This was one of the relatively few instruments I've built where I didn't know the client, and never met them. She found me through a mutual friend; I must have written and asked her to tell me what she wanted, as well as something about herself so I could really make the design personally relevant; I find in my records a letter from her addressing those questions.
One thing I notice in looking at this picture is that it seems to reflect my interest at the time in juggling: the bridge reminds me of hands, and the three sound-holes the balls being juggled by those hands. I made another instrument around that time, "The Juggler", with a somewhat similar motif (the bridge "hands" on that one juggled stars that turned into birds flying around the sound-hole). I have no indication that the client was a juggler, or had any interest in juggling, so apparently that was a passion of mine at that time shining through.
The top wood is Western Red Cedar; I think the back and sides were Black Walnut. The decorative (rosewood?) sound-hole carvings, inspired by the traditional sound-hole "rose" found in lute sound-holes, are a unique feature of this instrument, and something I was experimenting with on guitars around this time.
Steel-string guitar
1979
This was one of the relatively few instruments I've built where I didn't know the client, and never met them. She found me through a mutual friend; I must have written and asked her to tell me what she wanted, as well as something about herself so I could really make the design personally relevant; I find in my records a letter from her addressing those questions.
One thing I notice in looking at this picture is that it seems to reflect my interest at the time in juggling: the bridge reminds me of hands, and the three sound-holes the balls being juggled by those hands. I made another instrument around that time, "The Juggler", with a somewhat similar motif (the bridge "hands" on that one juggled stars that turned into birds flying around the sound-hole). I have no indication that the client was a juggler, or had any interest in juggling, so apparently that was a passion of mine at that time shining through.
The top wood is Western Red Cedar; I think the back and sides were Black Walnut. The decorative (rosewood?) sound-hole carvings, inspired by the traditional sound-hole "rose" found in lute sound-holes, are a unique feature of this instrument, and something I was experimenting with on guitars around this time.