Zither Repair Central

Here I am at Zither Repair Central... with one more zither repair on my schedule. It's amazing how these old zithers seem to pop out of the woodwork into the hands of loving new owners, usually left to them by relatives who passed on a generation or two ago.

Zithers are beautiful instuments with a haunting sound, as anyone who has seen "The Third Man", a post-WWII film noir set in Vienna and starring Joseph Cotton and Orson Welles can attest.

This one has elaborate peacock decals and preliminary research indicates that it was made in Slovenia. We'll try to keep you posted on the progress.

Ron

Getting back into work...

It's always hard to get back to work after a big show. So I ease into it by getting my "easy" things done first. Three new psalteries started, a couple new whistles, and a gazillion new spoons with carved heads. Any suggestions for the heads before I get going?

Monday, I'll be speaking to the woodworking and sculpture classes at San Benito High School in Hollister, CA, earthquake capital of the world.

Late last week, I received a new (or I should say, old) zither to repair. This one is quite different from the others I've done. More on that later.

Thank You Roy Helms

It was a beautiful weekend in San Francisco, and even better at Fort Mason and the Marina Green. Saturday and Sunday, March 8 and 9, were the dates of the Contemporary Craft Market at Fort Mason's Festival Pavilion. There were several hundred craftspeople and artists represented, and their works covered everything from the inexpensive (candles, scented sachets, etc.) to high-end (jewelry, glass, furniture, etc.). I took part in a group showing by the Baulines Craft Guild in a large space donated by Roy Helms, the promoter of the show. I showed my new piece, "London Bridge", an original design in the style of an early pianoforte. There were also around 15 pieces on display by other Master Members of the Baulines Craft Guild.

I want to thank Roy very much for the booth and for the opportunity to show my work at a nice show in a beautiful location.

Thank you Baltimore

The American Craft Show in Baltimore is over for another year. It was a lot of work, but the excitement of being part of the largest craft show in the country kept the adreneline flowing for seven days, from set up day, through the Wholesale days, Retail days, and to the final tear down and packing. Don't let anyone tell you differently, professional craftspeople work hard at their art.

One of the great things about being in Baltimore is trying out new places to eat. Of course, our first night there, after setting up all day, is to go across the street from the convention center to the Wharf Rat Tavern. It's a great brew pub in one of the few (if not only) remaining 19th century buildings by the Upper Harbor area of Baltimore. The ales they make are very tasty after a long day of booth setup, and the pub food is good and satisfying. My wife, Stella, loves their Maryland crab cakes, and I like their beer-battered fish. We're very fortunate to have friends who come down from New York to the visit us at the show, and who introduced us three years ago to their Baltimore friends (and now ours too), who take us to various exciting restaurants. It's becoming an event I think we all look forward to. This year we went several miles away from the downtown scene to a Greek district and had one of the best Greek dinners I've ever had. The grilled octopus was to die for.

Every time I exhibit at a crafts show or arts festival, I come away with ideas for improvements to existing pieces and for new instruments or other artworks. This time was no different. I don't want to spoil it all by explaining my new projects, so I'll just put in a little teaser by saying that I'll post photos when the pieces are completed.

On another note, last year I started Ron Cook Studios, which Coog Instruments & Folk Art is part of. The reason for the new name is because my craft has recently branched out to include original, non-musical pieces, as well as musical pieces out of the ordinary. Coog Instruments will still be my outlet for Early American and Early European instruments. I'm still working on the new Ron Cook Studios web site, and you can see a preview by clicking here.

I'm new to blogging, and never really thought about it until I attended a seminar at the American Craft Show in Baltimore on what a blog is and how it could help your (my) business. So, here I am, starting out with a new technology once again. The instant writing and posting will, hopefully, keep you all informed of things, like new works, as well as gallery and show updates. Keep tuned.