Another instrument crafted from a wood generously characterized by the lumber peddler as “Rainbow Poplar”. If these folks see rainbows that look like this wood, ……it’s time to move. However, it is a beautiful flute. The mouthpiece consists of dyed/stabilized Box Elder burl, between layers of California Buckeye burl, capped with the poplar.
The fetish block is cut from Buckeye burl, with overlays of two layers of systemically dyed maple, wherein the tree was fed harmless colored water during its growth cycles, and veneered at harvest. Overlay to this wood, is rare Blue Mahoe (Jamaican giant Hibiscus) mostly because it’s not blue, but in fact the same green as the “rainbow” poplar.
Inlay begins at the mouthpiece, and includes a beautiful dome cut 6mm rainbow Topaz, flanked by two 4.2mm Australian black opal doublets. The sides of the flute are accented with 24mm disks of the box elder burl, and two 12mm, 10ct. dome cut cabs of old Tibetan turquoise. Moving forward from the fetish, the sound chamber is accented with a 16mm dome cut Arizona Malachite cabochon, leading to finger hole accents of four 4mm cabs of abalone, and an 8mm quartz capped abalone cab.
Lastly, inlay to the fetish includes a 6mm faceted mystic topaz to the bird’s crown, and two exceptionally well faceted 2.4mm African black diamonds, set as eyes.
Since everything seems to be one flavor of green or another, the flute includes a removable wrap of South Dakota prairie rattlesnake skin.
This flute was tuned at 72.4 degrees F, @ 71% humidity.