PORT TOWNSEND — The purpose of a concert backdrop is to set the stage for the music without interfering, adding a subtle mood to the overall experience.
But the backdrop created for this year’s Festival of American Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend, which begins Saturday and runs through July 10, has a story of its own.
The design of the backdrop, which measures 9 feet by 24 feet and will appear on the McCurdy Pavilion stage throughout the event, is identical to the festival poster.
The image of four carefree women carrying stringed instruments is a depiction of the Coon Creek Girls, a popular Appalachian-style musical group in the 1930s.
It was created by Pilar McCracken, a 2003 Port Townsend High School graduate who this month received a master’s degree in printmaking from Pacific Northwest College of Art.
McCracken, 25, has deep Fiddle Tunes roots.
Her father, Peter McCracken, is the director of the program, and her mother, Martha Worthley, has created more than 30 backdrops used at Fort Worden events throughout the years.
There are pictures of McCracken as a small child, attending the Fiddle Tunes events.
She favors woodcut printmaking for its simplicity and economy, and has created music-themed prints for several performers.
Her master’s thesis consisted of four “musical events” representing different styles.
It was Peter McCracken’s idea to use one of Pilar’s prints as this year’s poster, and he asked her if any of her thesis pieces would fit the bill.
But she wanted to create something new, choosing to honor the folk quartet which peaked with a 1939 appearance at the White House performing for Franklin D. Roosevelt and Britain’s King George VI.
About 200 posters were created to promote the festival and are visible throughout the area — although some are “disappearing” courtesy of souvenir hunters according to Centrum Executive Director John MacElwee.
Only 111 original prints were made and sold for $45, with only a few left for sale as of Wednesday afternoon.
McCracken said the number of prints has no significance other than “I had that many sheets of paper at the time.”
The standard printmaker process is to destroy the printing block to preserve the value of the original prints, but McCracken said she does not plan to do so.
After the print was created, the backdrop — which hasn’t been used at Fiddle Tunes for several years — was being discussed around the Centrum office when it was suggested to use the print image in that way.
Worthley took on the project, breaking the design down to about 240 one-inch squares.
Earlier this month, the full-sized canvas was hung in a shed on the park grounds, and Worthley supervised the transfer of the design.
The canvas was divided into squares, this time with one foot on each side, and each square inch was copied by hand onto a square foot.
The entire process, completed with volunteer labor, took about 10 days.
Earlier this week, Pilar, her sister, Miriam, 23, Worthley and Farren, a volunteer, applied finishing touches.
The backdrop is configured differently with the poster, with certain details adjusted for better long distance visibility.
Now in its 34th year, Fiddle Tunes is a weeklong celebration of regional fiddle styles, consisting of workshops, classes, band labs, tutorials, dances, concerts, singing and open jams.
The event draws fiddlers from throughout the world to partake in an interactive, immersing musical experience.
For information about the festival go to http://tinyurl.com/4qs8hy.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
