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Here's another one of the 5 flutes I turned in Tuesday for jurying, and one of my all-time faves: my Great Blue Heron flute, that is now part of a Charlotte school's museum. They graciously loaned it back to me for a couple of weeks...always a thrill to see an old 'kid' of mine and take it out for a whirl!


The body is Quilted Maple from the Pacific Northwest, capped on both ends with Madrone burl. Black Walnut was used around the finger holes...to put those in, you tune the flute, then drop a 1/2" drill bit into the center. Add in a 1/2" plug of your wood of choice, sand to the barrel, then redrill the original sized hole in the center and fine-tune. Makes for a nice touch.

The block is a single piece of Poplar, carved and burned to it's final shape. I didn't have taxidermy eyes back when I made this so I painted inserted beads. When I get into fragile territory like the breeding plumage off the back of the head, I impregnate it with a watery superglue to strengthen it.


The inlaid dragonfly was made with Turqouise and Lapis for the body, and crushed Abalone and Aluminum dust for the gossamer wings. The Heron and Dragonfly make a nice totem tandem. (FYI, the holes below the dragonfly are simply tuning holes)

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"THUNDERBIRD"
mid G modes 1&4
figured Black Walnut body
(birdbeak design)
inlay: Turquoise



Block: Claro Walnut "Thunderbird" with Turquoise

Bold player this one, and fresh off the press. Not available for sound samples or sale until September 1 (out of town for judging); email for more information.

DELIVERY DAY!

I think I could tweak and tweak and tweak myself into trouble with flutes...the more you look closely, the more you can see you want to diddle with, seeing things that 999 out of 1,000 would never ever see! Alas, gussying up the 5 flutes to take to Asheville Tuesday for judging later this week,for potential membership in the Southern Highland Craft Guild.

Too, the day has been a squirrely one that I won't go into detail about...except to say when you're looking for a break for things to slow down so you can catch your breath, that's when a bevvy of other things flare up like a California wildfire! Can I get an "AMEN!" from the choir???!!!

For now, I'm posting detailed pics of just the freshly finished Green Heron flute (low E), complete with carved creek and trio of Grandfather rocks. The body is figured Black Walnut, and the block is a single piece of Basswood (plus the glass eyes).

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What's peculiar about photography sometimes is how certain colors don't translate exactly; while the Heron's head looks rather light and blue, it's grayer and darker...tweak as I might I couldn't get a great match, but you get the idea!

Lastly, I took a group shot of the 5 show flutes I'm turning in:


From top to bottom they are:

1. "Praying Hands" (mid F#) in Papua New Guinea Walnut, Dogwood and Bloodwood

2. "Jonah and the Whale" (low E) in Makore with a Galilean boat of Peruvian Walnut

3. "Great Blue Heron" (low E) in Quilted Maple, burl caps, dragonfly inlay and Poplar head

4. "Green Heron" (low E) per above

5. "Thunderbird" (mid G) in figured Black Walnut and Claro Walnut T-bird w/ turquoise

The top 3 flutes are already in private collections, and generously loaned for this review. The bottom two are new but won't be for sale until early September. Email me for more details on either.

Carpe diem, y'all!