Last fall I borrowed my friend Cindy’s wooden flute to try my hand at playing it; a rather large jump in the learning curve for me in music. Since then, I have had a few lessons and even signed up to take a summer course with my teacher from the Riley School, John Skelton. Cindy’s flute was made by Dave Copley and Marlene Boegli at Celtic Lands Irish Flutes and I have enjoyed playing it immensely. But there comes a time when one either has to fish or cut bait, as the saying goes, and I decided a few months ago that I was ready to commit to buying my very own flute from Dave and Marlene who fortunately live right here in Cincinnati and are part of the Riley School of Irish Music community.
Today I went over to Dave’s workshop to see the flute as it was being built and to take a few “baby pictures”, as he calls them. I am very excited. The plan is to build the flute with mounts already in place so I can add keys later on as I become more proficient at playing. Above is a picture of the head joint, freshly drilled. Below are pictures of a finished flute with keys already mounted on it and after that, the pieces of my flute, in the same layout, ready to have its shaping begin.
I am feeling a bit spoiled, having this instrument built just for me, but I am trying to get over that guilty notion and just enjoy it. I hope to have years of learning and playing on this thing; I might as well have a good one. My Grandpa Kelley used to say “ya pay a penny more and go first class”. This was his way of saying that sometimes, quality things are worth the investment.
Meanwhile, the seemingly endless renovation project here at Chez Bogard continues. After much discussion, research and visits from flooring specialists from all genres, we have decided to put in a polished concrete floor with areas of radiant heat to keep our toes warm in the colder months. I have never been a fan of carpet from a housekeeping and allergy perspective and it didn’t look like wood, bamboo, or cork would hold up to the dogs and our rough-house lifestyle. I like tile but I don’t want any more lines in this space so visually driven by lines in the first place. This really left us with with only one option and we are taking the plunge. Today Tony is taking conference calls outside to avoid the noise of the grinding and I have stuffed towels and blankets around the door to keep the dust out of the studio.
Slowly but surely, the forward progression continues. We have left the dated, termite-eaten, fuse-blowing space behind and are starting to see the beauty of the light at the end of the tunnel. Kudos to our contractor Jerry Westerkamp who built the gorgeous soffit in our new space. Yep, slowly, but surely….
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