Craig Daily Press

Photo by Hans Hallgren

Gilbert Jaramillo buries his grief in a hole that Marc Horowitz and crew dug for his “Signature Series” on Monday at Alice Pleasant Park. Jaramillo was among numerous Craig residents to cast problems into the hole for burial.

Craig — As Gilbert Jaramillo stood over the freshly dug hole in the grass of Alice Pleasant Park, he recounted the loss of his wife, Darlene, and buried his grief.

Metaphorically, that is.

Jaramillo was the first of about 30 participants in performance artist Marc Horowitz’s Craig segment of his “Signature Series,” a cross-country tour featuring the artist and his efforts to make a difference in the world.

On Monday afternoon, Horo­witz and his crew staked out a portion of Alice Pleasant Park next to Serendipity Coffee Shop as they dug a small grave, surrounded it with a white picket fence and posted a sign reading “Bury Your Problems.”

Donning a white suit, the artist accepted anything people wanted to put in the ground, whether it was a physical manifestation of something bothering them or instead, bad feelings festering within them. His camera crew captured every burial he oversaw.

Jaramillo described his in­­volvement as burying a heavy heart for his lost love.

“She’s gone, but not forgotten,” he said. “I think it’s wonderful what they’re doing. It doesn’t cost anything, and it’s a chance to let go of your silence.”

Jessie Cramer noticed Horo­witz from Cramer Flooring across the street from the park, and was prompted to bury her husband’s leftover McDonald’s French fries.

“I’ve struggled with bulimia for 13 years, and the fries were just lying out on the table,” she said. “I would have felt compelled to eat them otherwise, but I made the decision to take them across the street.”

Throwing the fries in the hole left Cramer with a cleansed feeling.

“The recovery for bulimia is minute by minute, but it felt good to do something like that,” she said.

Half-sisters Emily Miller, 15, and Satori Weis, 13, engaged Horowitz by writing their problems on napkins with the help of their friend, Logan Stauffer, 14. Horowitz lit the lists of grievances on fire and they dumped the ashes into the hole.

Their problems included body image, boys and not being able to spend enough time together. The three of them agreed that Horowitz’s self-styled eulogies were random and funny.

“The whole thing is a change from what we’re used to,” Miller said.

Logan’s mother, Nora Nylander, felt the urge to toss in her half-drunk soda as her way of cutting down on the beverage.

Eric Nehring took the opportunity to literally bury the hatchet, specifically one with the phrase “misery loves company” printed on it.

“It’s just something I always wanted to do,” he said. “It’s kind of symbolic because of the expression, although I don’t really have a grudge with anybody. Everybody has wanted to bury the hatchet at one point. Besides, how often do we get a chance to bury something in the park with a nicely dressed man?”

Horowitz managed to keep his suit clean, even with all the shovelfuls of dirt flying around. He was impressed by the turnout, especially after a slow start.

“I was worried we wouldn’t have many people show up, but it started to pick up around one,” he said. “ This has been great. It’s a very friendly town, and I was surprised by all the stuff we had. Somebody brought in a dead fly in a Ziploc bag, and another person was talking about child abuse.”

Horowitz’s producer, Sara Seiferheld, took the range of problems as a positive.

“We weren’t expecting people to be quite as open and serious as they were, but we had been hoping for it,” she said. “They were also pretty receptive to being on camera.”

Much of Seiferheld’s day consisted of giving people release forms to sign. The camera crew recording Horowitz’s “Signature Series” will be broadcasting segments on the Web site www.crackle.com.

The crew will continue to Farmington, N.M., where Horowitz will walk the streets in a sandwich board, offering free advice to anyone. They will return to Colorado when they film a parody of the viral video “Techno Viking” in Walsenburg, with residents as extras.

Andy Bockelman can be reached at 875-1796.