John Kulias- Meadow lark flutes

John Kulias was first introduced to the Native American flute at Canyon de Chelly in Arizona and was drawn to the beautiful sound and spirit of the flute. This made him want to delve into the history of the flute and learn to play it . He was also inspired to make them himself. At first he made the flutes from wood, but because he was familiar with working with clay it was a natural step to also make flutes from clay. Clay has all four elements of the earth water fire wind and air. His company Meadow Lark flutes and is based in Poenix. The flutes by John are made of clay, with an ancient technique where the flutes are baked in a pit. This is filled with various organic materials such as pine needles, banana peels, seaweed. Then the fire is stoked with wood and then covered. This creates an oxygen shortage and the oxygen is extracted from the organic materials. The gases released during this process provide the brilliant colours.(source website)

2015 Nr 036 G#