Sunday, October 5, 2014

Closing in

Carving the bridge comes near the end of the build, and is a pleasure--careful work with super sharp tools, but not as stressful as some of the other steps, and an opportunity to leave "fingerprints"...traces of the hand-building process. 


I will leave the subtle facets created by the carving gouge here on the back of the tie block:


while the other surfaces will be comparatively sleek.




Tunes in the Dunes

It's not just anyplace that you can experience this--Cascade Head on the Oregon coast...


And real hula...


But at the wonderful Tunes in the Dunes, a uke event created by Melanie Berry, it all comes together beautifully. We also enjoyed classes with a lot of wonderful teachers and performers, including James Hill, Anne Janelle, Craig Chee, and Sarah Maisel,




Steve Einhorn and Kate Power (here with Sarah),


Andy Andrews, founder of the Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz, with with his wife Pam (one of the hula dancers above),  



Corvallis' own irrepressible Wallop Sisters, whom I not-so-secretly aspire to play with, 


the super versatile Diggers, and uke ambassador Bryan Holley (no pics, sorry guys. And thanks to Craig Chee for some photos, seems like he is everywhere with a camera). 

A weekend full of aloha spirit and music, and as a bonus some great information on what makes a really good uke, as there were more than a few at the weekend. Thanks to everyone involved, hope to see you on down the road.