In 2010, my friend Janice approached me about painting her handmade drum; apparently, it is not uncommon to personalize drums this way, but drummers are not necessarily confident enough to put permanent acrylic paint on their cherished instruments. I painted my own drum, the oak leaf pattern, first. The elderberry clapper sticks, as well as the turtle and plant/moon drums, are Janice's, and the eagle drum (shown sideways for some reason) was for another client, Wendy. Wendy wrote in an email: "your work on my drum far exceeded my expectations of how it would turn out. I showed the picture of it that I took on my cell camera to all my workshop colleagues as if it were my new grandbaby!! I have it in my yoga room and I look at it every day when I do my yoga. It is so magical and beautiful it brings tears to my eyes."
I hope to do more of this commission work. My current fee is a very affordable $15 per hour. Most of the labor happens in the sketch stage, when my client and I are working through what he or she wants.
the turtle is amazing
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