Coog Instruments & Folk Art

Coog Instruments & Folk Art No More

2009-01-05T17:54:00.001-08:00

It's official! Coog Instruments & Folk Art is now Ron Cook Studios. A new web site is now up and running at www.roncookstudios.com. I'll keep the Coog Instruments site going for another six months or so, for those who have links to specific pages, but please check out the new site and re-set your links, because after I return from my Summer shows, I'll be shutting down the Coog Instruments web site for good. I'll be notifying many of you through my e-mail newsletter long before that, so you'll have a little time to re-set those links.

Also, the Coog Instruments & Folk Art Blog will be closed out later in 2009, so I only have to maintain one web site and one blog.

This is a big change for me. I've been known as "Coog" since 1967, and most who've known me with the nickname "Coog" over the years have either rented harps from the music store in the sky, or moved on and away. Coog is no more.

As I always say, "Onward through the fog!"

Coming to the End of an Era

2008-12-15T14:25:00.001-08:00

I've been known as "Coog" to friends and acquaintances for over 40 years. Unfortunately, only one 0r two people I now associate with understands the name or how I got it. Lately, many have asked me "what's a Coog?" or "what is a Coog instrument?"

On January 1, 2009, Coog Instruments will be no more. The name will officially change to "Ron Cook Studios." Hopefully, the Coog questions will end.

This will probably be the last, or maybe next to last blog entry for Coog Instruments and Folk Art. All newsworthy updates will be posted on the Ron Cook Studios blog from now on. In fact, click HERE to read about what's happening in my studio this week.

It's been wonderful educating, working with, and selling to all the great people I've met over the last eight years or so as Coog Instruments. I hope to meet and enjoy the company of many more in the years to come as Ron Cook Studios.

As I've said so many times for the last 40 years, onward through the fog.

Busy, busy, busy!

2008-11-18T18:44:00.000-08:00

I can't believe the amount of work I have right now! Not only do I have a number of restorations and repairs to do, I have to make at least four more new dulcimers to replace those that sold late this year.

A few days ago I finished a commission. A fellow wanted an epinette des Vosges, which is the French ancestor to the Mountain dulcimer, that dates back to the 1700s. I call it "Frere Jacques." This version is based on instruments from around 1850 to the present. I made it from some beautiful figured maple with black walnut and ebony accents. It has an 18" scale and a very lovely tone. The other day I was listening to a French CD of epinette folk music, and the sounds of the instruments are very similar to this one.

Earlier this year I made a much smaller epinette based on an 1850 instrument that I saw on the Boston Museum of Fine Arts web site. I'm also working on a larger epinette, with around a 24" scale, with a double-headed medieval-style carving. I should have it done by the end of the year.

Today I finished a very interesting repair. A friend stopped by during our Fall neighborhood garage sale and asked if I could take a look at one of his old Weissenborn guitar copies. In their day, these were very inexpensive instruments being sold to cash in on the Hawaiian craze of the 1920s and 1930s--like the ukulele. He brought two of them by and told me to go ahead and make one of them playable. That I did. They were both in very bad shape, very scratched up, gouged up, and a little weathered, but they were both easily fixed. The one I finished today even has a label in it with three Hawaiian-looking figures playing instruments around an old radio microphone, with "Hawaii" on top and "$35" printed on the bottom. The fingerboard was a thin piece of wood with a paper fretboard glued on top of it. I made a real fingerboard for it, sanded most of the scratches and gouges out, re-stained it, put mechanical tuning gears on it, and had a lot of fun playing it.

More work: Besides all the above, I'm starting to work on a reproduction of the Pennsylvania German Scheitholt I restored a few months ago, another banjo-dulcimer, and a lot of dulcimer noters. Whew! The year seemed to drag for quite a while, and now it seems there's not enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do. I really need, like the Beatles song, eight days a week.

Open Studios is Over for 2008

2008-10-23T19:21:00.000-07:00

Open Studios is over for another year!

Even with the economy being down in the dumps, this was the best year I've had in the eight years I've been doing Open Studios. I went into this event with a heavy heart and low expectations, since all the big shows I did this year never paid for themselves.

Studio Space

That all changed after the first weekend, and disappeared after the second. Thank you, thank you, thank you, to all of you who bought my instruments and folk art. I know you'll enjoy your artwork now, and I'm sure your future generations will enjoy it too.

This year we set up my exhibit differently. Instead of putting everything outside under the event canopy, we set up the guest bedroom as a gallery. This worked out great for display and also for demonstrating instruments.

Bedroom Gallery

In a normal size room, the instruments sounded great. Sound is lost in large convention center halls or at outside arts festivals, and people can't get a good idea how an instrument sounds. So... they say "nice, see ya," not "wow, I'll take one!" In our bedroom gallery setup, they did say "wow, I want that one!"

So, some of our old favorites seemed like they were heard like they've never been heard before, and several customers fell in love with them. They all went to very appreciative and loving homes.

Now that I've taken a few days off to put everything away for the year, it's time to finish current projects and start thinking about what to do for 2009. The next year will be an interesting one, since I'm not planning to do a lot of the shows I've been doing. I'll stay off the road until the economy picks up and stabilizes again. I may do one or two fairly local shows, but nothing expensive and away from the west coast or immediate southwest. There will be a change in my company name next year too. Instead of "Coog Instruments and Folk Art", it will be simply "Ron Cook Studios". That way I can go beyond musical instruments and into other sculptural realms.

Stay tuned! There's more to come!

IT'S OPEN STUDIOS TIME AGAIN!

2008-09-28T18:51:00.000-07:00

Today was the reception for the big Open Studios Art Tour Preview Exhibition. Hundreds of arts and crafts enthusiasts and artists filled up the Santa Cruz Art League gallery and lobby, and it seemed there were hundreds more outside for the food, drinks, and entertainment. A good time was had by all! (The picture is me with my "Luttrell Harp" at the reception.)

My wife and I had a lot of fun seeing and talking to all our old friends and meeting new ones. It's a great event to catch up on everyone's past year of shows and new works. It's also a great place to network and learn about other shows and galleries, and even to get inspiration for new works. Just talking to other artists can trigger ideas.

The Open Studios Art Tour is the first three weekends in October. October 4-5 is for South Santa Cruz County, October 11-12 is for North Santa Cruz County (my area), and October 18-19 is the Encore Weekend for the entire county. (I'm open for Encore too.) Calendars/Artist Guides, with a map showing the locations of all the artists are available at many stores and galleries throughout the county. To find out where to purchase the calendar, or buy over the internet, go to the Santa Cruz County Cultural Council website at http://www.ccscc.org/. Be sure to visit the Santa Cruz Art League to see the Preview Exhibit, and you can see examples of nearly all the Open Studios artists. For Art League hours and directions, visit their website at http://www.scal.org/.

Then... come and visit me, see my studio, and purchase a fine piece of musical sculpture!

I'm Artist #234 in the Calendar/Artist Guide, at 147 Sacramento Avenue, Santa Cruz, California. My location is just off West Cliff Drive, just three blocks from Natural Bridges State Beach. Follow the big green Open Studios signs.

Hard Work and Sad Times

2008-09-15T16:43:00.000-07:00

This past month has been one of the hardest and saddest in my life. I exhibited at the Sausalito Art Festival for the first time, and it was six days of very hard work that I wasn't of a mind to do. Of course, I was committed to do the show, but during the two weeks between the American Craft Council Fine Craft Show in San Francisco and Sausalito, my dear, 91-year-old mother became severly ill. Shortly after I returned, she passed away.

June Rose Cook
June 21, 1917 - September 4, 2008

Show season is almost over. I have one more that takes place the second and third weekends in October: The Open Studios Art Tour. This will be, I think, the eighth year I've been in this exciting event. Not only will I have my studio open to the public, but I'll have an exhibit of all my current and past works. It's not to be missed.

Back to Sausalito--The Sausalito Art Festival was a first for me. It's considered to be one of the 10 best Art Festivals in the country, and with all the work that the Sausalito people put into it, along with the big name bands, great food, and helpful volunteers, it deserves the accolades. I made some sales, but the volatile economy is causing a little problem with all artists.

But, all in all, Stella and I had a good time there.

I'm still trying to get back into being creative again. The last month did rather drain me. I did a lot of cleaning and rearranging in my studio the other day, and I got my carving paraphenalia all ready to make more sawdust. Hopefully, my muse will soon return to guide my hands.

One More Big show to Go

2008-08-26T09:36:00.000-07:00

Two shows down and one more to go. The San Francisco American Craft Show, put on by the American Craft Council, was, as always, a fun event. The venue, two of the old warehouse piers at Fort Mason, is unique and picturesque. The days were fairly sunny, but cool with the fog constantly hanging around the Golden Gate.

Several of our friends were there in both buildings selling, or rather attempting to sell, their crafts. Yes, the economy has caused a downturn in the fine craft business. The only successes came in the clothing and jewelry booths. After less than stellar sales in Bellevue, San Francisco was very disappointing. Hopefully, my next show, the Sausalito Art Festival this coming Labor Day weekend, will be successful.

But as you can see from the pictures, taken by our friend Sandra (thanks), shows that we were enjoying ourselves and did have a lot of traffic in our booth.

Stella lived, for a short while, not far from Fort Mason, part way up Russian Hill at the end of Chestnut Street. When we were a-courtin' we used to frequent restaurants and stores in the Chestnut/Marina neighborhood. Whenever we stay in The City for a show, we love to stop by our favorite restaurants, Ashoka, for classic Indian food, and Dragon Well, for good Schezwan-style dinners. The Chestnut area has recently gone through a resurgance, after several years of empty storefronts and run-down buildings, and the cornerstone is the remodeled Marina theater. This used to be one of the large classic movie houses that each neighborhood in San Francisco had. It was last run by Century Theaters, but they never did much to keep it up. Now, the lower floor is a large Walgren's Drug Store, and the theater portion has been upgraded to a multiplex-style venue, with the smaller theaters upstairs. The building itself retains the old look.

Well, now it's time to get ready for the next big show. After this one is over, I'll have a month to recuperate before the Open Studios weekends. My studio will be open this year on the second and third weekends in October. The first weekend is for South Santa Cruz County, from the yacht harbor south to Watsonville; the second weekend is for North Santa Cruz County, from the yacht harbor north, including downtown Santa Cruz as well as Scotts Valley and the Mountain communities of Felton, Ben Lomand, Boulder Creek, and Bonny Doon, and further north to the San Mateo County line. More to come.

One Show Down, Two to Go!

2008-08-03T19:17:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, I returned from the Bellevue Art Museum ArtsFair in Bellevue, Washington. It's the hardest show I've done (second year in a row), what with the long, two-day drive up and back and the 12-hour workdays. A few hundred thousand (according to the museum PR) wandered through the show for three days, and a couple to them actually bought things. (The picture is Sunday morning, around 9:15am, as we're getting ready to open.) Show hours were 9:30am to 9:30pm, Friday and Saturday, and 9:30am to 6pm on Sunday. These hours are the same as the Mall hours across the parking lot.

The best thing about the show was that all the people who bought instruments last year came back and said how much they loved them. One bought another instrument and brought her mother along who also bought one. Lovely, friendly people! Another good thing was the wonderful volunteers and booth sitters, and also the really good food. They fed us artists breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Unfortunately, there was a downside to the show (besides the long hours): too many dogs. I've never seen so many different types and sizes of dogs in one place. One of the biggest broke loose and nearly bowled over one of our booth neighbors (who also had a dog with him). Others were on those extension leashes that tend to trip people. I really feel dogs should not be allowed at these events.

Anyway, I'm home again and getting ready for the next show, the San Francisco Fine Craft Show at Fort Mason, August 15-17. Then, two weeks later, over Labor Day weekend, I'll be at the Sausalito Arts Festival. Reports on these and more coming soon!

Onward through the Fog

2008-07-15T20:35:00.000-07:00

Our Summer fog has arrived. Quite a few mornings, the "pea soup" floats through our neighborhoods or hangs over our heads for anywhere from a few hours to several days. When the sun does come out, it can get warm, comfortable, and very, very pleasant.

Well, the epinette des Vosges #3 is done! It's a lovely sounding, small, and very light French-style zither. I'm thinking of calling it "Jacques et Jillienne".

As long as I've been making instruments, I'm still excited when I first string one up and pluck the first note. Nearly every instrument I've made has surprised me by making a joyful noise. (In 35+ years, I think there's only a couple that didn't sound good to me.)

On another note (pluck), it's now less than a week until I hit the road for Bellevue, Washington, for the Bellevue Art Museum ArtsFair. It's a two day journey, then four days of hard work. Thursday is setup day, then Friday and Saturday are 12 hour booth days (9:30am to 9:30pm), and Sunday is around 8 hours in the booth. Then there's 4 or 5 hours of tear down. Whew!

No sooner do I get back, then I have to get ready for the American Craft Show in San Francisco. This is the 33rd Year that the American Craft Council has put it on in the City. The venue is at the pier warehouse buildings at Fort Mason (Herbst and Festival pavilions), by the Marina, almost in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge. I'm at booth 401 (Herbst pavilion) and will be there August 15-17.

Then, no sooner is that over, then its time to get ready for the Sausalito Art Festival over Labor Day weekend. This is a new one for me, and everyone tells me it's a great and fun show. I'm looking forward to it.

In between the shows, I'll be working on the restoration of an 1885-1900 era Pennsylvania German scheitholt. More on that later. I'll also be doing some small carving work on spoons, spurtles, and more whistles. These are fun little carvings that don't take too long to do, and are good projects for the short weeks between shows.

Onward through the fog!

Epinette des Vosges

2008-07-08T18:13:00.000-07:00

Time is just a-slippin' by. It seems that very soon I'll be getting everything ready to pack up for the Bellevue ArtsFair, then San Francisco, then Sausalito. I'm still trying to get a few more things done for the shows. I will have a new epinette des Vosges ready to go very soon. Like I've mentioned in previous installements, it's a small one, based on an 1850 5-string I found on the internet. Today I put the first coat of tung oil on it. I haven't thought about a name for it yet, but I'll think of one soon.

This epinette is 100% salvaged wood. It is a gorgeous flamed white oak that I resawed from a broken drop-leaf table, probably from the 1940s or 1950s. This is the second instrument I've made from this wood. I've got quite a bit left, so I'm sure there will be other completely different instruments coming later in the year.

A Whiter Shade of Pale: Part 2

2008-06-28T20:49:00.000-07:00

The two instruments I'm making with the salvaged white oak are coming along nicely. I've started carving the peg head figures for the small epinette des Vosges, and I've put the second coat of tung oil on the small psaltery.

As I've mentioned before, the epinette is based on an original from 1850, and the psaltery is based on one depicted in the 12th century Spanish illuminated manuscript, Cantigas de Santa Maria.

My long-range plan is to make several of the stringed instruments in the Cantigas de Santa Maria, including some other styles of psalteries, some plucked and strummed instruments, and another of the small symphonies (early hurdy gurdy). Of course I'll be making more Mountain dulcimers (my first love), and some other dulcimer ancestors, like an 1850 Pennsylvania German scheitholt-style dulcimer, which is one I'm currently restoring. I took many pictures and measurements and recently drew up a set of plans so I can build one, probably after this year's show season.

More to come!

A Whiter Shade of Pale (i.e., white oak)

2008-06-25T20:27:00.000-07:00

That beautiful flamed white oak I was given last month is shaping up into two new instruments, both that I should be able to finish before I start running around getting ready for Summer craft shows and art festivals.

The psaltery (right) will be done first, within a week or two, since it doesn't require as much carving. The picture in the photo is one of dozens from the Spanish 13th century Cantigas de Santa Maria illuminated manuscript, this one showing people playing small trapazoidal psalteries. This image was my inspiration for creating the white oak psaltery shown in the photo. The Cantigas de Santa Maria, sponsored/funded by Alfonso X, is one of the greatest illumunated manuscripts from the 1200s, and it is also one of the most complete surviving "paper" works from that era. Most of the illuminations are of figures playing various instruments of that time. It is of incredible historical importance on the evolution of musical instruments in Europe

The other white oak instrument I'm currently working on is a small Epinette des Vosges. It is based on one that sold several years ago that I found on a musical instrument dealer's web site. It is reported to be from 1850, and the measurements given show it as being a very small instrument, barely 19 inches long. It is a board zither without a raised fingerboard. The frets are attached directly to the soundboard. This is an old style that dates back to the scheitholts of the 1600s. Frets on board zithers were either wire "staples" or wood (like on early Norwegian langeleiks). I, of course, used modern fret wire, but it is very small and similar in thickness to the wire staples used on the early board zithers.

There are a few more instruments I'm just getting started on, and I'll report on them as they start taking shape. There are also several new "types" of instruments and folk art waiting in the wings. In other words, they're still in the planning stages. Tune in later. Film at 11.

Ouch! Oh *&%#@$!

2008-06-19T20:25:00.000-07:00

Hard disk crash! My old main computer, an aging Dell 1st generation Pentium 4, ate the hard drive, and it's taken two days to get it running again.

We knew it was having problems because we kept hearing unusual squeaking sound coming from the computer's case. Fortunately, I was able to back everything up before it finally quit. It took several re-boots to get everything, but I saved all the data before the final gasp. I went out and bought a new hard drive, installed Windows XP Professional on it, and spent the last two days re-loading software and data files. That kept me from doing what I really wanted to do: work on my new instruments and folk art pieces.

Tomorrow's another story. I have to make time to have photos taken of all my new pieces. My photographer had time on Friday to schedule me in, so I'll be taking around 10 things to get photographed. When I get the photo files, I'll set them up for the web and blog, and, of course, for submitting for show jurying.

Stay tuned.

The Muse is Back

2008-06-14T20:40:00.000-07:00

My Muse seems to have come back from her holiday. After nearly a week of "crafter's block", I finally got inspired and started on two new instruments: a very small epinette des Vosges, based on an 1850 instrument that sold last year through an online dealer; and a trapezoidal psaltery, based on the small psalteries depicted in the 12th century Spanish illuminated manuscript, the Cantigas de Santa Maria.

I'm making both instruments with the beautiful old flamed white oak recently given to me by some friends. The wood came from a broken drop-leaf table that was probably made sometime in the 1950s. I doubt if it was older, since all the pieces were joined by dowels and not mortise-and-tenon (or dovetailed) like more expensive furniture. Fortunately, this was made with solid wood, and not veneered. The entire top was flamed oak. The gate legs and other "lower" parts were a nice quarter-sawn, straight-grained white oak.

That wood did get me thinking about how to use it. I called for my Muse and she came. Besides getting the ideas for the epinette and psaltery, I've set pieces aside for a symphony (ancient hurdy-gurdy, another based on the Cantigas de Santa Maria), and another mountain dulcimer. That still leaves several nice pieces left for future projects.

On a side note: that big fire that I mentioned on the last post is getting contained and people are being allowed to return to their homes. Unfortunately, a couple of houses did burn as well as several outbuildings. But fortunately, we didn't have the big winds that happen so often here and that can spread a fire a lot farther a lot faster, like what happened with the Loma Prieta fire on the other side of our small county a few weeks ago. That fire laid waste to four times the area and 10-20 times the homes and structures of the Martin (Bonny Doon) fire. It's too dry too soon here. Let's hope people in the mountains, or visiting the mountains, are aware and careful.

Remember what old Smoky has said for decades, "only you can prevent forest fires."

New Instrument, New (old) wood, Fire

2008-06-11T20:42:00.000-07:00

Another Mountain dulcimer is nearing completion. I haven't named this one yet, but it will probably be named after a traditional folk song, like I did with Lily of the West and Anethea. It's a beautiful birdseye maple piece with salvaged purpleheart binding and a walnut fingerboard. Again, the shape is based on the J. Edward Thomas dulcimer housed in the Smithsonian Museum.

Last weekend, while attending an art exhibit reception at the Santa Cruz Art League (the 78th Annual Statewide Exhibit called "Poems Without Words: Contemporary Landscape Painters of California" running through June 29), the board president and his wife mentioned they had a broken gate-leg table they wanted to give me. I picked it up a couple of days ago and began resawing it yesterday. The wood is a gorgeous flamed white oak. There is enough for three or four large instruments and several smaller ones. I've already decided to use some for another epinette des Vosges and another dulcimer.

Serious time: California is dry already. It's barely June, and we already had one devestating fire in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and today another one has taken off in the community of Bonny Doon, just a half hour from where we live. It's now 9 pm and the last report puts the fire at over 300 acres and 1500 people have been evacuated. It is heavily forested, but also heavily populated. Many of our artist friends live in that area. There has been reports of structural damage, but it can't be confirmed if it's been homes or outbuildings. Our fingers are crossed that no one loses their homes and that the fog comes in to moisten the ground.

Medieval Ukulele

2008-06-04T18:44:00.000-07:00

After nearly a year of planning, carving, re-planning, re-carving, sanding, sanding, and sanding more, I finally finished the "Rebekulele". It's a one-of-a-kind ukulele tuned and fretted type of instrument, but in the shape of a medieval rebec.

Most of the wood is salvaged and scrap pieces of maple and black walnut that came out of my storage bins. I laminated several pieces of maple for the body and neck and hollowed it out, like the rebecs of old. The head, with an open mouth for the strings to go through, is a tagua nut from Ecuador. (Also called vegetable ivory.) The figure and peg head area are carved to look like an ancient Polynesian tiki.

Now that this is finally completed, I can look ahead to finishing other projects that have been on the shelves for way too long, like my Chapter House organ (3 months so far), my original Chapter House Harp (around 4 years), and my long-worried-over Victoria and Albert Ottavina (octave spinet, 29 years and counting).

Of course, there are other "normal" projects going on in a continuing basis, like another Mountain dulcimer (nearing completion), and a ton of spoons, spurtles, and other folk art pieces that I have to finish by the time I start my late Summer art festivals and crafts shows.

Stay tuned.

The pipes, the pipes are calling...

2008-05-26T17:58:00.000-07:00

The final Chapter House instrument is in progress! All of the Westminster Abbey Chapter House wall painting instruments I've done up to now have been stringed instruments, and for years I've been threatening to build the last one, a portative organ.

I started out by making three test pipes, all that sounded very nice. With that success, I then went on to make 20 more pipes of various sizes. This last week I completed the pipe chest, the segmented box that all the pipes fit in, and I'm just starting to fit the pipes into the holes.

So far, this has been about a three month project, and will probably run over a year, since I'm researching pipe organ theory and construction as I go along. It's a fun project. Stay tuned.

2008-05-10T18:11:00.000-07:00

At our home, alongside the Monterey Bay, May is a month of opposites! The weather can be sunny, warm, and fragrant with the scent of flowers and blossoms one day, then foggy, cold, and windy, with only the scent of the heater and wood dust in my shop the next. I can be getting a lot of work done one day, then wondering where the time went and why I didn't seem to get anything done the next.

But in retrospect, I see a lot of new work on my walls and shelves.I completed four more mini-hog nose psalteries, so I have six to take to the Bellevue, San Francisco, and Sausalito shows later this summer.

I also completed another Germanic Rote, a lyre in the style of the 6th or 7th century one found in a warrior's grave somewhere in the Black Forest. It's of highly figured flamed maple (sometimes called tiger maple) and black walnut. The pegs are maple with doubled faces with square tops for a tuning key. I created a carved tuning key similar to ones used on old Saxon-style rotes. It also has two faces.

Because of the two faces on each peg and the tuning key, I call this piece "Janus". Janus was, in Roman mythology, the god of gates, doors, doorways, beginnings, and endings. He was always shown with two faces.

I've only seen one example of the Black Forest rote in old books, and the actual one was reported destroyed when the museum was bombed on World War II. The Saxon style of rote, on the other hand, has been found in many burial mounds in England, from the 1800s up to the most recent, the Prittlewell rote found in 2001. You can see both styles of rote on my web site at http://www.cooginstruments.com/Rotes.htm.

I have been carving quite a bit lately. Besides all the faces on

"Janus," I've been carving a lot of folk art pieces, mainly spoons and spurtles. These are all salvaged and scrap pieces of wood I can't use on musical instruments, but they are great for tasting and stirring implements. These are a few I just completed. There are around a dozen more on my workbench.

As you can see, even though I have days when I feel like nothing's getting done, things are getting done. Today, I voiced and put together five more pipes for my "Chapter House Portative Organ." I'm also getting ready to bend some wood for a new dulcimer, and carve more on my "Rebekulele," a combination of medieval rebec set up and played like a ukulele, an idea that came out of my fertile (some say rotting) mind last year.

Enough for now. It's late and I still need to play a little computer solitaire.

The Summer Shows, plus 1

2008-04-17T19:37:00.000-07:00

Exciting news today! For the first time, I've been accepted to exhibit at the Sausalito Art Festival over Labor Day weekend. This is one of the most prestigious arts festivals on the West Coast. Now, I've got three really great "left-coast" Summer shows to do this year instead of two: the Bellevue Art Museum ArtsFair, in Bellevue, Washington, July 25-27; the San Francisco American Craft Show (put on by the American Craft Council), August 15-17; and now, for the first time for me, the Sausalito Art Festival, Sausalito, California, August 29 through September 1.

With so many Summer shows lined up, each two weeks apart, I'm in a rapidly increasing work mode trying to get as many new instruments done in the next three months. I've recently completed four new bowed psalteries, and I now have four new mini-hog-nose psalteries on the bench. I've also recently completed several small hand-carved whistles, and I've roughed out quite a few new spoons and spurtles. My bigger instruments, like dulcimers, rotes, and such, are in process and should be completed by the time I have to pack up everything. I am working "Eight Days a Week."

Time to make more sawdust. For more info on my work, go to my website at http://www.cooginstruments.com/.

April Fool's has passed...

2008-04-02T19:19:00.000-07:00

It's the beginning of the fourth month of the year, and I managed to get by the 1st without getting zinged by any April Fool's jokes. However, April still brings with it all the remodeling construction that's been going on around our house for the last month. Because of that, it's been hard to focus on many of my projects. However, I was able to finish three bowed psalteries last month as well as several "whistles" with hand-carved heads on the ends of them.

I've made a list this month of everything I want to work on and complete. It's probably a little too ambitious, but I have to plan out my creative direction as much as possible.

The first item on my list is to work on four more mini-hognose psalteries. That way I'll have six to take to Bellevue, Washington, in July and the San Francisco Fine Craft Show in August. The picture shows several frames I just assembled.

Mini-hognose psalteries are wonderful sounding small steel-strung lap or hand-held instruments that can play two full diatonic octaves, great for old ballads, folk music, or for just meditating to improvisational meanderings.The sound is bright but soothing.

Even though I completed several bowed psalteries, I still have to make the bows. I cut out seven bow blanks from cherry and salvaged purpleheart and zebrawood, and started shaping a couple of them today.

Another project I've listed is to continue working on one of my original pieces, the rebekulele. This is a 13th-14th century rebec-shaped instrument that's set up to play like a ukulele. It's coming along, but there's still a lot of carving to do on the tiki body.

As for folk art pieces, I'm in the process of shaping around 20 spoons and spurtles and getting them ready for carving.

All in all, I've got a lot of work to complete before I can get cracking on my larger, more complex projects. There is a lot more to come.

Stay tuned.

Zither Repair Central

2008-03-21T14:53:00.000-07:00

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...

2008-03-16T21:22:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-10T09:31:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-06T19:29:00.000-08:00

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.