Vignettes and Improvisations started as a creative challenge for Mark to turn his wife's name into a solo piano piece. He found himself composing using "vocabulary" that he probably wouldn't otherwise use—because of the constraints he placed on himself. Since it turned out to be fun, Mark wanted to create another piece, based on a simple number. Then another one based on his grandfather's CB handle. On Kickstarter, it grew to be a full-fledged album, where contributors were able to have their names (or the names of their loved ones) encrypted in these pieces. The result is a group of pieces (most composed, some improvised) that seeks to use new creative techniques to bring beauty to the listener.