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Scheinman is an in-demand violinist who's appeared with Aretha Franklin, Bill Frisell and Lou Reed. She also plays classical music with string quartets and orchestras, and has released many albums of instrumental jazz. But her latest album, Jenny Scheinman, features her singing.

Even before the economy tanked, interest was growing in the do-it-yourself movement. Here, a look at how to make your own solar backpack — something that anyone with a portable electronic device like an iPod could use.

Here's a story about grass-roots filmmaking with no eye toward a Hollywood deal. For his first full-length feature, Jay Craven convinced Michael J. Fox to work for free. And Craven screens his movies himself, driving from community centers to libraries to theaters throughout New England.

A new exhibit at New York University, "Archivist of the Yellow Peril," features Yoshio Kishi's gripping collection of Asian Americana. The exhibit demonstrates how images of Asian Americans were formed, and often distorted, over the years. Jon Kalish reports.

As information becomes more and more digital, public libraries are striving to redefine their roles. A small number are working to create "hackerspaces," where do-it-yourselfers share sophisticated tools as well as expertise.

The Boggsville Boatel, a DIY tourist destination in Queens, N.Y., is made up of five refurbished boats that sit at a marina on Jamaica Bay,right under the flight path of airplanes taking off from JFK Airport.

Most people think of a hacker as someone who breaks into computer networks, but many in the do-it-yourself movement have adopted the term for themselves. They're turning old typewriters into keyboards, slot machines into bartenders and suitcases into boomboxes — and their numbers are growing.

It isn't easy to make money as an artist these days, but three crafty New Yorkers are managing to sell their work — and make a living — outside the traditional gallery system.

Chapter & Verse follows an African-American man struggling to carry on with his life after he's released from prison. Much of the story is based on filmmaker Jamal Joseph's own experience.

A new book tells the story of what may be one of the most gruesome artifacts of the Nazi persecution of Jews -- a lampshade made from human skin.

Barney Rosset gave American readers their first taste of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, as well as uncensored classics by Henry Miller and D.H. Lawrence. To do that, Rosset fought literally hundreds of court cases and was largely responsible for breaking down U.S. obscenity laws in the 1950s and '60s.

Sous vide cooking was once the province of chefs at fancy restaurants — and those home cooks willing to shell out close to $1,000 for a water oven. Now, do-it-yourselfers are making their own, inexpensive sous vide cooking rigs, and they're not afraid to brag about the scrumptious product.

Martin Ramirez was diagnosed as a catatonic schizophrenic soon after he immigrated to the United States from Mexico in 1925. During his 30 years in mental institutions, Ramirez produced more than 300 mesmerizing drawings. Much of his work is now on display in a major retrospective at the American Folk Art Museum in Manhattan.

Highly interactive sites cater to a growing number of life-hackers who want to do everything from modify cell phones to make their own furniture.

Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 tells the story of the 1968 football meeting between the Ivy League archrivals. Filmmaker Kevin Rafferty's father was a former Yale football captain, but Rafferty chose to go to Harvard.

From the late 1940s to the mid-'60s, Latin music was hugely popular in America's Jewish community. Entire albums were recorded as testaments to the phenomenon. One of them, which put Jewish classics to a Latin beat, has just been reissued. This weekend, it will be re-created in concert at Lincoln Center in New York.

Last spring, 32 previously unknown paintings thought to be the work of Jackson Pollock were found. The foundation representing the artist's estate doubts their authenticity.

Amid crumbling buildings and empty lots, small farms have sprung up in the city. Some farmers buy up abandoned space for planting, while others have simply repurposed city land. Local produce businesses have blossomed, but a lack of definitive policies has left some in limbo.

Martin Ramirez was a Mexican immigrant who spent more than 30 years in California psychiatric hospitals. At the time, much of his work was thrown away, but today, he is hailed as one of the giants of 20th century art.

Crafty people often make useful things out of stuff normally headed for the trash heap, but rarely do their creations spell fame and financial success. Unless, of course, you're Tim Anderson, a rock star of the DIY crowd.