Welcome to the virtual incarnation of my workshop where you can find out about the different aspects of my work - without disturbing me. My website http://www.basscare.se/ is being kept as simple as possible. Here is where you'll find the stuff I chat to my customers about, or stuff that I would chat to my customers about if there was more time and I was more chatty. Feel free to browse around and if you'd like to get updates in your facebook newsfeed click on 'like' at my facebook page: Elinore Morris - instrument maker www.facebook.com/Basscare. The colours of this blog attempt to match the colours of the inside of the workshop, which has been renovated with historically accurate linseed oil based paint, and you can see a snippet of the newly sanded wooden floor.

Monday 29 November 2010

Birds

Perched about the workshop are a number of birds, the latest arrivals being some owls. Alf-Inge (also a violinmaker) has been a bird watcher for many years, and when he can't get out in the countryside to spy on them with his binoculars then he has to make do with carving and painting them - rather beautifully as you can see. There is a little mixed flock of them up in the shop at the castle for sale. The picture above shows two unpainted "juveniles" and the final adult result is displayed below together with a Norwegian hardingfele (hardangar violin) built by Alf-Inge's father.

Thursday 25 November 2010

Kora

I'm going to build a Kora (a lute/harp from west Africa with about 22 strings). It's going to be a very challenging project since it is so exotic in these parts but I'm just going to go ahead and try and learn as much as I can in process.
A calabash with my name on it. At least my initial, which I take to be a very good sign, although it won't be visible once I've fastened the skin on it.
Skins from Senegal. I got an extra one so that I can make a little drum too, one day.

What I've been working on today: a graph of string length against pitch, so that I can plan how to build the neck.
If you watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrEPm04v9Mk&feature=related you might understand why I want to do this.

A visit to the National Swedish Handicraft Council

Upstairs in our house is the West Götaland Regional Office of the National Swedish Handicraft Council, which is a fancy name for bunch of very lovely people who help out with all manner of exciting handwork projects. Their offices are filled with colourful creations and it is very inspiring to go up there. For some reason that doesn't happen too often for me but today I needed a little advice on my next project. They showed me a Sami drum made from a reindeer skin and a tool used for preparing the hide. http://www.hemslojd.se/