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#1 2006-11-16 23:07:06

geni
Performer & Teacher
From: Boston MA
Registered: 2005-12-21
Posts: 830
Website

painting the flute.

Hi Guys,

i would like to change the look of my flute.

I was thinking to paint in black.(I am open to other options too:-)

Any sugestion of what kind of paint?

Looking forward to you wisdoom.

Geni

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#2 2006-11-16 23:22:26

dstone
Member
From: Vancouver, Canada
Registered: 2006-01-11
Posts: 552
Website

Re: painting the flute.

Urushi would seem a natural option.  "Natural" in several senses of the word.  Seems better proven than any other substance to stick to and protect bamboo for a long time.  You should be able to find plenty of photos of full-urushi'd flutes around on the net.

Here's one from Perry Yung's blog:
http://www.yungflutes.com/logphotos/davfin.jpg

Or here's the other end of the spectrum.  I find this one a bit creepy.
http://shaku8.tosaint.com/attachment/TZD1131052516.jpg

-Darren.


When it is rainy, I am in the rain. When it is windy, I am in the wind.  - Mitsuo Aida

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#3 2006-11-16 23:49:58

geni
Performer & Teacher
From: Boston MA
Registered: 2005-12-21
Posts: 830
Website

Re: painting the flute.

Thanks Darren
where can I get (buy) urushi?

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#4 2006-11-16 23:54:44

dstone
Member
From: Vancouver, Canada
Registered: 2006-01-11
Posts: 552
Website

Re: painting the flute.

geni wrote:

Thanks Darren
where can I get (buy) urushi?

It has been discussed here on the forum.  Meijiro sells it for sure, though.  I have a small tube of it, on generous loan but I'm at the stage that I'll have to buy some for myself now.

Remember to gear-up with a respirator, gloves, long sleeves, etc.  That advice can be found from the seasoned urushi pros here on the forum also.  "Search".

-Darren.


When it is rainy, I am in the rain. When it is windy, I am in the wind.  - Mitsuo Aida

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#5 2006-11-17 02:07:12

geni
Performer & Teacher
From: Boston MA
Registered: 2005-12-21
Posts: 830
Website

Re: painting the flute.

thanks Darren..i am searching..and reading.

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#6 2006-11-17 02:30:45

amokrun
Member
From: Finland
Registered: 2006-08-08
Posts: 413

Re: painting the flute.

One thing I've been considering for a while is not painting the whole flute, but rather painting an image or some calligraphy on one. I've seen some flutes with calligraphy written to the side of some simple image added. Those are very beautiful when done right. Especially the larger flutes often have a fair bit of space. With some light colored bamboo, this should work nicely if the paint used was either black or something dark. For darker flutes, bright white might work nicely.

If anyone has any experiences doing this kind of thing, let me know how well it turned out and if there is anything to consider before getting started.

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#7 2006-11-17 05:50:49

Harry
Member
From: Dublin, Ireland.
Registered: 2006-04-24
Posts: 221
Website

Re: painting the flute.

Wow, is that white thing the shakuhachi that Elvis was buried with?

Regards,
H.


"As God once said, and I think rightly..." (Margaret Thatcher)

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#8 2006-11-17 07:30:39

caffeind
Member
From: Tokyo
Registered: 2006-04-13
Posts: 148

Re: painting the flute.

Three diagonal stripes on that white flute would give it a nice Adidas theme. How about a camo shakuhachi? Or leopard spots? Why not go all the way and stick real fur to it? hehe

I saw a flute made by Ryuho Miura that had some marone urushi covering the bell on the outside, and an artist had painted a crane on it in very fine gold. Actually there were two of these flutes; the first Miura had made some years ealier and the second was a copy of the first one by the same artist. $30,000 or so was the estimated price for the copy.

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#9 2006-11-17 11:05:50

Mujitsu
Administrator/Flutemaker
From: San Francisco
Registered: 2005-10-05
Posts: 885
Website

Re: painting the flute.

geni wrote:

Hi Guys,

i would like to change the look of my flute.

I was thinking to paint in black.(I am open to other options too:-)

Any sugestion of what kind of paint?

Looking forward to you wisdoom.

Geni

Geni,

The advantage of urushi is that it takes many light coats to cover completely.
This way you can see how it evolves. Sometimes it's nice to stop before it is opaque.
Other times a solid finish looks best.

http://mujitsu.com/images/IMG_0425.JPG
Leaving it semi-transparent can give it more depth.


http://mujitsu.com/images/IMG_0125.JPG
It's important to rub it out between coats if you want a very glassy finish. Overwise you'll see little bumps and scratches on the surface like this.

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#10 2006-11-17 11:08:52

geni
Performer & Teacher
From: Boston MA
Registered: 2005-12-21
Posts: 830
Website

Re: painting the flute.

it looks beautifull.

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#11 2006-11-18 00:42:12

rpowers
Member
From: San Francisco
Registered: 2005-10-09
Posts: 285

Re: painting the flute.

caffeind wrote:

Why not go all the way and stick real fur to it? hehe

Wow! Go Bo Diddley.


"Shut up 'n' play . . . " -- Frank Zappa
"Gonna blow some . . ." -- Junior Walker
"It's not the flute." -- Riley Lee

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#12 2006-11-18 15:44:39

Karmajampa
Member
From: Aotearoa (NZ)
Registered: 2006-02-12
Posts: 574
Website

Re: painting the flute.

I have been thinking of decorating with a fine tip poker-work machine and burning the design into the bamboo.

Kel.


Kia Kaha !

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#13 2006-11-18 18:38:43

James
Member
From: Seattle, WA, USA
Registered: 2005-12-03
Posts: 23

Re: painting the flute.

dstone wrote:

Or here's the other end of the spectrum.  I find this one a bit creepy.
http://shaku8.tosaint.com/attachment/TZD1131052516.jpg

Not the least because the 4th hole is way to high and there's no blowing edge.

Or maybe the person who lovingly displayed and photographed it put the flute together backwards. wink

James

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