Handcrafted Native American Drone Flutes

Mary Youngblood's Quilted Cedar Drone

It is an honor and a privilege to present to you photos of the quilted aromatic cedar drone flute I made for Mary Youngblood in July, 2000.

The wood came from a piece I sat with for several years while waiting for inspiration. While it was still rough I saw the potential. After it dried a bit I planed the faces of the slab. The beauty revealed as the rough surface cleaned away took my breath away. I knew I wanted to take my time and do this one justice. Grain patterns seen in this tiny section of cedar include 'tiger', 'curly' and 'quilted'. Most of these occur rarely in cedar, to have them all in such a small section of wood is virtually unheard of. It was a rare beauty of a piece and I wanted to be sure to do it the honor it deserved.

I think that this flute and the talent of Mary Youngblood are just the right destiny for this rare gem of nature. I hope you enjoy these images of this lovely flute. My favorite reaction, comes from someone whom Mary showed it to... "THAT'S cedar?!?" You bet it is! When I can have a Pink Ivory fetish on a flute and have it be the least interesting section of wood, I know I've done a good thing. Flutes like this make this work worthwhile.

You may click on any image to see an enlargement of the photo.