The Redwood Violin is a project designed to paint a portrait of Sonoma County as told through the story of making a violin out of locally sourced materials.
Normally a violin is made from materials from all over the world: wood, resins, pigments and glues come from Europe, Asia, India, Africa and South America.
With a little ingenuity, and by calling on the help of local know-how and talent, it should be possible to make a high quality instrument, using materials from within 25 miles of Santa Rosa. The hope with this project is to shine a spotlight on the wealth of natural and commercial resources, and the artistic talent that we have right here at home.
The Idea:
- Build a violin out of locally sourced materials such as Redwood for the top, for example, Gravenstein Apple wood for the back and sides, and glue prepared from the hides of local livestock.
- For each material: interview the supplier about their business and its history in the area.
- Make video demonstrations of the stages of the construction process and of the preparation of materials such as varnishes, dyes and glue.
- Involve local craftspeople in making the violin and feature video/press portraits of them and their work
- Publish the project as a series of online blogposts/videos and through mailing lists, print and digital media.
- Involve local historians.
- Commission a local composer to write a piece about some aspect of the county.
- Have that piece performed by a local orchestra or ensemble.
- Make the violin available for six months to any artist in any genre to include in their public performance. Publicize those events.
- Have a fundraiser event where the violin and the proceeds are donated to the youth orchestra.
Wishlist:
- Produce a video documenting the whole project
- Have the violin played by the Santa Rosa Symphony.
Normally a violin is made from materials from all over the world: wood, resins, pigments and glues come from Europe, Asia, India, Africa and South America.
With a little ingenuity, and by calling on the help of local know-how and talent, it should be possible to make a high quality instrument, using materials from within 25 miles of Santa Rosa. The hope with this project is to shine a spotlight on the wealth of natural and commercial resources, and the artistic talent that we have right here at home.
Featured
Project overview
Latest Post
Kalia Kliban turns pegs for the Redwood Violin
Photo: John Burgess I talked with woodturner Kalia Kliban back in December about making some pegs for the violin. She had cleared some time in her schedule, done some research, made some jigs and tools and was now ready to turn the pegs. We visited her shop in late...
Latest Video
Andrew Carruthers, Violinmaker
I have been a professional violin maker for almost 30 years and a Santa Rosa resident since 1995. The Redwood Violin project comes from a desire to learn more about my local area and community, while exploring some of the fundamentals of woodworking.
October 2020
