The Aluna Flutes Story
Wind. Earth. Water, and Fire... Alone, each is inert; combine them and all sorts of amazing things happen.
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I have collected many flutes over the years; each made skillfully by its maker, each with its unique voice and temperament. There came a day when I was not able to find the one I wanted from my favorite flute-maker. "Can I make a flute?", I asked myself.
At first, I thought of making them from wood in keeping with the tradition for Native-American flutes. I decided instead to play to my strengths, to use a medium which I have loved to work with for over eight years... ceramic clay.
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After many failed flutes, firings, glaze combinations, and finger layouts, I was able to start producing instruments that were up to my expectations and standards. Each of my early flutes, with all their imperfections and errors, became my guides, helping me get closer to my goal. I finally had the flute I wanted. Yet, I couldn't stop there. I continued producing more for myself, building up a collection of Native-American style flutes and transverse flutes. One day, I decided to bring one of my flutes to a lecture at the college I teach. "Do you sell any of your flutes, professor?" one of my students asked after class. At that point, the idea for Aluna Flutes was born.
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Naming Aluna Flutes
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In the language of the Kogi people of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta of Colombia, Aluna means the World Spirit, the Mind of Nature which gives life and intelligence to all living beings. For the Kogi, the Earth is not reducible to a pile of resources ready-at-hand for human extraction and exploitation. The Earth, in their rich philosophy, is to be treated as an organism whose balance can, and has been, destabilized by the careless and shortsighted practices of the "Younger Brothers" (the descendants of the Spanish).
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For me, a Younger Brother with Colombian roots, I felt a strong compulsion to honor the Kogi by bearing their message through each flute I make. In each flute, all of the elements of nature are combined to make a whole, an instrument to carry the breath of the player into the Heart of the World.