisy?' our children will never forget this great experience at Sutton Studios...and we will continue to come back!! Thank you for a memorable portrait!"

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REFLECTION & REFRACTION

Life Twists, Life Turns
I'm giving my Rescue Tales theme a vacation this month. My attention has been elsewhere, and I was out of town for a bit - journeyed, in fact, to Huntsville, Alabama, to attend the sixth annual Cigar Box Guitar Extravaganza.

As you might guess, there's a story behind that.

My daughter started taking an interest in my guitars three or four years ago. I thought it would be nice if she had a guitar of her own that she could use without her dad hovering. I recalled my dad mentioning cigar box guitars to me when I was a kid, so I started poking around the Internet to see if I could find some instructions.

My search engines turned up perhaps two modest websites about cigar box guitars (CBGs). I had imagined something made from a cardboard box and rubber bands. Instead I found instructions for building primitive instruments capable of making real music.

I built us a pair of three-string guitars using wooden cigar boxes, salvaged pieces of 1x2, used guitar tuners, nuts and bolts, guitar strings and some glue.

We played with those guitars. I tried playing melodies on the high string while letting the other two strings function as drones, like a dulcimer. Later I learned that cigar box guitars (CBGs) in open tuning (tuned to a chord) are nicely suited to playing with a slide, so I tried that too.

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Mostly I enjoyed the building process. I liked it so much that I started a third guitar. This one would use a $3 piezo buzzer as a simple pickup. When I finished that guitar I was anxious to plug it into a small, portable amplifier I'd had around, and see if it actually made noise.

It made noise. The minute I heard the roar from that tiny instrument I'd cobbled together myself out of leftovers I burst out laughing. It seemed crazy, too good to be true.

I built another cigar box guitar after that, and then another, trying slightly different approaches with each one to solve problems I'd encountered in the construction of the others, and to see if I could refine my building techniques.

I stopped for a while at five guitars. After all, I could only play one guitar at a time (and not that well!). I didn't want to sell them or give them away. How many more could I build? So I set cigar box guitars aside for a while, though I continued to stop by cigar stores to collect empty boxes and tinker with the instruments I had made.

On a weekend getaway last winter, I whittled a little heart for my wife out of the fork of a branch. It turned out nicely. She was touched.

For Valentine's Day she got me two small books about whittling. Such a romantic! One of the books, called The Little Book About Whittling, impressed me. A small book, to be sure, but with clean photography, clear instructions, and a warm, first-person approach.

On my day off one Monday, I returned to the book for another look. This time I noticed a brief message on the publisher's page, something along the lines of, "if you have an idea for a woodworking book we want to hear about it - send us a letter."

On a whim I decided to send them an email with some pictures of the guitars I'd built. I also sent along a link to my newsletter archive so they could see samples of my writing. I sent this "message in a bottle" off to the acquisitions editor at Fox Chapel publishing and went about my business.

I arrived at work the next morning to a waiting voicemail. The acquisitions editor wanted to discuss my book idea.

Several conversations later my modest idea had grown into a concept for a book which would contain not only an illustrated How-To, but also a photo gallery of different instruments, and profiles of several people who build and play cigar box guitars.

I was soon to discover that, in the few years since I had first looked into it, a huge, vibrant, international Cigar Box Guitar community had blossomed, and that literally thousands of builders were now busily interacting across web-sites, blogs, social networking sites, eBay, YouTube and even at festivals around the country.

In short, my work is cut out for me.

So I journeyed to Huntsville, Alabama, last weekend to attend the sixth annual Cigar Box Guitar Extravaganza. I interviewed some people, did a few portraits, and spent the bulk of one day just photographing antique cigar box guitars, fiddles and ukuleles, some of them dating back to the 19th century.

I enjoyed two evenings of cigar box guitar music, learned a lot about a lot of things (including the amazing diddley bow), and even made some new friends. Now, if all goes according to plan, my Cigar Box Guitar book should appear late next year - and I should have another Rescue Tale for you in our August newsletter.

David Sutton
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COMMUNITY FOCUS

Sutton Studios Guest Blogger - Margaret Littman We are pleased to have lined up Margaret Littman as our next guest blogger. Margaret will cover a variety of topics including summer Chicago-ing with your dog. Her book, The Dog Lover's Companion to Chicago, has given Chicagoans helpful information on places to go and things to do with their dogs. Keep an eye on the Sutton Studios blog, Pith & Vinegar and get your dogs ready for some delightful summer around-town adventures! Curiosity, journalism skills and luck have allowed Margaret to explore eclectic topics in her writing, from the nutritional habits of female Olympians to the lawsuits intended to stop the building of Rio de Janeiro's Guggenheim Rio museum. For more than 15 years she has written for an odd, yet interesting, cross-section of publications, including: Chicago magazine, LifetimeTV.com, Ladies' Home Journal, Wine Enthusiast, Crain's Chicago Business, Time Out Chicago, the Chicago Tribune, Marketing News, Pastry Art and Design, Executive Travel, University Business, The Tennessean, ForbesTraveler.com, Business2.0.com, Working Mother, Mademoiselle, Teen, Sky and many others. She was a contributor to The Business Week Guide to The Best Business Schools (7th Ed.) and Weight Watchers Magazine's Annual Recipes for Success 2000. She writes, edits and consults for several custom publishing companies. She is regularly interviewed for TV, radio and print publications, including WGN Midday News, National Geographic Traveler and others. Furry Friends Summerfest State Representative (14th District) Harry Osterman's Furry Friends Summerfest, co-sponsored by Friends of Chicago Animal Care and Control, began Wednesday, June 9th and continues weekly from 5 to 8:30pm, through August 25. Visit in the pet market with pet businesses, shelters, animal hospitals and other organizations serving the Chicago pet population. Pets, pet owners and pet enthusiasts welcome (but city leash laws apply). PAWS 8th Annual Beach Party Join the fun Thursday, July 22nd, 6pm, at Castaways on North Avenue Beach. Emceed by Lisa Dent from US99.5, the Beach Party at Castaways will host more than 500 guests and over 100 beachwear-clad dogs! You and your pup will lounge by the beach, drinking cool summer cocktails from an open bar, while enjoying a beachy dinner buffet, live music courtesy of Underwater People, and the always-popular silent and live auctions - including a portrait sitting from Sutton Studios.