Earth Spirit Flutes

Flute Making Hiatus

2011-06-02T20:29:00.002-05:00

At this time I am on a flute making hiatus due to other obligations, I will be starting back up in the future so please be sure to check back periodically.

Thanks to those who have supported and encouraged me. I will be back!

Jim

Shop Photo update

2009-01-07T11:32:00.005-05:00

Well I thought I had better update my shop picture as it's been a while. There are still a few things to finish up like trim, interior brackets etc. but for the most part it's finished and operational.

before and after shots

Flute Inventory

2008-12-01T08:03:00.002-05:00

For the most part I make flutes by request, recently I have had many request for in-stock flutes. I have decided to start making a small inventory of flutes to keep on hand for general sale to supply this demand. These flutes will be more basic and affordable from my custom flutes, check back soon for more information.

2008-11-28T08:23:00.019-05:00

Here are a couple of recent flutes that have gone to good homes. First is a Robin flute in black cherry with Payung rosewood and bubinga accents. Kristine the new keeper of this flute wanted it to represent the robin, one of her favorite birds. The block represents a singing Robin. This flute is tuned to D4 A-432 Verdi, a tuning that is slightly lower and very calming.

At the foot of the flute I burned in a robin perched on a branch .

The second flute is made of paduak with Ebony accents tuned in G# middle eastern Hitzaz tuning.

Kauri Flute in D4 with Claro Walnut accents

2008-02-29T01:20:00.022-05:00

This is the second Kauri flute I have made and this wood is impessive for it's acoustic qualities. The 50,000 years or so spent in the bogs of New Zealand seems to be the magic ingredient. Just like the first, this flute sounds absolutely amazing.

Photo by Mark Burnham Photography

I created this flute for a good friend who picked out the Maori Manaia Spirit Guardian figure with Abalone shell eye at the foot of the flute. For Maori the Manaia is the carrier of supernatural powers-the spiritual guardian which protects from evil. It is traditionally depicted with the head of a bird, the body of a man and the tail of a fish- creating a balance between sky, earth and the sea.

I take pride in making each flute for the person receiving it, a special flute that has meaning from visual, spiritual and sound perspectives.

As you can see by the photo, this wood looks amazing although it looks even better in person. As the flute is rotated there is an iridescence to the wood that catches the light, this is in part to the amber that has formed in the wood over time.

Once again the block design was borrowed with permission from Geoffery Ellis of Earth Tone Flutes

More photo's to follow!

Ancient Kauri wood flute in key of E. This flute has found a home

2008-01-28T12:51:00.013-05:00

Well the shop is finished and I am back at it. With a couple of new flutes under my belt with the new setup I wanted to tackle some wood I picked up on my way back from my trip to Montana in the summer.

This flutes has been sold. I have limited quanities of this wood and will only be making a small amount. This flute comes with a flute bag, Kauri wood certificate of aunthenticity and information pamphlet. For more info and pricing please email me jim@earthspiritflutes.com

Ancient Kauri Tree's have been excavated from the bogs in New Zealand. This wood has been carbon dated at around 50,000 years old and these tree's are massive! there are still some growing today and are protected from being harvested.

After being in the bogs from some 50,000 years the wood has been preserved and have gone through some changes during that time. See here for more details Ancient Kauri story

With this flute I tried to convey the Native flute design as well as impart a flavor of where the wood came from... New Zealand. The burned design with red jasper and turquoise at the end is of Maori style art and burn rings on the end to help give it focus. The block in Claro Walnut is a design of Geoffery Ellis of Earth Tone Flutes. Geoffery calls this block the "Mystic" and he has graciously allowed me to use this design for this flute.

Mouthpiece inlay and end cap are also in Claro Walnut. The photo's here do not do this wood justice, when sanded with a fine grit sandpaper the wood comes alive with an irridesence when hit by light. Extra finishing time is required but it's well worth the effort.

This flute is so clear and sweet sounding... very nice!

Winter is here!

2007-12-04T18:46:00.001-05:00

While I am close to completing the new shop and have not had a chance to start any new flutes, I thought I would post a couple of flutes I made this past summer.

The first is a custom flute made out of Spalted Maple and Black ebony accents with inlaid jasper in the block in Low Cm. The first finger hole was offset to allow for better reach as this is a large flute

The second flute made for the same customer is in a beautiful wood, Italian Olive with black walnut accents in Low Bm. The block on the Olive flute is a 4 part laminated block to help tie it in with the colors in the flute body. Olive is a dense wood with amazing grain patterns and even smells like olives. Again the 1st hole was offset as well as the 4th to allow for even more comfortable playing. Both of these flutes represented challenges but in the end they turned out amazing and both sound awesome

Black Cherry Flutes

2007-10-26T01:24:00.000-05:00

It has been a busy summer and a while since I have posted anything. I wanted to add some recent flutes I have made out of wild black cherry that came from my fathers forest. Cherry is a very nice wood to work with consistant grain and great acoustics. shown here are four flutes made of cherry with payung rosewood and purpleheart accents, in addition I have inlaid crushed stone requested by the customer.

As Autumn winds down I have been busy getting the new shop ready for winter. Although it may look small at 10x12 feet, the dedicated shop will be perfect for making flutes. Everything will be setup efficiently to streamline the creation process ensuring quality.

A flute for a special girl

2007-06-15T16:45:00.000-05:00

I am asking for everyone to play a song, pray or any other good energy for my niece Mackenzie Walchuk who is suffering from Sclerosing Cholangitis and is having a liver transplant Tuesday June 19th. Mackenzie is 11 years old; she will be the youngest liver transplant recipient in Canada.

See here for stories

Match for MacKenzie

Video and story

I have just finished making her a special flute made of wild black cherry from my father’s property with purpleheart accents. I have also wood burned on the flute the Celtic cross with her birthstone of sapphire inlayed in the center to represent hope, Ivy weaving up the finger holes to represent life and a Jade heart inlayed near the sound hole to represent love.

Click images for larger version

Sadly my wife's Father Walter Walchuk, Mackenzie's grandfather has just passed away on Wednesday June 13th after a tough battle with cancer. He will be sadly missed.

Take care

Golden Amboyna Burl Em

2007-05-15T15:25:00.000-05:00

Amboyna burl is said to be the rarest burl in the world, it is also a very expensive wood. There are 2 colors that I have seen, red and golden. Both very beautiful with amazing grain patterns. As you can see in the photo's this wood has a depth to it that draws your eye's to follow the grain where ever it takes you.

right click images and view in new window to see larger version

This is the first time I have work with this wood and it is very nice to work but has it's challenges. With this flute I have combined it with Payung Rosewood which is another very nice exotic wood. It is finished in a high gloss polyurethane finish polished to a glass like finish but still leaving some grain texture visible to show the depth in this wood. There were a few shallow voids in the wood which have been inlayed with Red Jasper, the stone of protection. During the creation process this flute was also smudged with Sweetgrass throughout the mouthpiece, sound hole and sound chamber to help bring out the voice.

This flute is concert tuned to Em Pentatonic standard fingering pattern. For me tuning is a special process, it determines in part the spirit of the flute. I take a few days with this process, playing each flute, thereby allowing the flute to give me direction. Each flute has it's own voice and each player has their own ear for what touches them.

I also offer tuning in Ken Light fingering pattern which has a slightly extended range but takes a little to get use to.

I have one more piece of this wood and will be getting more as it comes available.

Flute collection growing!

2007-04-14T19:27:00.000-05:00

I have been busy making flutes! Getting ready to start selling locally in Brantford Ontario at a soon to be opened Gallery to be announced soon.

In this photo you can see some of the various flutes I have made, some for sale and some from my personal collection. As well as flutes, I will also be making flute stands in several designs to hold anywhere from one to multiple flutes. The one shown here holds 18 flutes

If you are interested in flutes or stands contact me at jim@earthspiritflutes. com

click image to see enlargement

Jarrah burl with Ebony and Jarrah accents

2007-03-24T13:19:00.000-05:00

I came across this amazing piece of Jarrah burl wood but it was so badly checked (cracking) that I initially did not consider it would make a good flute but it was so nice I had to buy it anyway. After some thought I decided to try it by using jet black crushed stone inlayed in the cracks to seal the wood. Combining this with African black ebony and Jarrah accents this really turned out to be an amazing looking flute. The inlay process was time consuming but I think you'll agree it was worth the effort.

The totem is of the same Ebony and Jarrah laminated together to create a striking contrast in the abstract form of a wave to represent water. Tuned to high B this little guy sings loud and clear.

Spalted Maple and African Ebony

2007-03-20T18:27:00.000-05:00

Click image for larger view

The first in a series of Spalted Maple flutes I will be making. I came across some maple boards with some amazing spalting in them, enough for about 50 flutes.

Combining African black Ebony with the black spalt lines in the maple, ties it together. Finished with 3 coats of pure non-toxic tung oil and a final coat of natural beeswax. For the Totem I came up with this abstract design that represents water in the form of a wave.

Aromatic Cedar and Payung Rosewood Fm

2007-03-03T19:11:00.002-05:00

I have wanted to make some flutes out of aromatic cedar so I went out and picked up a board and got right at it. The grain of this wood is amazing with swirls and knots that really stand out and colors from whitish yellow, pink and reds. The flute has 2 coats of walnut oil and finished in a high gloss clearcoat then polished to a glass like finish. Concert tuned to F4 minor pentatonic.

If you are interested in this flute contact me at jim@earthspiritflutes.com

Here are a few more images to show some
detail. click on images for larger version.

Low G BHF Finished

2007-02-23T15:27:00.000-05:00

Click on images for larger view
I applied the final finish and polished it up today, I normally finish my flutes is tung oil with a beeswax finish but this time I thought I would try a high gloss clear coat finish polished to a glass like finish. The pictures do not do the finish justice.

Visually it's very stunning and I like the look of the high gloss finish really bringing the colors and grain of the wood out but I'm torn because it gives the flute a "plastic" like feel. With the tung oil and beeswax finish it retains that wood feel that I like, keeping the connection with the spirit of the wood. I guess it's a sacrifice either way giving up one for the other.

Low G, BHF Series

2007-02-22T19:31:00.000-05:00

I found a left over piece of 4x4 western red cedar from my boys cabin and thought I would try a large bore flute. At 33inches total length 1 3/4 inch bore and 27 inch bore length, this would test the limits of my boring skills.

Shown with Mid F flute for comparison

The cedar is accented with black walnut and finished with tung oil to bring out the grain of the wood, once dry I will finish it in a durable high gloss clearcoat finish.

What does BHF stand for? Big Honkin' Flute. I'm already planning to go bigger for the next one.

Western Red Cedar with Jarrah

2007-02-06T19:20:00.000-05:00

Cedar can be one of the nicest, yet modest woods to work with, it can also be difficult. Being a very soft wood you need to have very sharp tools and make every cut accurate as mistakes can happen very easy with the slightest of errors. Cedar can range in many colors from whitish yellow to red and browns.

The clean lines and red Jarrah accents Deerskin and matching beads make this flute stand out without being over the top. I have tried a Poly Urethane finish as opposed to tung oil and beeswax to help brighten the grain in the wood.

Western Red Cedar with Walnut

2007-01-09T11:01:00.000-05:00

Simplicity in design.

This flute was made for my cousin Tom just starting out, simple and clean in design yet a nice warm tone in G minor pentatonic.

Bocote with African Ebony

2007-01-08T18:43:00.002-05:00

The grain in the Bocote called for tuning in a great middle eastern scale known as Hijaz in G#. Six holes on top with one octave thumb hole on the underside.

Black Walnut, Cocobolo and Jarrah D#

2007-01-08T18:43:00.001-05:00

This Flute is made of a nicely figured Black Walnut,
Cocobolo and Jarrah in the key of low D#

The Ultimate Gift

2007-01-08T18:43:00.000-05:00

For Christmas I wanted to do something special for my 2 boys, hand made flute to last a lifetime. The first for my son Easton 11 years old, made of White Ash from his Grandfathers forest with Black Walnut and Cocobolo accents, in mid F#. Finished in tung oil and beeswax.

The second for my 7 year old son Seamus, made of the same White Ash but with Jarrah in red (his favorite color) and Tagua nut(poor man's ivory) in High C#. Finished in tung oil and beeswax.