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Sculpture by Anna Chromy, bronze, color patina.
“Learn to dance, otherwise the angels will not know how to handle you”, says an old proverb. Dance is the harmony of movement. What does not move rots, in nature as in humans. Stagnant and still water is toneless, only flowing streams and impetuous torrents create their music.
The rivers are the instruments of Gaia’s music: The Amazon, with it’s source in the Andean Mountains, is symbolized by the Flute; the Ganges by the Indian Guitar; the Mississippi, with it’s delta in New Orleans, by the Trumpet; and the Danube, the river of my central European homeland, by the Violin. The Nile’s art is dance. For this art, crossing the centuries, it uses the ropes once used for the geometrical measurement of the fertile soil after each flood.
The state of health of the rivers reflects the environmental conditions in the regions they cross on their way. Their imaginary music reminds us that our earth has been entrusted to us only for the short span of our life. We are her guardians, and it is our duty to ensure that this eternal music can continue unperturbed.
Nerd points for taking up playing the flute again just to be able to play the Harry Potter movie scores: a lot, probably.
11th roll of film
Olympus OM-10
Kodak Gold 200
Prepared for 'MacroMondays' theme of 'Musical Instruments' but not chosen because I wasn't sure the flute would be recognised as a flute!
Russian Jupiter 9 at f2.
Beautiful new foliage superimposed on last season's green on silver foliage, making an interesting contrast of colours. A great Heuchera raised by my friends Jooles and Sean at Heucheraholics
I am looking to improve on this picture, may be I will introduce smoke to catch the more vividness of colours next time I attempt this.
DSC_2992
From top to bottom:
Flute #1: This is a long story to describe how I acquired my very first Native American flute, purchased at a Pow Wow in Lowell, MA. But once you read it you will understand my connections with all of these flutes and with the amazing flute makers who created them.
In the late ‘90’s, I was attending Merrimack College, pursuing an Accounting Degree while working full time. Since Merrimack is a Catholic college, they require three religion electives as part of any bachelor’s degree. What does this have to do with Native American flutes? Well, one of the religion courses available was Native American Spirituality. Since I have Passamaquoddy roots on my mother’s side, I thought I might have an opportunity to learn more about my mother’s heritage.
The professor of the class, Virginia Kimball, had a PhD in Theology. She was a fascinating woman of strong faith, she studied in Rome, was one of the first women allowed access to the catacombs beneath the Vatican for research and she had a fascination for all things related to the Native American tribes here in New England.
She explained on the first night, that a project related to Native American arts and crafts would count as a large portion of our grade. Beadmaking and weaving on a small loom were some of her suggestions, which most students chose. But I have played a traditional silver flute for most of my life and I thought it might be interesting to learn how to play a Native American wooden flute. When I suggested this, her eyes lit up! She was so excited about my idea! I told her I didn’t own a wooden flute and would have to find one somewhere. She said she would help my find a wooden flute to play!
As part of the class, she organized a class trip to a Pow Wow in nearby Lowell, MA and it was at that Pow Wow that I found my first wooden flute!
There was a booth filled with wooden flutes, all handmade by a Native American gentleman from Georgia. I looked at all the flutes and for some reason, I kept going back to a simple Cedar flute with an eye-catching hand-carved bird attached to the top. He explained that the bird was really a “block,” designed to control the air flow of the flute. The blocks, carved in various shapes, are unique to each flute maker.
The flute maker was a bit hesitant about letting me try the flute I selected because, as he explained, it didn’t seem to be working very well that day. He thought he may have to make some adjustments to it later. Wooden flutes are temperamental and can be affected by the weather, humidity, but also by the person who plays it. I asked him if I could give it a try, and he said yes, of course.
The tone that come out was soft and mellow. I played a few notes and then some long tones that were just beautiful. The flute maker was surprised that I was able to make music with it! He said that it must have been waiting just for me. So, of course it ended up coming home with me!
In the next few weeks, while I was learning to play it on my own, my professor told me that there was going to be a presentation and demonstration of Native American flutes at Phillips Andover, just a few miles from Merrimack College. So, I bought tickets to attend the presentation and that is where I met Hawk Henries and his close friend Geoffrey Evans. They are both flute makers and flute players. It was Hawk who was doing the presentation that night.
I ended up sitting beside Geoffrey and we laughed about our same last names. As it turned out, his mother is also named Patricia. We decided that we must be related! He told me that he hosts a Woodland Flute Circle gathering and invited me to attend the next one! It was at that gathering that I really learned how to play my new flute. We all sat in a circle in the grass and took turns making noises. I told Geoffrey that as a classically trained flute player, I tried to translate the notes on my wooden flute to the notes on the staff. But I was struggling with that. He shook his head and said that the way to play a wooden flute is from the heart, not from written sheet music.
And one of the most profound things that he suggested, and I still do it today, was to play the tree line. I was puzzled… play the what? He pointed to the row of tall pine trees in his backyard and said, “Follow the tops of the trees with your melody. If they rise to a point, let your music rise in tone. If there is a that is a tree that is shorter, let your melody lower, also. He said he does that to relax, to meditate. He also does it at the ocean, following the surf line. It was a groundbreaking concept to me… a way to make music that gave me freedom from being tied written sheet music! Ever since that day, I have been able to play creative and improvised melodies, even on my silver flute!
Flute #2: This flute was a gift from my Mom. She loved to travel and when she was In her 80’s, she decided to sign on with a group of senior citizens for a tour of the “Wild West” by bus. They toured the Grand Canyon, stood at the Continental Divide, visited the Crazy Horse Memorial and eventually ended up in Cody, Wyoming. I asked her to keep her eye out for a wooden flute in her travels, and if she found one that wasn’t too expensive, to bring it home for me. When she was in Cody, she found a small craft shop that had a few wooden flutes in the window! She said she went in and talked to the man who owned the shop. He was elderly and said he was getting ready to close the shop so he could retire. She asked him about one of the flutes she saw in the window and he brought it over to her and told her that he had carved the eagle on the block himself. He was quite proud of that carving. It’s really amazing to look at it up close. It even has a sharp-tipped curved beak! It is a Plains style flute, made of pine. It has a light and airy sound like the wind blowing across Southwestern plains. She said she told him about how she was looking for a flute for her daughter and he loved that, so he gave her a break on the price so she could buy it. She was so thrilled to give it to me when she got home! I had to play it many times for her over the years, even when she was in a nursing home. She would tell all the nurses about how she found it in that little shop in Cody, Wyoming. I just love thinking about that story and remember her traveling during a happy and healthy time in her life when I play it.
Flute #3: Also a Cedar flute, but as you can see, it is a much bigger flute than all of the others. I was asked to play in a premiere performance of a play about Pocahonatas written by a local musician and actor. The director wanted someone to play an authentic wooden flute in certain parts of the play. So, I asked Geoffrey if he had a flute that might be in the appropriate key. Yes, flutes are sometimes tuned to certain keys. This one had a rich, mellow tone and projected well with volume, so I thought it would be perfect. I loved the tone of this flute so I bought it. Unfortunately, the experience with the play was not good. I will spare you those details. The happy ending to this story is that I have this wonderful flute to play and enjoy!
Flute #4: This one may look a little rough around the edges but that’s because I made it! Hawk Henries offered a flute making workshop a few years ago in Warner, NH. This flute started out as a bamboo tube. Hawk taught us how to carve the block (no fancy birds in this workshop… just enough carving to control the air flow), how to place the tone holes and how to burn them in. And in the end, I have a flute that actually makes some noise! I am rather proud of it.
Flute #5: A beautiful black walnut flute made by Geoffrey Evans. It has his signature carved wavy block with a wood-burned leafy vine design along the top of the block and the length of the flute. His logo is the tree of life, burned in the wood at the end of the flute tube. The sound is so rich and full. I can play this flute in a large hall and the sound projects all the way to the back of the room. Each flute I own is special in its own individual way. I appreciate the details and beauty of this flute created by Geoffrey. And I love thinking about how we met in what felt like a very random way but now I believe it was meant to be. And I am so grateful that we have remained friends all these years.
Flute #6: This was the second flute I bought for myself. I learned of a flute playing workshop that would be sponsoring a flute maker and flute player, David Sanipass, from Gouldsborough, Maine. David talked about his flutes and how he selects the wood that he uses. Rather than try to describe what he does, I will share this from his website – Wild Wind Creations:
“My name is David Sanipass. I am Miqmaq (today known as Micmac). I have been making and playing Native American Style flutes for about 30 years. My Grandfather taught me how to carve flutes at the age of nine. As a child, I would sit with him for hours to watch and ask questions about the art of flute carving. It can take from 5 to 20 hours to carve a flute. I harvest all the wood and make many of the tools myself. I do not use any power machinery. I use mostly lightning struck white cedar. Once the cedar tree is struck by lightning, the wood crystalizes. It is this result that gives the finished flute a unique sound and tone. I also make a "sweetgrass" flute. This is traditionally a Grandmother's or woman's flute. While this flute is played, the player as well as the listener is soothed by the light fragrance of "sweetgrass" with each note.”
At the end of the workshop, I decided that I wanted to bring one of his lightning struck birch flutes home. It is also a sweetgrass flute with a brilliant tone, much the the clear fresh air of the coast of Maine. As he described it, a woman’s chanting flute. And it also has the wonderful aroma of sweetgrass as it is played. A truly unique flute. If you look closely, you can see some of the personal touches that he adds. The wood-burned sweet grass emblem just above the air hole to show that this flute has a sweetgrass braid in it, the curved emblem on the air hole to protect the player’s breath from evil spirits and the star-like emblem around the top tone hole, which is “F” on the scale, the highest note on the flute, and symbolizes that same frequency, the vibration of the universe.
In conclusion, “F” is for… my Family of Flutes and also the Frequency of the Universe.
Hi everyone, hope you've been well. It's been a few months since I've been able to spend some quality time here and I'm looking forward to catching up.
Just wanted to share a fun little project I took on back at the beginning of October.
There's yet another Hollywood franchise reboot about to hit the screens and this time it's "Tomb Raider" with Alicia Vikander taking on the role that Angelina Jolie made famous originally.
They released the movie poster with a bit of fanfare in mid-September and the way my mind works I immediately envisioned recreating it using my son's girlfriend.
When I showed her the poster and floated my idea of recreating it her instant reply was, "OMG I'm not fierce like that!"
I beg to differ.
Oh, and by the way, Emma really is an incredibly talented flute player. That is certainly not a prop in her hands!
If you're curious to see the original poster that inspired this it's here.
A detail of the rock-cut column base in the tomb of Amenenmhat, showing how the shaft is fluted. Such columns are strikingly close to the first examples in Greek architecture which emerged more than a millennium later.
Beni Hassan: Middle Kingdom, 12th Dynasty, 20th cent. BC.
Drummers and flute players high up inside a richly decorated float. Kyoto Gion Matsuri - one of the great festivals of Japan. Kodak film scan
I found this at Michael's (craft store) and thought it was cool. I bought some past-their-prime bargain tulips at the grocery store yesterday to go in it. It's nice to have a bit of spring to enjoy.
For the All New Scavenger Hunt #13 - Fluted.