Four Shillings Short

Art in the cafe...

Laurel Statz


"The Spectator"


December 2025



Laurel Statz is a painter and Madison area native. Her work, while figurative, is influenced by abstraction and minimalism. The paintings often have a quick and instinctual nature, capturing just what’s needed. While she often times herself to eliminate extra details and over-precision, she has ventured into more detailed works as well. Laurel does not attach narrative to her pieces. Rather, she thinks of them like a journaling process for her scatter-brained psyche. The figures in the pieces are meant to be processing tools for the artist and the viewer. She hopes that seeing these figures helps the...
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Friday, September 14, 2007

The Celtic, Folk and World music duo Four Shillings Short "is nothing short of musical excellence encompassing an eclectic array of world music. They have carved out a musical identity all their own." (River Stages, Dubuque IA) "A duo you must see to believe. Their musical virtuosity makes old songs sound new and new songs sound like time-worn Celtic spells." (City Pages, Wausau WI)

With a decade of touring in the US and Ireland under their belts the husband and wife duo of Aodh Og O'Tuama from Cork, Ireland and Californian Christy Martin live as full time minstrels in their trusty Dodge Caravan loaded with an ever increasing array of musical instruments (over 30 at last count) including hammered dulcimer, mandolins, Renaissance woodwinds, North Indian Sitar, recorders, tinwhistles, banjo, guitar, percussion and even a bowed psaltry.

In a single night, Four Shillings Short perform Traditional Irish and Scottish songs, tunes and airs, Indian Ragas, Folk Ballads, Old-Time songs, Medieval and Renaissance instrumentals and a cappella numbers as well as contemporary folk and original compositions. Their sound has been described as "wondrously diverse", "truly refreshing" and "alternative neo-Celtic folk of the first order".