
1. introduction	2. ugly boys
3. half-pipes	4. ordering
5. the dvd	6. contact

Ugly Boy Flutes?

Within 10 months of first touching a flute, I got bitten by the flute-making bug. I kept it simple at first: I wanted to take 2 pieces of wood, rout them out, glue 'em, and have 'em make a sound. I did not have plans, did not go apprentice with the fine local flute-makers I had just met; in true Bob-style, I rushed into it with ridiculously little equipment. Lo and behold, I made one very ugly looking flute, and I mean ugly with a capital "U," but it played a nice, loud, bright note when first I blew into it. Trust me... I still have it, of course, but I dare not put its picture here because that's all you'd remember... this Neanderthal-looking creature instead of my improved aesthetics today!

The bottom line... it is a most wonderful name for my flutes, in honor of the Original Ugly Boy and its invaluable lesson to all I share with, in schools, nursing homes, performances. The Life Lesson of Ugly Boy is one of simple eternal truth: what matters in life is NOT the outside appearance of a person, object, or situation; what matters is the voice, the music, the energy inside of a person, etc. Ugly Boy is quite homely, but has a voice and a song that will knock your socks off. That is my story for all that will hear; embrace your inner voice.

The Flutes I Craft

While I’ll gladly work with customers on special requests, I usually create my flutes as I feel led, from within... basically, I let intuition and Spirit guide me as to what I create; sometimes I don't know why I get the messages I do, but I honor them and build accordingly. A 2-headed snake flute??? And I knew they had to be corn snakes, not vipers... just the way it 'is' with me. Every flute has a reason, a story, a Journey, and I simply make what I want to. I specialize in extremely high keys, like ultra A, A#, B that very few make. And they are some tiny tykes at a mere 12" long. Ever seen an ultra high G drone? Zuni Sunrise Prayer never sounded so good. Conversely, I make deep bass flutes down to the G/F... and every key in between. Truly, there are few physical limitations.

I create in any style, from simple ones to fancy ones with ornate carvings/paintings, endcaps, etc. Normally you can look at a flute and say, "Oh, that's (someone's) flute" because of its style and such. Hard to do with my Ugly Boys... I love creating unique designs and blocks with each flute, as you will see. This is a Joyful Journey for me, and I celebrate the Spirit of the Flute, the Spirit of the wood used, and I celebrate the sheer Joy of the creation process.

Following is a little more in-depth discussion of what all I can do if you want to special order a flute, or just see the variations I put into all my flutes.

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