Day 28 and 29: Sunhearth.

Today started with a nice walk around Hollidaysburg, PA, where they love their God! There are churches everywhere and in all different flavors! There is even a bank that lives in a defunct church, or so I'm going to claim because it looks like an old church that has been fortified against all non-believers!

It was a beautiful morning, and I was not the only one out and about. The place is pretty hopping for 8am on a Saturday. I think I'm the only tourist, though, because nobody else is looking at the history that abounds. As a boy who grew up in central FL, where the oldest buildings are strip malls, I really do love to see this kind of historical architecture. Which makes playing with all of these dulcimers even more fun because I'm already slipping back in time!

Not that all dulcimers or their builders and players are as sentimental as I am. And I am a finger picker who likes to play in a chord and melody style, but even so I still feel the instrument is a way to make a shift to a different time and place in my past. Sure, I didn't grow up in the mountains, but I grew up on the edge of a swamp surrounded by farms and orange groves. We were country. So I do go home when I'm playing or making dulcimers.

The house is now empty, as everyone went out to do something--mom, kids, and friends went to a park. And Dwain and Richard went to a hardware store and to get some fabric and foam. So I'm going through and looking at all of the dulcimers, taking in the aesthetics. I've seen a lot of instruments online, but to really see the intricate and beautiful work of a Conrad in person is something much different. Dwain and I were talking about making a machine using planed down intarsia, and here is a live example of that. Plus, there are some other decorated ones, like this painted one from the '70s. This kind of study is just what I need now, as I'm entering into this building career because although I'm going to build in the Sunhearth/Bear Meadow tradition, I can see a well-decorated Sunshine Wave model somewhere in the future.

The Bear Meadow machines are just pretty, there is no doubt. I like the carved scroll head the the curves of the instrument, as well as other fineries, such as the carved tail block and purfling. So as I grow as a builder I will make machines much like Bear Meadow, and I don't see changing any of the mechanics of the instrument anytime soon, as Dwain is so much more knowledgeable about that aspect--could be the time he spent in the Yale physics labs. But I do have a keen sense of aesthetics that I've honed since I was a child. Since this is the case, my contribution to the tradition, at least in the near future, will be something about the surface and decoration of the instruments. Will I use pyrography, tint the shellac and lacquer, carve into the back or top, use intarsia, or do something crazy like just paint them? I don't know how the art objects will take shape, but they will be that, for sure: art objects that can be played with.


I've gotten to play so many instruments including Sunhearth, Presnell, Mize, McSpadden, Ewing and other machines that were built during the folk revival. As I've told you, I've really been thinking about aesthetics and the machines that I'll make. One of my ideas is to do intarsia, as I've said. Well I also got to play a Conrad, who is doing really beautiful work on his dulcimers. I've gotten to play so many instruments, really. Of course, what I call playing others may call playing with. In fact, the tag line for our business will be "Folk art you can play with," and it will cover all of the stuff that we make!

So today we went to the birthplace of the Sunhearth, and, using the ancient water-drop technique, got to repair one of the instruments that live there. It was really nice to see the beginnings of my tradition. It really helps to reinforce the fact that I'm apprenticing with the right builder. I really am honored and humbled that he has taken me on with the intention of me carrying on his mantle. Amazing, just amazing.

Richard is a musician, and he has a wide variety of instruments, some of which I don't know what they are called. And he can play most of them. The only one that he said he cannot conquer is his seven string banjo from the late 19th century. Val said that she'd take a crack at it, but there was some
difficulty getting in tune. We got it pretty close on some of the strings because the pegs need to be hammered out and then put back in. Still, she got Old Joe Clark and some other tunes out of it. It was great to see her working it! She also took a shot at playing a nyckelharpa, but she didn't have much luck with that. But, as is apt to happen in a musician and instrument dealer's house, there was a violin builder that visited.

Frank Russo, whose been building violins for some time, came by to help out with some ebony needs. Frank was on his way through town, and he offered to lead Richard to his house so that Richard could get the ebony wood. Well, when Frank got there Richard said take a look at this. Frank lit up when he saw it, and he went to town. There wasn't much time, and there is a pretty steep learning curve with this machine; but Frank had it making some pretty noises after only a few minutes. He promised to stop back by!

I got to ride into the Cove, which is so beautiful that I'm not sure I'd ever leave if I lived there, to visit Frank's shop and get the wood. It was really nice to see how he set up his shop. I think that I will have to plan more of these trips so that I can develop better shop skills.