Fire Animals & Lost!photos

Jane Gillman
May 2023

As a tribute to the Miller House in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and the phenomenal art Joe and Pat Miller created while they lived there, we created this climate change fable, Fire Animals/Fieras Vivaces.

As fire begins to engulf life as we know it on earth, three animals who have lost their way cross paths. Together they discover a memorial collection of creatures that once roamed the planet. One by one, each of the 3 animals comes across its own still-life replica, and in that moment, is replaced by it.

Conceived and Directed by Jane Gillman and the House of Dreams
Cinematography/Lighting/Editing: Fernanda Mosqueda and Tyler Smith
Mother Nature: Maria Paz Marambio
Bird: Jane Gillman
Bull: Edwin Alexander
Giraffe: Karen Doepke
Mask Design and Creation: Jenipher Young-Hall and Karen Doepke
Musical Composition and Found Sounds: Jane Gillman
Art: Joe Miller

Musicians:
Jane Gillman: banjo. guitar
Roberto Riggio: violin, harmonium
Jason McKenzie: tabla
Mark Hallman: tampura, mixing engineer

During a three-week artist residency at The Hambidge Center in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia, Lost!photos was an impromptu collaboration between artistic explore/archivist/cermacist K Tauches – who found this collection of photos from the 1960’s at the MegaThrift in Rabun County Georgia – and me, recording nearby in a small cabin at the end of a gravel road. Hoping to create more like this one.

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Jane Gillman’s compositions are influenced by rhythms and melodies from around the world, from music that has been learned by ear and shared from person to person. Although virtual instruments find their way into her pieces, real wood and strings create her foundation – most often, guitar, banjo, octave mandolin, electric guitar, dulcimer, piano, and harmonica. Gillman’s Indie Roots instrumentals and songs are heard on television, in film, and on the radio throughout North America, Europe and Asia.

Jane Gillman’s website →