Village Flutes

About a week ago, I sold this flute on eBay. I received a lot of emails about it, so as you can see in the picture above, I’ve started a big batch of these old style flutes that should be done in a couple weeks.

I’m not quite sure what it is, but there’s just something about the older looking flutes that really appeals to me. There are a few guys making them — Michael Allen (Coyote Oldman), Raymond Redfeather, and Brian Akipa to name a few — but overall, they don’t seem to be that common. It seems like guys will spend weeks doing an incredible carving of a sea turtle or intricate inlay of dancing kokopellis or even an entire crew of dancing kokopellis riding a giant sea turtle. For some people, there can never be enough flutes with wacky animals on them. For me, there can never be enough of these old style flutes.

One of the members of our local flute circle wants me to make a replica of George Catlin’s flute. I’ve also been toying around with doing a series of flutes based on some of the old ones in the Dayton C. Miller Collection. I’ve got plenty of wood. Now I just need to find the time…

One thing to know about me — I love working with exotic woods. I’m always on the lookout for something new to try out. I recently saw some beautiful flutes made from Chechen, and when I had the opportunity to buy a few pieces of that wood, I jumped on it. A little over a week ago, I was starting a batch of flutes and decided to throw one of those new pieces of Chechen into the mix. The next day, I had an itchy spot on my side that reminded me a bit of poison ivy, but I hadn’t been anywhere near the woods or even the flower beds in our yard lately. A couple of days later, it had spread to my arm, so I tried calamine lotion. I tried cortizone cream. I tried a couple of other things, but nothing really helped.

I was still really curious where I had gotten poison ivy. Then it hit me — right before the itching started, I was working with a new exotic wood that I knew absolutely nothing about. Since I sit in front of a computer about 14 hours a day (I work full time at a software company), I decided to dive into the wonders of the internet to see what I could find. After a little digging, I had it. Chechen — botanical name metopium brownei — commonly called Black Poison Wood. Apparently, in the plant world, Chechen is the first cousin of three plants native to North America. Yes, you guessed it. Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, and Poison Sumac. When working with woods, I’m very cautious about breathing wood dust, but I never thought that I should keep the dust off my arms.

After scouring the internet a little more and realizing just how nasty the live tree version of Black Poison Wood is — apparently, the bark oozes a really caustic oil — I found a home remedy suggested by someone in Central America where these trees grow all over the place. I raided the kitchen, grabbed the dishwashing detergent, and headed to the shower. A few minutes and lots of bubbles later, the itching was almost gone.

Next time, I’ll be sure to do my homework before buying a new exotic wood. If anybody happens to want a couple pieces of Chechen, let me know…

Inspired by flute player Scott August and flutemaker Geoffrey Ellis, as well as the Northern California Flute Circle, I’m throwing my hat into the blogging fray. Are you wondering what creations are emerging from the piles of wood and sawdust in my workshop? Curious about how flutes get their voice? Want to find out where I’m going to be so you can try out a flute or two? Really can’t wait to get your hands on that CD I’ve been promising to record? If so, this is the place to get the scoop about what’s going on at Village Flutes.

Seriously, when I’m not working on flutes or hanging out with my four-month-old, I basically live online. I work full-time for a software company, so I’m in front of a computer for most of my waking hours each day. Needless to say, I read a lot of blogs to keep up with the news and trends related to my job — and more importantly, my hobbies and interests. When I started Village Flutes, one of the first things I wanted to do was create a blog of my own to pass along information about what I’m doing, what I’m making, and what I’m learning. I’m going to be sharing tips and tricks for flutemaking, playing, and recording that I’ve picked up along the way. Hopefully, somebody somewhere will be interested in what I have to say.

Well, for now, I’m heading back down to take part in my usual Saturday ritual — making sawdust and trying to help a flute find its way out of a piece of wood…