When someone goes to the mouth of a volcano and tries to relate that experience she says it is indescribable--because it is. I did that. I went to the mouth of a volcano, in that I watched a giant whose been around for some time lay the foundation for future growth. My growth.So my time with Dwain, at least in person, is at an end for now. (I've already sent him four emails, though!) And my time with him is indescribable in a sentence or one blog post. You'll have to go back over the months and see the joys and frustrations, as well as lessons about life and lutherie.
Now Val and I are putting our lives back together, and in this one short week that I've been back I cannot help but to return to Rochester in my mind as Val and me do this and that to make our workshops workable. It will take me years to process everything that I experienced while there--not that last bike ride in what I'll call a blizzard; I get that lesson!
The machines that I made while there were inspected, critiqued, and checked for intonation. Pass. Informed. And pass. I cannot believe that I am at this point, and I am making machines that are so similar to Dwain's that I challenge you to choose his and mine in this image where we are both working at similar points in the build. Sure this is in part because I'm an artist and I worked hard to make a really pretty instrument, but I'd be silly not to say that Dwain is one of the best teachers that I've ever had. Period. Treat yourself to a lesson from this man before he decides he's done giving them!
What do I do now that Dwain has introduced me to this new way of making that I've never experienced? Keep building, of course. Already there are changes that I will make to what Dwain has given me, like fine tuners on some of the instruments. I really like the ease of using them, even with the Wittner pegs. And keep practicing.
I am sure that I will take the methods that I've learned and apply them to the making that I did before I went up to Dwain's studio. I can already imagine how the cutting and sanding and scraping and finishing will change the way that I make wooden puzzles.
I want to be great at installing and restoring friction pegs. So after a couple of lessons from Dwain and another couple from a violin builder, I've made a dummy peghead for practice. And I'll make a bunch more to keep practicing. And as I'm building for customers I'll keep doing what I want, with a healthy balance of what they want. It is all practicing to make the best instrument ever--check back with me in twenty years to see if I've made that instrument, but I ain't holding my breath. I will have put in so much practice building, though, that I will be making some wonderful instruments!There are too many great builders out there doing wonderful stuff with their instruments who have yet to achieve that. I want to visit the shops of at least six builders a year; imagine how informed I'll be and how much we can share back and forth. So don't be shocked if I cold-call all y'all builders! And don't hesitate to visit me when you're in the area!
Yeah. Indescribable. How do I explain the way I feel about building instruments based on a history that is older than I am? Not just the Appalachian Mountain Dulcimer, but me following in the footsteps of the Sunhearth tradition in aesthetics mixed with the acoustic dynamics of Bear Meadow building. And the instruments look so much alike. I was paid a great compliment when Robin Thompson said something like the tradition lives on. As you can see in this image, Dwain's looks like Walt's and mine looks like Dwain's. Just beautiful! I'm still so amazed that I can even be a part of this. And I won't ride on any names, either. I'll do my own thing. But I certainly won't forget upon whose shoulders I stand to have risen so high so fast with my building ability!
And I got so much more out of my time with Dwain, like tools and equipment--even equipment that we designed and built! Like this mold machine, where the sides for the different instruments that I make come off of the base. So I have only one base and four different sets of sides. And we built the go-bar deck right into it! Not only did I get the experience of working on the molds that Dwain has, but I got to build my own--from scratch and a design that was born out of a half-worked idea from one of Dwain's former students.
But I wanted to be home, and badly. So when Val said that she was sick of living alone and that I was done and had to be home by Thanksgiving I began to make plans with Dwain to be home then. We decided on the projects that we must finish before I left and I kept working away on my own instruments. Then, I packed into a minivan that would hold not one more thing all of my stuff from Dwain and from Gretchen, the angel with whom I stayed while in Rochester, and I drove straight through from Rochester to Maryville. 
Yeah, it snowed all of the way through NY and rained through PA, but the sun shown brightly as I went through OH. When I got through KY and into TN it started to rain and snow and sleet depending on which part of the mountains I was up or down on. Twelve hours later I was cuddling with my wife and our two boys, who surely smelled the other cats that I lived with because they just ignored me mostly--or passed out from the excitement of seeing me. I'm not sure which.
And Val. Oh my lovely Val. As kindhearted a person as you'll ever meet. She loves me and supports me in what I do just as I do her. Did we cry in these last six months? I know I did. It was a hard decision to sink everything into a life of building and making so that we can live off of what we do.But we took the leap. And we landed on our butts a few times, and we've not stopped bouncing yet. It will be a long time before we regain our balance from the move, my training, and getting Val the tools, equipment, and materials necessary for her to do her thing. Please check us out at sunshinewave.org and consider buying something or commissioning something. We'll be a better family for it, and you can enjoy and share the crafts that you get!
And here we are, living in Tennessee and playing our music and making our crafts. This Thanksgiving we went to Val's closest friend up here, and we got to celebrate with her, her family, and their close friends.
And I will grow.
