Songs of our Ancestors
 
This flute has been an extraordinary journey into the distant past, a time when life moved to a different rhythm, when the landscape, the plants, the animals, the light, and even the air carried a different presence. My intention was to listen for the songs and stories of our ancestors as this flute came into being. To do that, I felt I needed to create a flute they would recognise, an instrument that would feel and sound familiar to those who walked this land thousands of years ago. This is not the first time I have travelled this path. Each journey is profoundly moving, drawing me into a deeper relationship with the wisdom of those who came before us. Every flute created in this way becomes a bridge across time. This flute is crafted from Sycamore, a tree that grows abundantly here in Cornwall. The branch had fallen naturally some time before I found it. As I lifted it, I could feel that it had already begun its return to the earth. It carried the first signs of decay, yet remained strong enough to sing once more as a flute. When I brought the branch home and carefully removed its bark, I was delighted to discover countless flowing lines and pathways woven through the wood. Today we know this as Spalting, beautiful markings created as fungi begin to inhabit the timber. If discovered at just the right moment, this natural artwork can be preserved, as it has been in this flute. As I continued to work with the wood, those lines became stories, each connected, yet each carrying their own wisdom. With every cut, every carving and every breath, the stories became clearer. Then, as the flute found her voice and sang her first words, the patterns transformed into shapes and images, continuing to reveal themselves in unexpected ways. What an incredible journey. When she was complete, I returned to the Sycamore tree from which the branch had fallen. Standing beside it, I offered the first song in gratitude—for the tree, for the journey, and for everything that had been shared with me along the way. This is a flute deeply connected to the ancient ones. The songs and stories were already woven into her before came along and found this branch. Her voice is gentle yet powerful, soft yet unwavering. As I listen to her, I cannot help but feel that her sound would have been familiar to those who gathered around fires beneath ancient skies. In honour of this continuing journey, and of the songs she has yet to carry into the world, I name this flute,
 Songs of Our Ancestors.
She is in the key of A tuned to 432Hz. Her totem is handcrafted from Eastern Aromatic Red Cedar, lovingly foraged by my dad in Upstate New York. It is bound to the flute using lace from North American White-tailed Deer. The turquoise inlays represent clarity of vision, helping us to see and feel the path ahead with openness and purpose. The feathers are of Tawny Owl and Buzzard accompany her, guiding the songs, prayers and intentions carried upon each breath.
Find the music inside yourself!!!