Sea Otter F#m Flute
Spalted Maple Burl W/Mammoth Ivory Otter Fetish
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Sea Otter F#m Flute
So far, this flute has generated the most interest of all the flutes that I have created, lately. The wood is Spalted Maple Burl from a tree that reached the end of it's life naturally and has been lying on the forest floor for years. This piece of wood is inherently weak and has been stabilized with epoxy. The voids have been filled with epoxy and crushed turquoise inlays. We decided to lay the Mammoth Ivory Otter in a bed of crushed turquoise on the block to simulate it lying in the water with a scallop shell on it's little chest. I'm sure you've seen videos of otters cracking mussels and clams open with a rock while lying on their back. The Mammoth Ivory is harvested from creek beds and excavations in Alaska and sent to Bali where it is carved by expert artisans. This ivory is over 8,000 years old and comes from Mammoths who died many millinea ago. It is legal to own and no animals were harmed in order to obtain it.
This flute has a full, rich, mellow tone. It will be a showpiece for whomever desires to purchase it.
Listen to sound samples of this Sea Otter F#m flute here:
Natural "dry" sound of this flute with no enhancement.
Reverb electronically added to the sample of this flute for the "Canyon" sound.
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Mammoth Ivory Sea Otter Detail
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True Sound Hole Detail
Since this wood has so many variables with it's density, I have stabilized the nest, flue and true sound hole (TSH) with epoxy in order to derive the best tone from this instrument. You can see that the TSH is almost entirely carved in epoxy. This same epoxy is used for the crushed turquoise inlays that fill the voids all around the flute body.
