Music for the Spirit

Many things I do now feed my Spirit. I am very lucky that I can say this and know how lucky I am. My wonderful husband, Richard, has always allowed me to be me. I have, of course, done things that were expected of me, not always because I wanted to, but then that is a part of life, part of growing up and it is fine. We have three wonderful children and expecting our sixth grandchild.  (Tatum Mary Adeline Reichert arrived August 31, 2009)

I cooked, sewed, helped on the farm, took care of critters and ran kids to 4-H events and to games at school. Loved every moment of those times, wouldn't change a thing. At this time in my life I can enjoy things I never even considered when the children were young.

I am a gourd artist, I have a passion for gourds, love their shape and color, I love the feel and the smell of gourds. I love drawing designs on them, carving them, and painting on them. Each one is special and I take care to give it a unique look from any other before it. Because this gourd passion was taking over my life and there was no longer enough room in the house.  I realized it would be necessary to start selling them. So off to art shows I went, selling my precious gourds. My gourds lead me to another passion. At one particular show, Lilyfest, I was introduced to the sound of the Native American style flute. Right in front of my booth, on a stage, a man played this flute with such haunting emotion, my heart all but burst. It filled me with something I'd never felt before, even today it is hard to describe. I can say for sure it filled something inside of me that I didn't know was empty. I have since heard the same description from someone else........ I know exactly what that means.

As time passed, I became friends with this musician of the Native American style flute. He is also an amazing flute maker. We sometimes found ourselves at the same art shows and yet, I never had the nerve to try a flute. Never learned to read music and cannot carry a tune. I can't chew gum and keep a beat at the same time. I had no plans to embarrass myself by trying to play one of his flutes!

After a couple years I found myself craving more and more of this music. Winter had come and it would be months until I found myself at an art show and hearing the sounds of the beautiful wooden flute. A friend and I decided to attend a local flute circle. Figured I could have a "flute fix" to carry me on until show season again. At that flute circle a student flute was place in my reluctant hands and I was shown how to get the fundamental note and then the scale. I was so hooked!

I immediately put a call out to my flute-maker/musician friend and ask him if he would make my first flute. The flute came and I practiced constantly............ three years have passed, I own six Mark Thunderwalker flutes, his music and flutes have opened up a door in my life that can never be closed. My Spirits soar with this music, need I say more?