Just dinner! Maybe dance?

“Two colorful conches” drawn with colored pencils by Sanford Ross Bender
“Just dinner? Maybe dance”composed and performed with guitar and concertina by Sanford Ross Bender on April 14, 2025.

Whirls and pearls

“Autumn bog pool” photographed in Orono, Maine by Sanford Ross Bender on September 28, 2024.
Whirls and pearls” composed and performed by Sanford Ross Bender with guitar on September 28, 2024.

Two dancing pigs

“Two Dancing Pigs” Pastel Drawing Detail by Sanford Ross Bender

“Two Dancing Pigs” composed, performed, and recorded on one track with acoustic guitar and harmonica. Previously included on “Terrain” CD 2015 by Sanford (Sandy) Ross Bender

“Two Dancing Pigs” was improvised by playing harmonica and guitar simultaneously. Any discomfort in physically managing two instruments was alleviated through closed-eye visualization of two dancing pigs squealing with delight in each other’s company. The artwork is a detail of the pastel drawing used in my previous post, “The Listening Drum.” Looking closer allows one to see two dark pig-like shapes appear (among other creatures such as a spider, a bat, or a raven’s tail). Perhaps, rainbow colored waves are perceived as dancing while the pig duo floats and soars overhead in sea spray and thermal undulations. A colorful drawing appearing to depict a single slice in time awakens and sequentially shape-shifts to melodic rhythms of musical joy.

You can find “Two Dancing Pigs” and other pieces on Sandy Bender’s album Terrain.