Category Musical Instruments
The art of business cards
I just had new business cards printed. The process of designing the new cards made we think about the evolution of my business cards and my art endeavors. When I first began my own business, my focus was on making Native American-style flutes. (I still make those flutes!) One of my goals was to make […]
Creativity and Purple Elephants
In making and selling both musical instruments and watercolors, I have conversations with many adults who tell me that they couldn’t play the flute or try watercolors themselves because they aren’t creative or artistic. Recently when I suggested to a friend that we could paint watercolors together on my upcoming visit with her, she emailed […]
Jingle Dress Dancers
Google Doodle’s Celebrating the Jingle Dress Dance is a reminder of the Jingle Dress Dancers I’ve seen at Native American powwows. The Jingle Dress Dancers were one of many dancers celebrating at the Chambers Powwows I’ve attended. All the powwow dancers convey different elements of Native American life and culture with costumes showcasing a connection […]
Carved Wood Spoons
I enjoy carving green wood into wooden spoons using an axe and knife. The first batch of spoons I carved were from horse chestnut. It was such an enjoyable experience and I really liked that the whole operation was portable. I could take the axe and knife with me and carve “on the road,” so-to-speak. When making flutes […]
WrenSong Kanteles
The kantele complements the Native American flute wonderfully. These are delightful instruments and easy to learn to play. They may take some time like the ukulele and Native American style flute to learn to play well. The kanteles I primarily make are 5-string versions. In 2018, I released a 6-string version but find that […]
Ukulele & Native American Style Flute
I am reworking my website and reducing the number of pages dedicated to specific topics. This blog post was previously a page on the site dedicated to Native American style flute and ukulele music. I will no longer be creating this particular mode of music but want to leave it available for the many who […]
O’Connell Craft Festival, 2018, Nov. 24-25
Join me for the O’Connell Center Craft Festival on Nov. 24-25.
Art Festival at Thornebrook, Oct. 13-14, 2018
I hope you’ll join me for the Art Festival at Thornebrook, Oct. 13 and 14. I’ll be one of more than 100 artists with our work on display — and for sale. My display is #49, next to Malgorzata’s Gallery and Boutique. I’ll be selling three different styles of flutes that can bring music to your […]
Mandolin and Chris Thile in Gainesville
Chris Thile — mandolin player, composer, songwriter and singer. Playing the mandolin for and hour and a half…with no break. His performance in Gainesville at the Phillips Performing Arts Center was amazing. For the first hour, I watched with my inner jaw hanging open. The mandolin was an extension of him as he played. He […]
Happy Make Music Day
Happy World Music Day! What a great way to recognize the importance of music and its ability to bring people together. World Music Day (also called Make Music Day) started in 1982 when the Ministry of Culture in France launched the Fête de la Musique (“festival of music”). The event was a day of free, […]
Woodworking stores & projects
Woodworking stores provided a creative break for me during a recent road trip to visit relatives. Walking through woodworking stores always gives me ideas for projects and usually includes purchasing a special piece of wood or a tool I need. Rockler – The surprise was finding a Rockler store in Sharonville, OH — one of the […]
Lessons from Shakuhachi flute
It’s always fun to experiment with making different flutes. Lately I have been experimenting with making Japanese shakuhachi flutes from PVC cold water pipe. It is not an easy flute to learn to play but it is a wonderful sound when you do get a note. Given how hard it is to achieve playing a […]
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