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JOHN STILLWELL NATIVE AMERICAN STYLE FLUTES
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Click here to see a sampling of John Stillwell's work The first time that I got serious about working with wood was in a boatyard in San Pedro, California. I was living on an old wooden schooner that had been built back in the 1930s. It had a wooden hull made of mahogany 2 inches thick, steam bent white oak ribs, a teak deck and fir masts. The boatyard did repairs on wooden fishing boats which were still common at that time. I got to know the night watchman, so when everything closed down and the workers went home, I could go into the big shop and work on repairs for my own boat. During the day I hung around and watched, listened and learned from the old European craftsman who had spent their entire lives working in wood. I’ve been making my living working with wood pretty much ever since. I ended up with a shop that made custom furniture for interior designers. Fancy, high end stuff without much soul. At its peak, there were 18 people working under one roof, churning out entertainment systems and whatnot. And, instead of being out on the floor working with wood I was in an office working with a telephone. I didn’t like it, so I finally got out. Now I’m back to a small shop with a few finely tuned tools, doing what I love to do best, working with wood. Click here to purchase John Stillwell Native American Style Flutes I first picked up a Native American flute about ten years ago. It was a simple bamboo affair that a friend had made. It didn’t sound very good, but I didn’t know any better so it sounded fine to me. Music started coming out of that flute. Very simple at first, you know when I mean, but they were lovely Sounds that stirred my heart. My fingers began to enjoy dancing on the holes and I got better. Soon I was looking for a better flute, and then another flute after that. I was on that quest for the really sweet sound. Finally, Spirit led me to Clint Carlyle, the man who would become my teacher. He had been making flutes for a long time and was deeply connected to native culture and the Sundance. He would make flutes to take to the Sundance and gift them to the People. His flutes and his teaching inspired me to begin making flutes of my own. My first attempts were pretty lame. But with each succeeding group of flutes I got better. The sound became true and clear. The shape of the flutes became more refined and pleasing to the eye. Of course, I got help and encouragement from other flute people. Generous people, who gave freely on their knowledge to help an aspiring flute maker on his way. I know that I’m not at the end of this road and probably never will be. I’m glad of that, because my joy comes from listening for the new lessons that the flute has to teach. My flutes are shaped by hand, not on a lath. Each one is a unique expression of my hands and eyes working together in the act of creation. No two flutes are exactly alike. The combination of woods are different, the shapes are subtly different and, amazingly enough, the voice of each flute, even those in the same key, is different. I try to put all the dedication and love that I can into each flute. I know that I fall short of the goal but, it’s a work in progress. I have been an admirer of Native American culture since my earliest years playing with spears and bows and arrows in the woods. I feel that the Old Ones are a part of my spirit. I did bead work and made a war bonnet when I was 11 years old. In the ‘60s I lived in New Mexico and went to the Pueblo and Hopi dances. But, I don’t look back at the past with nostalgia. I live in the present and look forward to the future when all the races, and all the voices, and all the Sounds will come together as One. It’s happening Now, with each new person who picks up a flute, or a drum, or a rattle and joins the Circle. Click here to purchase John Stillwell Native American Style Flutes We carry Native American Style Flutes from only the finest Flutemakers:
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It seems like I’ve always had my hands on wood. Starting as a boy, I was carving things and making stuff out of wood. I grew up under the trees on the eastern seaboard; white oak trees 100 feet tall. Trees that had been on earth since before the time of the white man's arrival on these shores. Maple, birch, hickory, elm, chestnut, beech, pine, cedar, fir, cherry, walnut, hemlock. All around and overhead, trees. I grew up around people who knew trees, valued trees and loved trees. I climbed in them, played in them, made things from them, chopped them down, cut them up, and burned them in campfires. I learned to know wood as a living thing, a sacred thing, something that was part of a man, part of his life.
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