I remember very well the first three branch flutes I’ve made.  After that, only selective memory. Sycamore Branch Flute In Oct. 2010 I was out cycling and rode past a team cutting down three significant sycamore trees on the lawn of a local bank.  I stopped and asked if I returned with my car could […]

I was delighted to share my flutes, kanteles and other wood-crafted items at the Stephen Foster State Park Craft Rendezvous and appreciated the invitation to share my musical instruments. The key of the flute, the size of the flute, and the kind of wood are all part of the choices to be made in selecting […]

Come join me at the SoMa Art Media Hub on Saturday, Feb. 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. where the Gainesville Arts Market will be taking place. My WrenSong Woods booth (#19) will feature hand-crafted wood products to add to the function and look of  your cooking and entertaining. I’m made gorgeous wood cutting […]

People have asked me how I decided to make both Native American style flutes and kanteles.  The answer: these instruments had such appealing sounds that I needed to have one to play myself.  After making one for myself, I needed to share the joy of playing easy-to-learn instruments. The 5-string kantele is considerably easier both to play […]

Raven in Watercolor A watercolor portrait of a raven was created during my recent hiking and painting trip to the Grand Canyon. As I took photos of a raven sitting on a fence rail, I talked to the bird, telling it I admired its glistening feathers. I think its response indicated that it wasn’t interested […]

Six of my carved wooden spoons are now in new homes. A friend made a special order for Christmas gifts. This order of gift spoons was a lot of fun to create and shows a range of wood and spoon styles. The lilac spoon (second from right) was from a tree in Ontario, Canada. The […]

Ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro is on tour, and I’m looking forward to hearing him perform in Gainesville on Feb. 9. I’ve been playing his CDs, picking up and playing my ukuleles (one at a time, of course), and looking forward to his upcoming concert. Jake Shimabukuro became one of the sensations of YouTube in 2006 […]

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At the beginning of August, I emailed my August e-newsletter to my mailing list. So you may already have received it. If you haven’t received the newsletter and would like to read it, please click on this link — http://eepurl.com/Z0c1n You also can sign up to receive the newsletter. Click on the link at the […]

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 […]

In October I visited Pennsylvania to deliver flutes and meet up with family.  We enjoyed seeing “Noah“.  And, we did  some Pennsylvania tourist things like find the covered bridge near Intercourse, PA. We stayed at a great Bed & Breakfast place to meet up with some of my family.  Gail and Dave were great hosts. […]

Making WrenSong flutes was a dream achieved. Making musical instruments from a branch or from kiln-dried wood was a wonderful journey for more than 12 years. Currently I am taking a break from making and selling musical instruments and am engaged in painting in oils and watercolors.  Whether still lifes or plein air painting, I […]

I’ve been enjoying making stone art, using the stones from a lake’s beach. The size and shape of each stone helps me decide what the stone will feature on its surface. A round stone becomes a mandala. I may start with just one dot at the center and then build out and repeat patterns as […]

On Lochloosa Bridge One of my New Year’s ambitions was to cycle the Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail more often than I had in the previous year. By January 7, I’d cycled 80 miles on the trail. The trail is through sections of Paynes Prairie State Preserve. I enjoy going downhill at 24-26 mph, feeling the rush […]