Saturday, April 19, 2008

NCFC Spring Gathering 2008: Meadowlark Flutes


We're less than a week away from the second annual NCFC/NoNahme Spring Gathering in Georgetown, CA. To highlight the event, I thougth that I would feature a short introduction or review of each of the vendors who will be selling flutes next weekend. There will be a lot of other vendors with awesome crafts for sale, far too many for me to talk about each of them. But since I know personally, or know of all of the flutemakers, I thought that I would spend a few moments letting you know what's in store so that you bring a few extra bucks with you, just in case...

The first flutemaker that I thought I would highlight is John Kulias of Meadowlark Flutes. I've never met John, but his claim to fame are the beautiful clay flutes that he produces. That's right, he makes clay flutes that are in tune! They will definitely be something to add to your collection. On his website, he outlines the process that he uses to manufacture the flutes: http://meadowlarkflutes.com/process.php
I have attempted to make flutes from clay, and it's not a simple process. The hardest part is getting the sound hole working, becuase after you fire the clay, there is very little you can do to correct things. The same is true for the fingerholes, although it is possible to enlarge the finger holes to bring them in to tune, by using a dremel tool with a diamond stone. I have a lot of respect for folks like John who can produce an in-tune clay instrument.
I look forward to meeting John and talking to him about his flute making process. For more about Meadowlark flutes heres the website: http://meadowlarkflutes.com/
For a complete list of vendors, check out the festival page: http://www.softcom.net/users/greebo/festival.htm
Don't forget that the NCFC/NoNahme Spring Flute Festival is April 26-27, 2008, in Georgetown, CA. 8 AM - 6 PM each day

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