FundyBrian’s Explorations

I like people being passionate about what they do - especially when it's related to craftsmanship. Isn't wood a gorgeous material? And the stuff you do is so awesome.
If I would be able to play instruments you get an order right away!
But me playing instruments is acoustic harassment ... you do not want me to do this! :whistle:
 
I like people being passionate about what they do - especially when it's related to craftsmanship. Isn't wood a gorgeous material? And the stuff you do is so awesome.
If I would be able to play instruments you get an order right away!
But me playing instruments is acoustic harassment ... you do not want me to do this! :whistle:
I’m finding that people who have always wanted to play a musical instrument, but never got started for one reason or another, find the Native American Flute an ideal entry point. The pentatonic scale means all the notes go well together, unlike most other instruments where is it too easy to hit notes that just don’t belong together. Also, many people are attracted by the meditative sounds that can be made, especially the lower tone flutes. Just making sounds that sound great is calming. And that is even before you try to string notes together.
During my TV interview, at the very first note I played on a particular flute, I saw the interviewer’s eyes go wide. Later she told me that when I played that note she felt it deep inside, to the core of her being, I suppose. It resonated somewhere in her nervous system. And, it surprised her. To feel so much from just one note. How is that possible? Yet it keeps happening to people everywhere.
When playing, you feel your life breath being brought into the world as sound. This sound expression coming from a piece of driftwood I picked up on the beach, or a branch from a tree.
 
A study in ancient writing.
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Photographed at the beach on a piece of driftwood. The work of bark beetles. Yet you can see the hunter on the left in pursuit of prey, readying his spear, while the prey (maybe a Canada Goose?), caught off guard on the right, is in a flurry of activity trying to escape.
PureShot, Fusion.
 
A study in ancient writing.
View attachment 155486
Photographed at the beach on a piece of driftwood. The work of bark beetles. Yet you can see the hunter on the left in pursuit of prey, readying his spear, while the prey (maybe a Canada Goose?), caught off guard on the right, is in a flurry of activity trying to escape.
PureShot, Fusion.
Love it. If there can be such a thing as a hive mind, perhaps it can make art as well.
 
A study in ancient writing.
View attachment 155486
Photographed at the beach on a piece of driftwood. The work of bark beetles. Yet you can see the hunter on the left in pursuit of prey, readying his spear, while the prey (maybe a Canada Goose?), caught off guard on the right, is in a flurry of activity trying to escape.
PureShot, Fusion.
What a cool find...
 
Not spring yet!
View attachment 155597
I found this spider walking across the frozen landscape. I couldn’t see any holes or cracks to find shelter. I hope this spider can find its way back to whatever hole it crawled out of.
Apple cam, Snapseed.
So I’m looking at this and finding myself feeling sorry for the little guy. I guess my arachnophobia therapy is working.
 
So I’m looking at this and finding myself feeling sorry for the little guy. I guess my arachnophobia therapy is working.
Me too! I probably would have found a stick for him to crawl on and placed him beneath a bush or some place.
 
I can’t believe this flute is finally finished!
F72BD0FD-99A2-45FC-AE9A-DEBBFB9FF39F.jpeg

I encountered several delays in trying to sort out a stain to bring the wood colour closer to wood frog colour. Stains were simply not working. Yellow birch is one of those woods that doesn’t stain well. Certainly not evenly. In the end I treated the flute like an art canvas and painted it with translucent acrylic paints allowing the wood grain to show through. I could do a lot more colour mixing and blending that I could have done with stains.
B05BF369-6710-4C60-AB0D-D7F0B7324EC2.jpeg

Wood frog - rana sylvatica.
1E89EC45-9D21-416C-9A83-0FEE2C5694CF.jpeg

It takes several views to convey the true crookedness of this branch.
In the end, a beautiful sounding flute. The combining of art and music to make a totally unique musical instrument.
 
I can’t believe this flute is finally finished!
View attachment 155749
I encountered several delays in trying to sort out a stain to bring the wood colour closer to wood frog colour. Stains were simply not working. Yellow birch is one of those woods that doesn’t stain well. Certainly not evenly. In the end I treated the flute like an art canvas and painted it with translucent acrylic paints allowing the wood grain to show through. I could do a lot more colour mixing and blending that I could have done with stains.
View attachment 155748
Wood frog - rana sylvatica.
View attachment 155750
It takes several views to convey the true crookedness of this branch.
In the end, a beautiful sounding flute. The combining of art and music to make a totally unique musical instrument.
This is beautiful Brian. You captured it in all its wonderfully unique crookedness
 
I can’t believe this flute is finally finished!
View attachment 155749
I encountered several delays in trying to sort out a stain to bring the wood colour closer to wood frog colour. Stains were simply not working. Yellow birch is one of those woods that doesn’t stain well. Certainly not evenly. In the end I treated the flute like an art canvas and painted it with translucent acrylic paints allowing the wood grain to show through. I could do a lot more colour mixing and blending that I could have done with stains.
View attachment 155748
Wood frog - rana sylvatica.
View attachment 155750
It takes several views to convey the true crookedness of this branch.
In the end, a beautiful sounding flute. The combining of art and music to make a totally unique musical instrument.
That is absolutely a beautiful work of art!!!!
 
I can’t believe this flute is finally finished!
View attachment 155749
I encountered several delays in trying to sort out a stain to bring the wood colour closer to wood frog colour. Stains were simply not working. Yellow birch is one of those woods that doesn’t stain well. Certainly not evenly. In the end I treated the flute like an art canvas and painted it with translucent acrylic paints allowing the wood grain to show through. I could do a lot more colour mixing and blending that I could have done with stains.
View attachment 155748
Wood frog - rana sylvatica.
View attachment 155750
It takes several views to convey the true crookedness of this branch.
In the end, a beautiful sounding flute. The combining of art and music to make a totally unique musical instrument.
What a gorgeous piece of art... you have really created something wonderful with your flutes. ❤️
 
What a gorgeous piece of art... you have really created something wonderful with your flutes. ❤
Thank you!
Now what can I do for an encore?
I’ve had such good response to this flute that I think I’m onto something. The ideas seem to come when I’m looking at a particular piece of wood. I have a whale-themed driftwood flute almost finished but it isn’t quite as dramatic as the frog. I also have a loon head drawn to be a totem like the raven flute.
All my artwork for the flutes is done on my iPad with Apple Pencil, in Procreate.
 
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