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About Me

I've been making at least part of my living as an artist, specializing in scrimshaw and pen and ink drawings for the past 35 years or so. My work has been seen across the country at juried arts and craft shows, in galleries, and some of my illustrations were featured on the Emmy-nominated PBS series, "Robbin Esther's Secret Box".As a child growing up in Michigan, I enjoyed passing time by drawing in pencil, working mostly in black and white. In the early 70's I moved to California and made my living doing crafts, which I sold in the San Francisco Bay area. I started engraving scenes into the bamboo flutes that I made and also cut sections of bamboo and made intricately engraved bamboo vases and vessels. In 1974 I moved to the hills of middle Tennessee where I lived on a farm, raised two sons, built a passive solar house (by hand with no power tools!), grew most of my own food and continued to do craft shows to make a living. In 1980, realizing that what I was doing on bamboo was similar to scrimshaw on ivory, I got some antique piano keys and went to work. Fossil ivory quickly became my favorite medium, but I also continued to work on bamboo, bone and antique piano keys. I do most of my work these days on fossil mastodon and fossil walrus ivory that is anywhere from 10,000 to 50,000 years old. It is beautiful stuff to work on. My favorite subjects are birds and wildlife, but I do lots of different things, including more traditional subjects like sailing ships. You can check out my gallery at: www.scrimshawbykris.com .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

My Interests

I'd like to meet:

Music is a big part of my life. I love listening to many styles of music, from Bluegrass to Classical, to World Music to Americana. For nearly 20 years I've been playing in a band called The Cluster Pluckers. Here's a little more about that:The Cluster Pluckers are:Margaret Bailey - vocals, Kris Ballinger - guitar and vocals, Dale Ballinger - acoustic bass and vocals, Mark Howard - guitar, mandolin, and vocals,Them Other Pluckers are:Brent Truitt - mandolin, Blaine Sprouse - fiddle, Matt Flinner - banjo,The history of this group dates back to the Spring of 1980 when Margaret, Kris and Dale first sang together at a pickin' party. There was an immediate feeling of "kinship" in the music that they shared. They soon joined forces with world champion fiddler, Frazier Moss, who taught them the spirit in which this music should be played and enjoyed.In 1982 Margaret, Kris and Dale performed as a trio, and later with Frazier Moss at the Folklife Festival Exhibition during the World's Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee.In 1984 Kris and Dale performed with fiddler Junior Daughtery at Carnegie Hall as part of a special American Folk Roots Concert Series.In 1986 Kris and Margaret's vocal harmony came together to "swing" with Vassar Clements' Hillbilly Jazz Band. They sang on two of the group's albums and toured the country. The group performed on The Nashville Network television shows "Nashville Now" and "New Country".Margaret's work with The Nashville Network inspired the co-writing (with Chet Atkins) of the song "Would Jesus Wear A Rolex", which was recorded by Ray Stevens and was nominated for a Grammy Award. This thought provoking song was talked about on everything from radio (Paul Harvey), to television (Johnny Carson Show), to magazines (Newsweek).In 1987 Mark Howard came into the musical paths of Margaret, Kris and Dale. It took the genius of songwriter Billy Edd Wheeler to give them their distinctive name, and in 1988 The Cluster Pluckers were hatched.Mark Howard is a multi-talented artist-musician who plays the guitar, mandolin and banjo. He has performed and recorded with such greats as Kathy Matea, John Hartford, Johnny Cash, Vassar Clements, the Carter Family, Earl Scruggs, Nanci Griffith, Riders in the Sky, and many, many more. Mark's talents in the recording studio are not limited to playing instruments. He has engineered and produced recordings for several of the above mentioned artists as well as writing string arrangements for the Nashville Symphony and others.Them Other Pluckers, Brent Truitt, Blaine Sprouse and Matt Flinner, are respected in the "bluegrass world" as some of the finest instrumentalists playing today. They have toured and recorded with some of the living legends in bluegrass music, as well as with some of the top current acts in country music.Here are some of the highlights of The Cluster Plucker's:•Austin City Limits PBS Television show with Chet Atkins•Nashville Now Television show on The Nashville Network, two appearances•American Music Shop Television show on The Nashville Network•The Statler Brothers Easter Special Television show on The Nashville Network•Reno's Old Time Music Festival Television show on the Americana Television Network•A Cluster Plucker Christmas PBS Television show, broadcast nationwide for several years•Songs of the Civil War PBS Television show with Hoyt Axton, produced by Ken Burns•Rider's Radio Theater National Public Radio show with Riders in the Sky•Were invited to Washington DC to represent Tennessee music at the Tennessee/Arkansas Celebration during the Presidential Inaugural Festivities•Performed for President Clinton and Vice President Gore at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee for a fundraising event•Performed for Tipper Gore's Birthday Bash at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee•Did a 10 day, 8 city tour in Japan and sold out every show•Played in Alphen aan den Ryn (Holland) and Sandane (Norway) during the summer of 2001•The Cluster Pluckers have recorded four albums on their own label, CPR (Cluster Plucker Records...Music Good for the Heart). They are "The Cluster Pluckers", "Just Pluck It!", "Unplucked", and "A Cluster Plucker Christmas Album". They also recorded an all gospel album for Chapel Records entitled "Old Time Gospel Favorites", and participated in a collaboration album for Rebel Records entitled "The All Nite Gang - Bluegrass From Nashville".Besides television and radio performances, The Cluster Pluckers have pleased audiences across the country at bluegrass and folk festivals, city festivals, concerts in the parks, conventions, clubs and many other special occasions.There is only one group by the name of The Cluster Pluckers. They bring with them years of pluckin', and singin', and havin', fun. Their music and energy is refreshing and will entertain folks of all ages!For more about the Cluster Pluckers, check out our website at: www.clusterpluckers.comThis video was shot as part of the Ken Burns PBS special, "Songs of the Civil War", with Hoyt Axton, John Hartford and some of us Pluckers.

My Blog

The Ballinger Family Band CD release!

Ethan and Dale and I, The Ballinger Family Band, just released our first CD. Here are some photos taken during the project. Check out our music at: www.myspace.com/ballingerfamilyb...
Posted by on Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:42:00 GMT

Ed Dye

As many of you know, our buddy Ed Dye is nearing the end of his journey. What a long strange trip it's been for him...and for us that know him. No one could put on a show quite like Ed. He "sat" in wi...
Posted by on Sun, 22 Mar 2009 08:43:00 GMT

From Summer to Fall

Well, fall is off to a good start...if you don't think about the market crashing and the crazy politics! Last week was IBMA's annual convention. We timed our trip to Nashville so we could meet up with...
Posted by on Sat, 11 Oct 2008 15:50:00 GMT

End to a great summer

It's hard to believe summer is over, but it obviously is! It feels like fall this morning, chilly and crisp and sunny. I love October in Tennessee! As I look back on this summer's activities I have to...
Posted by on Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:25:00 GMT

We made it!

After being up for about 24 hours, we arrived safely to our home in Cookeville! Ethan and Kayla picked us up at the airport. It was hard to say good-bye to our good friends in Scotland and in our Scot...
Posted by on Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:09:00 GMT

Almost home!

We're sitting here at the Newark Airport. So close and yet so far!!! We fly out of here in a couple of hours and get to Nashville around 10:00pm (4:00am Scotland time!). It's gonna take a while to adj...
Posted by on Sun, 17 Aug 2008 22:30:00 GMT

Edinburgh

Just wanted to touch base and say hi. We got to Edinburgh yesterday early afternoon. It was a bit of a culture shock after being in small sea towns for the last two weeks. This is a big city and the E...
Posted by on Tue, 12 Aug 2008 22:19:00 GMT

Good-bye Longniddry, hello Edinburgh

Thought I'd say hi while I can easily get on line. We've been here in Longniddry for a couple of days and have had a great time. We've been staying in the home of Jim and Ruth Couper. They have been v...
Posted by on Mon, 11 Aug 2008 10:37:00 GMT

Good-bye Nairn!

A last hello from Nairn before we head south to Edinburgh. I'm sitting in the pub. It's 11:00am. The last couple of days have been incredible. We left Thursday morning and went up the coast to Thurso....
Posted by on Sat, 09 Aug 2008 10:37:00 GMT

More from Scotland

It's Wednesday and we have finished our shows here in Nairn. Both shows went great, with full audiences and lots of enthusiasm for the music. We had to do 2 or 3 encores each night, which was nice. La...
Posted by on Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:32:00 GMT