Comments Off on New Pinch Pot Ball Ocarina in “C”

New Pinch Pot Ball Ocarina in “C”

2010
06.06

Pinch Pot Ball Whistle - OcarinaWithout the benefit of specialized workshops or classes on musical instrument construction, there is a lot of trial and error that goes into the learning process.  I would contend that the earliest Mezoamericans who began constructing flutes of clay would relate to the trial and error experiences of construction…compounded by the challenges of inconsistent clay and unpredictable firing techniques.  All that to say, with some additional reading and research on handbuilt ocarinas, I changed the approach to assembly of these pinch pot ball instruments to allow for last minute adjustments in the air way, tone hole, and fipple edge. The result is a much better quality in the instrument’s tone, tuning and perhaps better ergonomics.  Additionally, feet appear on all of the newest versions with the thought that table (or shelf) display will be the best way to present the finished products… I’m not crazy about the foot, but there are practical considerations that might avoid breakage from rolling off a display area.

This particular piece is approximately 8″ tall, plays in the key of “C” in the green ware state, and is constructed from Standard’s mid-fire, Brooklyn Red clay.

Category Artist's Thoughts, Construction Techniques |

Comments Off on World Flute Festival 2010

World Flute Festival 2010

2010
06.06

Actually, the World Flute Festival sounds like a fun trip.  I’m not sure the musicians attending would appreciate the fiction of Dr. Bowen’s MugPhlute stories and would likely panic at the awkward fingering and lack of intonation that most of these things exhibit.  Besides, I’m not sure that MugPhlutes can speak Spanish *grinz*.

Category Uncategorized |

Comments Off on Getting Started with Etsy

Getting Started with Etsy

2010
06.05

Etsy Start for MugPhlutesOne forgets that there are several aspects of setting up shop online for an artistic enterprise.  There is a community of artists and crafts  people on Twitter.  There are numerous artist’s pages on Facebook.  Flickr accounts and badges appear on numerous web sites for artists.  What seems to be  the most popular outlet for e-commerce is Etsy.  It is a site that I have explored before, but not seriously…until now.  There is nothing on the MugPhlutes Etsy Store today, but there will be before long.

This exercise forces a chain-reaction of events.  Pieces that are to be sold have to be identified, photographed, described, packed, and most importantly, priced.  The whole pricing thing is the toughest thing to do.  I have done some of my homework to see what the market expects to pay for unusual/creative pieces, but there is always a level of discomfort in placing a price tag on something, knowing that there are (hopefully) better pieces coming out of the kiln in the future.

Stick around.  This is a work in progress and Etsy will play a role very soon.  Here is the first view of Ceramic Musical Instruments and MugPhlutes.

Category Shows and Sales |

Comments Off on Pinch Pot Ball Ocarinas

Pinch Pot Ball Ocarinas

2010
05.23

Pinch Pot Ball Ocarina - Finger HolesOf all the flutes, whistles, and ocarinas that I have posted on Flickr.com, the one that seems to show up in search engine results the most often is a simple pinch pot ball whistle from 2008. Entering the search string, Pinch Pot Whistle, into Google image search generally pulls that same image up within the top few results. There are several conclusions that one can draw from that, but I prefer to think that there are other people experimenting with hand-constructed whistles using nothing more than simple pinch pots.

Pinch Pot Ball Ocarina - Head and FippleThis particular piece employs the same basic construction, but raises the bar from whistle to a full octave ocarina. Two half sphere pinch-pots are joined by scoring the rims, adding a bit of slip, then carefully matching the edges so that a hollow ball results. At that point, the ball is allowed to rest in a sealed container so that the joint will mature and the ball reaches the leather hard stage. Meanwhile, the tubular mouthpiece, the pulled handle, and any surface decorations are built and allowed to rest prior to assembly.

Pinch Pot Ball Ocarina - FipplePerhaps the most critical step in constructing a tone-producing clay instrument is the carving of the tone hole and the assembly of the mouthpiece-tube so that the richest possible resonance occurs when air is blown through the tube. There are a few simple rules for the alignment, hole shape, and wedge positioning but I’ll not get into those details here…and certainly there are other methods of getting air into the instrument besides the manner illustrated here. Carving of finger holes is not an exact science but involves placement for ease of fingering (taking into consideration the shrinkage from drying and from firing) and understanding that proper hole size will adjust the pitch of each tone.

Dr. Bowen will have something to say about his discoveries that did not always turn out well for the person playing the instrument. For now, there are still questions of how similar were the techniques used over 1,000 years ago to the techniques that those searching Google for examples will find today. E.B. would say that it is part of the mystery of music and man’s attraction to making music his own.

Category Construction Techniques |

Comments Off on Tlapitzquiquiztli

Tlapitzquiquiztli

2010
05.21

Tlapitzquiquiztli - Horned Flute of the ConchCombining large pinchpot pieces with pulled handles can take some time, particularly when there are ceramic gymnastics involved…and this piece definitely qualifies.  The basic components were scored, slipped, joined and then braced while resting on the banding wheel.  At leather hard stage, the fipple of the ocarina was added and scoring for the areas to be sculpted was roughed out.  At each step, the entire piece received a light misting and was allowed to rest, completely covered,  overnight.  There is still much to be done, but a peek into the process might help others understand how these things are built.

The intent of the construction is to represent a snail (or conch), complete with shell and proboscis.  References to animals and use of animal part (tortoise shell, conch, animal bone, etc.) were common among Mayan wind instruments, and although this particular instrument is the object of a fictional story, it will produce multiple sounds.

I do wonder if the workspace of Mayan musical instrument makers ever became as cluttered as the space where this piece is sitting.  I’ll have to ask E.B. if there isn’t some sort of ancient proverb that suggests that out of chaos comes creativity 🙂

EB Note Top“Only brief mentions in ancient text speak of a rare flute that mimics the conch and snail. This rare find could be but one survivor of the Cenote at Uxmalico. The glyph imprints have not been identified, but the instrument is definitely ceremonial. Once clear of silt and several hundred years of debris, I’ll not be surprised if this piece still plays. I have named the instrument, Tlapitzquiquiztli – Horned Flute of the Conch.”
EB Signature

Category Construction Techniques, MugPhlute Chronicles |

Comments Off on My Name is Paul…

My Name is Paul…

2010
05.17

…and I make whimsical, ceramic musical instruments called “MugPhlutes”.  Playing in the mud is stress relief for me…it is my favorite outlet for sculpting and making unusual objects that produce sound.  “M” is for MugPhlute offers  a peek at the craziness of the construction process and how some of these objects relate to the fictional tales of Dr. Ephriam Bowen, Music Archeologist of the Yucatan.  Dr. Bowen has Chenoweth family connections that will be discussed later (it may explain some of the craziness).  Notes from his journal about an ancient, mysterious, musical  priesthood who roamed the Yucatan Peninsula during the Mayan era will dot this blog periodically.  His discoveries are unbelievable amazing.

Pinch Pot Ball WhistleFollow along.  There may be a new pottery studio that evolves from this. Who knows, some of these creations may find their way to a shopping cart. Hang on to your wallet.

Your comments are welcome, but be nice.  Critiques are welcome. Comments from the planets Spam, Jerk, Flame, Pharma, MLM, and Weirdo will be deleted and unceremoniously chucked into one of Dr. Bowen’s remote sacrificial cenotes.

-Paul

Category Artist's Thoughts |

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